Owen Bates (Photo PDC)
Owen Bates celebrated his third Development Tour title on Friday, as Sam Jackson also broke new ground on an action-packed afternoon in Hildesheim.
The year’s fourth weekend of Development Tour action began with a double-header at Halle 39, and it was two-time World Championship qualifier Bates who kicked off proceedings in style.
The 23-year-old was utterly dominant in the opening stages of Event 16, breezing through his opening five matches for the loss of just two legs.
This included a ton-plus average in his last 16 whitewash of Arthur Allston, although he was forced to overturn a 4-3 deficit against Germany’s emerging star Jan Schmidt in the quarter-finals.
Bates then landed a 101.88 average to defeat Czechia’s Adam Gawlas 5-2 in the semi-finals, before producing another dominant display to whitewash debutant Kaya Baysal in the Event 16 showpiece.
Baysal – the JDC Junior World Masters champion – enjoyed a debut to remember in Hildesheim, registering seven consecutive victories in his first appearance on the circuit.
The 16-year-old demolished Challenge Tour star Jenson Walker in the last eight, while also claiming the scalp of Tour Card Holder Leon Weber in a hard-fought semi-final clash.
Bates and Baysal also impressed in Event 17, reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively to cap off a successful day on German soil.
However, it was 19-year-old Jackson who claimed the spoils in Friday’s second event, following a 5-3 success over Schmidt, who recently made the last 16 at the European Darts Open in Leverkusen.
Jackson averaged just shy of 94 to secure a landmark victory, having also claimed the scalps of Bates and Jack Drayton in the latter stages of the tournament.
Drayton – a two-time winner on the Development Tour in 2026 – established a commanding 4-2 lead in their quarter-final tussle, only for Jackson to reel off three straight legs en route to glory.
The Oxfordshire-born star also overcame Ireland’s Killian Heffernan in the last 16, following routine wins against Karsten Dalhoff, Finlay Cleave, Cas Maessen and JJ Wright earlier in the day.
Schmidt, meanwhile, recorded five successive whitewash wins – including a 4-0 thumping of Weber – in storming through to the last eight, where he dispatched Baysal and Archie Self with relative ease.
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.
Sebastian Bialecki – the winner of six Development Tour titles in 2026 – boasts a significant £10,400 lead at the Development Tour summit with just seven events remaining.
However, Poland’s number two Bialecki is currently ineligible to compete on the Development Tour circuit, having recently broken into the world’s top 64 for the first time in his career.
Drayton occupies second spot, with Weber, Dutch star Jurjen van der Velde and last year’s Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree completing the top five.
This weekend’s Winmau Development Tour action continues with another double-header today as around 300 players compete for the £3,000 top prize in Events 18-19.
RESULTS
Event 16
Quarter-Finals
Adam Gawlas 5-4 Lenny Schlueter
Owen Bates 5-4 Jan Schmidt
Kaya Baysal 5-1 Jenson Walker
Leon Weber 5-4 Archie Self
Semi-Finals
Owen Bates 5-2 Adam Gawlas
Kaya Baysal 5-4 Leon Weber
Final
Owen Bates 5-0 Kaya Baysal
Event 17
Quarter-Finals
Sam Jackson 5-4 Jack Drayton
Owen Bates 5-3 Kimi Seemann
Archie Self 5-4 Jenson Remory
Jan Schmidt 5-1 Kaya Baysal
Semi-Finals
Sam Jackson 5-3 Owen Bates
Jan Schmidt 5-2 Archie Self
Final
Sam Jackson 5-3 Jan Schmidt
