Archie Self and Nunjo Dewaele claimed their first titles on the Winmau Development Tour on Saturday, as the final weekend got underway in Wigan. The final four events of the 2026 Development Tour kicked off at the Robin Park Leisure Centre with Events 21-22, as Self scooped a first Development Tour title to add to […]
Archie Self and Nunjo Dewaele claimed their first titles on the Winmau Development Tour on Saturday, as the final weekend got underway in Wigan.
The final four events of the 2026 Development Tour kicked off at the Robin Park Leisure Centre with Events 21-22, as Self scooped a first Development Tour title to add to his excellent year.
The talented 16-year-old kicked off his Event 22 campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Cayden Smith, before recovering from 3-1 down against Luca Wolff to squeeze through.
After routine victories over Angelo Balsamo and Rylie Tock, Self accounted for German duo Oliver Ufer and Tour Card Holder Dominik Gruellich in another last-leg victory to reach the semi-finals.
Self – a two-time winner on the Challenge Tour this year – then produced his third 95+ average of the event to down Nathan Potter and reach the final, where he defied a superior average from Sam Jackson to triumph 5-2 and bag a maiden title on the circuit.
Jackson had a stellar run to the final, conceding just one leg in his opening four victories, before defeating Owen Bates and Dylan Slevin to reach the showpiece.
Earlier in the day at Event 21, Dewaele strung together an impressive eight-match win streak to claim his first Development Tour title, beginning proceedings with a whitewash win over Oscar Hodson before defeating Ciaran Forde.
4-1 victories over Shane de Jong and Mason Whitlock saw the Belgian reach the last 16, where he produced his best performance of the event to see off Eoin Corrigan 4-2.
Dewaele trumped another Irishman in the form of Dylan Slevin before seeing off Connor Mitchell 5-2, setting up a showdown against Cole Davey in the final.
After trailing 4-3, Dewaele took out back-to-back legs in 12 and 15 darts to triumph in spectacular fashion, claiming a first title in the PDC.
Despite falling short of a first title himself, Davey took the scalps of Lenny Schlueter, Tyler Thorpe and Jamai van den Herik to reach the final and cap off an impressive day for the Welshman.
Dewaele’s title shot the Belgian up to 21st on the Development Tour rankings, with Self moving into ninth after also pocketing £3,000 for his victory.
Sebastian Bialecki – who has been ineligible to play in the Development Tour since moving into the world’s top 64 – is guaranteed to finish top of the rankings thanks to a lead of almost £10,000 over second-placed Jack Drayton.
Drayton is narrowly followed by 2025 Development Tour topper Cam Crabtree in third, with Leon Weber and Jamai van den Herik also not far behind in fourth and fifth respectively.
The top two players from the 2026 Development Tour rankings will each win a PDC Tour Card for 2027-28, while the top three ranked players will earn a place in the 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
With Bialecki already holding a Tour Card and assured of a World Championship spot through the ProTour rankings, these would be allocated to the next highest-ranked player on the Development Tour.
Click here for Event 21 Results.
Click here for Event 22 Results.
2026 Winmau Development Tour
Saturday October 3
Robin Park Leisure Centre, Wigan
Event 21
Quarter-Finals
Jamai van den Herik 5-0 Ben Townley
Cole Davey 5-4 Tyler Thorpe
Nunjo Dewaele 5-3 Dylan Slevin
Connor Mitchell 5-1 Charlie Stocks
Semi-Finals
Cole Davey 5-4 Jamai van den Herik
Nunjo Dewaele 5-2 Connor Mitchell
Final
Nunjo Dewaele 5-4 Cole Davey
Event 22
Quarter-Finals
Nathan Potter 5-3 Kaya Baysal
Archie Self 5-4 Dominik Gruellich
Dylan Slevin 5-2 Jamai van den Herik
Sam Jackson 5-4 Owen Bates
Semi-Finals
Archie Self 5-3 Nathan Potter
Sam Jackson 5-2 Dylan Slevin
Final
Archie Self 5-2 Sam Jackson