Jurjen van der Velde extended his lead at the top of the Winmau Development Tour rankings with his second title of the weekend, as Jack Drayton celebrated his maiden crown in Leicester. Saturday’s double-header at the Mattioli Arena saw over 420 players competing for the £3,000 top prize in each event, following wins for Van […]
Jurjen van der Velde extended his lead at the top of the Winmau Development Tour rankings with his second title of the weekend, as Jack Drayton celebrated his maiden crown in Leicester.
Saturday’s double-header at the Mattioli Arena saw over 420 players competing for the £3,000 top prize in each event, following wins for Van der Velde and Sebastian Bialecki on Friday.
Van der Velde doubled his title tally with Event Three glory in the East Midlands, which has seen him establish a commanding £2,850 buffer at the top of the Winmau Development Tour rankings.
Having kicked off his campaign with a hat-trick of whitewash wins, Van der Velde fought back from 3-1 down to defeat Matthew Gallivan-Piles, surviving five match darts in the process.
The Dutchman then recorded back-to-back 4-1 victories over new Tour Card Holders Tyler Thorpe and Yorick Hofkens, before surviving further match darts in his quarter-final comeback against Finn Behrens.
There was no such jeopardy in his semi-final clash against Charlie Stocks, as Van der Velde completed a five-leg blitz to set up a blockbuster tie against Charlie Manby in the Event Three showpiece.
The 23-year-old produced a three-leg burst of 12, 13 and 14-darters to race into a 4-1 lead, before defying a late rally from the Huddersfield youngster to triumph with a 97.54 average.
Manby’s route to the final featured a 4-1 victory over Beau Greaves in the last 16, while he also whitewashed Germany’s Leon Weber in the semi-finals to clinch the £2,000 runner-up prize.
Event Two runner-up Beeton also impressed at the Mattioli Arena, averaging 117.88 in dispatching Miro Seemann, only to succumb to Seppe Dasseville in the last 32.
Drayton then broke new ground in Event Four, winning nine consecutive matches to pocket the £3,000 top prize and clinch his maiden Development Tour title.
The 19-year-old opened his campaign with a routine victory over Dan Outwin, before rallying from 3-2 adrift to edge out Ben Townley.
The Fleetwood youngster followed this up with wins over Dylan Quinn, Ieuan Halsall, Lleyton Molyneux and Niclas Wierling, before claiming the scalp of Greaves in the quarter-finals, converting a 127 finish to prevail in a dramatic decider.
Drayton maintained his impressive combination finishing against Czechia’s David Fidler, converting 105 and 113 finishes to wrap up a 5-3 success in the semi-finals.
Drayton then stormed to the title in comprehensive fashion, defeating Dutch star Angelo Balsamo 5-1 to move into the top three on the embryonic Winmau Development Tour rankings.
Balsamo dumped out Event Two winner Sebastian Bialecki in the quarter-finals, after Poland’s number two registered consecutive ton-plus averages to continue his impressive weekend.
However, Greaves put in the performance of the tournament, averaging 111.33 in her four-leg demolition of Nigel Coudeville, fresh from averaging almost 118 in Event One on Friday.
The 2026 Winmau Development Tour season continues with Events Five on Sunday, as over 390 players prepare to battle it out at the Mattioli Arena.
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.
Click here for match stats through DartConnect.
2026 Winmau Development Tour
Saturday February 21, Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Event Three
Quarter-Finals
Charlie Stocks 5-1 Henry Coates
Jurjen van der Velde 5-4 Finn Behrens
Charlie Manby 5-4 Peter Kelemen
Leon Weber 5-1 Florian Preis
Semi-Finals
Jurjen van der Velde 5-0 Charlie Stocks
Charlie Manby 5-0 Leon Weber
Final
Jurjen van der Velde 5-3 Charlie Manby
Event Four
Quarter-Finals
David Fidler 5-3 Shane de Jong
Jack Drayton 5-4 Beau Greaves
Connor Hopkins 5-3 Nunjo Dewaele
Angelo Balsamo 5-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Semi-Finals
Jack Drayton 5-3 David Fidler
Angelo Balsamo 5-1 Connor Hopkins
Final
Jack Drayton 5-1 Angelo Balsamo