Dutch ace Kendji Steinbach was the first champion of the week at the JDC’s showpiece in Gibraltar as he won the Winmau Junior Open.
The 16-year-old ‘Scorpion’ followed in the footsteps of double PDC major winner and new world No 4 Luke Littler, who won the title on The Rock a year ago.
The Dutchman was a convincing 6-1 winner against Gibraltar’s Nico Bado in the final, denying the locals a fairytale victory on home soil on the opening day of the junior darts extravaganza.
Steinbach had to beat some high-quality opponents to clinch victory, recording victories against Cori Wiltshire, Aidan Santos, Cayden Smith, Logan Paterson, Leo Howard, Bradley van der Velden and Bado.
Steinbach, from Maarheeze near Eindhoven, has already won the Dutch national youth championship and the Denmark Masters – and has qualified for next month’s Lakeside WDF Boys World Championship.
A member of the Dutch team competing at the World Cup later this week, he has also qualified for the JDC World Championship.
He dropped only seven legs all day – and only three from the last 16 on – as he stated his intentions for the week ahead.
Steinbach averaged north of 82 throughout the day, kicking off the day with a 4-2 win over England’s Wiltshire, before a 4-0 win against Gibraltar’s Santos.
He overcame a tricky tie in the last 32, beating England’s Smith 4-2 from 2-1 down, wrapping up the win with a pair of 15-dart legs.
Scotland’s Paterson was beaten 4-0 as Steinbach produced his highest average of the day (89.73), before another 4-0 win in the quarter-final against England’s Howard.
In the semi-final, Steinbach overcame compatriot Van der Velden 5-2, with both players averaging more than 83. Both players produced highlights during the match, with Van der Velden producing a 14-dart leg to stay in the contest before Steinbach closed out the win with his third 16-darter of the contest.
Steinbach controlled the final, winning the first three and the last three legs of the match, as the hosts were denied what would have been a very popular local winner in Bado.
He had produced some excellent darts en route to the final, notably in the quarters and semis, where he beat Joseph Westby 4-2 and Aidan O’Hara 5-2, before running into the in-form Steinbach in the final.
The darts continues in Gibraltar on Tuesday with the inaugural running of the Luke Littler Legacy Open.
RESULTS:
Final:
Kendji Steinbach (Ned) 6-1 Nico Bado (Gib)
Semi-finals:
Kendji Steinbach (Ned) 5-2 Bradley van der Velden (Ned)
Nico Bado (Gib) 5-2 Aidan O’Hara (Ire)
Quarter-finals:
Kendji Steinbach (Ned) 4-0 Leo Howard (Eng)
Bradley van der Velden (Ned) 4-3 Ryan Branley (Eng)
Aidan O’Hara (Ire) 4-1 Mitchell Lawrie (Sco)
Nico Bado (Gib) 4-2 Joseph Westby (Eng)
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