Owen Bates celebrated his third Development Tour title on Friday, as Sam Jackson also broke new ground on an action-packed afternoon in Hildesheim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s emerging star Jan Schmidt in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bates then landed a 101.88 average to defeat Czechia\u2019s Adam Gawlas 5-2 in the semi-finals, before producing another dominant display to whitewash debutant Kaya Baysal in the Event 16 showpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baysal \u2013 the JDC Junior World Masters\u00a0champion \u2013 enjoyed a debut to remember in Hildesheim, registering seven consecutive victories in his first appearance on the circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, it was 19-year-old Jackson who claimed the spoils in Friday\u2019s second event, following a 5-3 success over Schmidt, who recently made the last 16 at the European Darts Open in Leverkusen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drayton \u2013 a two-time winner on the Development Tour in 2026 \u2013 established a commanding 4-2 lead in their quarter-final tussle, only for Jackson to reel off three straight legs en route to glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oxfordshire-born star also overcame Ireland\u2019s Killian Heffernan in the last 16, following routine wins against Karsten Dalhoff, Finlay Cleave, Cas Maessen and JJ Wright earlier in the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schmidt, meanwhile, recorded five successive whitewash wins \u2013 including a 4-0 thumping of Weber \u2013 in storming through to the last eight, where he dispatched Baysal and Archie Self with relative ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sebastian Bialecki \u2013 the winner of six Development Tour titles in 2026 \u2013 boasts a significant \u00a310,400 lead at the Development Tour summit with just seven events remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Poland\u2019s number two Bialecki is currently ineligible to compete on the Development Tour circuit, having recently broken into the world\u2019s top 64 for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drayton occupies second spot, with Weber, Dutch star Jurjen van der Velde and last year\u2019s Development Tour winner Cam Crabtree completing the top five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This weekend\u2019s Winmau Development Tour action continues with another double-header today as around 300 players compete for the \u00a33,000 top prize in Events 18-19. Semi-Finals<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Event 17<\/strong> Semi-Finals<\/strong> Final<\/strong> Owen Bates celebrated his third Development Tour title on Friday, as Sam Jackson also broke new ground on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-15241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-darts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
RESULTS
Event 16
Quarter-Finals
<\/strong>Adam Gawlas 5-4 Lenny Schlueter
Owen Bates 5-4 Jan Schmidt
Kaya Baysal 5-1 Jenson Walker
Leon Weber 5-4 Archie Self<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owen Bates 5-2 Adam Gawlas
Kaya Baysal 5-4 Leon Weber<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owen Bates 5-0 Kaya Baysal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quarter-Finals
<\/strong>Sam Jackson 5-4 Jack Drayton
Owen Bates 5-3 Kimi Seemann
Archie Self 5-4 Jenson Remory
Jan Schmidt 5-1 Kaya Baysal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sam Jackson 5-3 Owen Bates
Jan Schmidt 5-2 Archie Self<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sam Jackson 5-3 Jan Schmidt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"