Jurjen van der Velde and Sebastian Bialecki claimed a title apiece as the 2026 Winmau Development Tour began in Leicester on Friday. The pair prevailed on a marathon day of action at the Mattioli Arena, as over 400 players aged 16-24 went head-to-head for the £3,000 top prize in each event. Van der Velde kicked […]
Jurjen van der Velde and Sebastian Bialecki claimed a title apiece as the 2026 Winmau Development Tour began in Leicester on Friday.
The pair prevailed on a marathon day of action at the Mattioli Arena, as over 400 players aged 16-24 went head-to-head for the £3,000 top prize in each event.
Van der Velde kicked off Friday’s double-header with Event One glory, demolishing Ireland’s Dylan Slevin to celebrate his sixth Development Tour crown.
Having kicked off his campaign with successive whitewash wins, Van der Velde denied his compatriot Shane de Jong in a decider, overturning a 3-2 deficit in the process.
The Dutchman then ran out a 4-2 winner against Beau Greaves in a battle of the two most recent World Youth Championship runners-up, before continuing his charge with a 4-0 drubbing of Owen Bates.
Following a hard-fought win against his fellow countryman Keanu van Velzen in the quarter-finals, Van der Velde averaged over 100 in dispatching Jenson Walker to seal his spot in the Event One showpiece.
The 23-year-old then prevailed in his winner-takes-all showdown against former Tour Card Holder Slevin, converting a clinical 110 checkout to seal a comprehensive 5-1 victory.
Despite succumbing to Van der Velde in the last 32, Greaves was arguably the stand-out performer in Event One, averaging 100.57 across her five matches.
The 22-year-old recorded the two highest averages of the tournament, including a staggering 117.88 in her four-leg demolition of Justin Atellinghusen, featuring 11, 12, 15 and 13 dart-legs.
Poland’s number two Bialecki then stole the headlines in Event Two, defeating James Beeton 5-3 to secure a Development Tour title for the sixth consecutive year.
Bialecki – a winner on the Players Championship circuit in 2025 – conceded just two legs in his opening four matches, before averaging almost 97 to eliminate Event One semi-finalist Walker.
The 22-year-old then battled through gruelling affairs against Dylan Dowling and Bates to book his spot in the semi-finals, where he swept aside Nathan Potter in comprehensive fashion.
Beeton seized the early initiative in the Event Two decider, but Bialecki found his range in the latter stages, winning his last three legs in 13, 14 and 15 darts to clinch his seventh Development Tour title.
Van der Velde put in the performance of the event against Germany’s Florian Pres, averaging 107.69 prior to his quarter-final defeat against Potter.
Nevertheless, the 2024 World Youth Championship runner-up occupies top spot on the embryonic Winmau Development Tour rankings, leading Bialecki by £500.
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.
The 2026 Winmau Development Tour season continues with Events 3-4 on Saturday, as over 400 players prepare to compete in another double-header at the Mattioli Arena.
View full results from Winmau Development Tour One.
View full results from Winmau Development Tour Two.
Click here for match stats through DartConnect.
2026 Winmau Development Tour
Friday February 20, Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Event One
Quarter-Finals
Jenson Walker 5-2 Sam Jackson
Jurjen van der Velde 5-3 Keanu van Velzen
Peter Kelemen 5-4 Charlie Manby
Dylan Slevin 5-3 Nathan Potter
Semi-Finals
Jurjen van der Velde 5-2 Jenson Walker
Dylan Slevin 5-3 Peter Kelemen
Final
Jurjen van der Velde 5-1 Dylan Slevin
Event Two
Quarter-Finals
Nathan Potter 5-3 Jurjen van der Velde
Sebastian Bialecki 5-2 Owen Bates
James Beeton 5-3 Patrick McShane
Dominik Gruellich 5-4 Jack Drayton
Semi-Finals
Sebastian Bialecki 5-1 Nathan Potter
James Beeton 5-1 Dominik Gruellich
Final
Sebastian Bialecki 5-3 James Beeton