Daniel Ayres triumphed in Germany to claim his first Winmau Challenge Tour title by defeating Kevin Burness 5-3 in an enthralling final. The 15th edition of the Winmau Challenge Tour this year saw 193 players compete on Sunday afternoon in Hildesheim, as Ayres came out on top after winning eight consecutive matches and collecting the […]
Daniel Ayres triumphed in Germany to claim his first Winmau Challenge Tour title by defeating Kevin Burness 5-3 in an enthralling final.
The 15th edition of the Winmau Challenge Tour this year saw 193 players compete on Sunday afternoon in Hildesheim, as Ayres came out on top after winning eight consecutive matches and collecting the £3,000 top prize.
The Englishman had previously reached the quarter-final on three occasions in the circuit this year but had never reached a final, with Burness also competing in his first final of 2026.
Ayres began proceedings in the final with a convincing 15 dart hold of throw backed up with a 14-dart break, before being pegged back twice as Burness levelled.
The Northern Irishman opened leg six with his second maximum and clawed back another deficit to tie the match at 3-3, although Ayres held throw with a 20-dart leg to go one away from victory.
Despite both players kicking off the eighth leg without a ton-plus score in their opening two visits, Ayres prevailed, pinning 50 in three darts to take his first title.
The 37-year-old began the day with comfortable wins over Massimo Dante, Andy Courtney and Marcel Erba, before edging past Paul Rowley in a last-leg decider to reach the last 16.
There, Ayres defeated Event 12 semi-finalist Jack Aldridge 5-3, including a 13-dart leg with two back-to-back maximums.
Event Ten finalist Radek Szaganski awaited Ayres in the quarter-final, but the Englishman produced a fine performance with a 94 average to win 5-3 once again.
Ayres delivered his best performance of the day in the semi-final – a 97.66 average – to put out Ricardo Ulrich by yet another 5-3 scoreline, before dispatching Burness with his seventh 90+ average of the day to claim glory at Halle 39.
Burness, on the other hand, began his route to the final with back-to-back 5-1 victories, also overcoming Aden Kirk in the quarter-finals via a last-leg decider that the Northern Irishman dominated with a 13-dart leg, denying Kirk a shot at his third final of this year’s Winmau Challenge Tour.
Joe Hunt still occupies top spot on the rankings by some distance with earnings of £12,750 so far, followed by Derek Coulson and Tommy Lishman in second and third respectively.
Ayres climbed up to fourth after a monumental day in Germany, now sitting on £6,750 after scooping the £3,000 top prize.
The top two players from the final 2026 Challenge Tour Rankings will secure a PDC Tour Card for 2027/28, with the top three players earning qualification for the 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The next batch of Winmau Challenge Tour events will take place from August 14-16, as Milton Keynes’ Arena MK plays host to Events 16-20, with £20,000 in prize money up for grabs in each event.
Click here for full results from Event 15.
Click here for match stats & results via DartConnect.
2026 Winmau Challenge Tour
Sunday May 3, Halle 39, Hildesheim
Event 13
Quarter-Finals
Daniel Ayres 5-3 Radek Szaganski
Ricardo Ulrich 5-3 Pal Szekely
Jake Eichen 5-3 Levy Frauenfelder
Kevin Burness 6-4 Aden Kirk
Semi-Finals
Daniel Ayres 5-3 Ricardo Ulrich
Kevin Burness 5-3 Jake Eichen
Final
Daniel Ayres 5-3 Kevin Burness