Lex Paeshuyse and Dominik Kocik were the event winners on the second and final day of JDC Advanced Tour Q-School in Coventry, while nine other players secured their places on the 2025 tour.
On an action-packed day, the JDC’s world champion Paeshuyse of Belgium struck first to claim his tour card by winning Event 3, before Slovakia’s Kocik joined him as one of the four automatic card winners as he took the Event 4 title.
They will be joined on the tour by Saturday’s two winners, Ben Townley of England and Jack Courtney of Ireland, as well as nine players from the rolling order of merit.
Those players are: Lee Bradshaw (England), Leo Howard (England), Kaya Baysal (England), Jayden Walker (England), Rhys Butler (England), Craig Devlin (Scotland), Jack Peet (England), Taylor McGuckian (England) and Kyle Davidson (Scotland).
England’s Jake Hobbs and Belgium’s Senne Aerts deserve a mention for finishing level on points with Peet, McGuckian and Davidson, missing out only on leg difference.
Event 3
Lex Paeshuyse recently succeeded Luke Littler as the JDC world champion by winning on the big stage at Alexandra Palace – but he still had to earn his spot on the Advanced Tour, which he did with flying colours.
The 13-year-old Belgian beat 12-year-old Englishman Jayden Walker 4-3 in a thrilling final. Walker led 3-1 before Paeshuyse staged a stunning comeback to seal the title and the automatic spot on the Advanced Tour.
After the pair traded legs of 19 and 21 darts, respectively, the next five legs of a fascinating final were all 16-darters or better, underlining the high standard of players competing for places on the Advanced Tour.
Walker held in 14 darts, and then broke in 14 for a 3-1 lead, before Paeshuyse broke back in 15 and then held in five visits to force a deciding leg, in which the Belgian went out in 16 darts to seal the event win with Walker sitting on 25 having wired the bull for an 88 checkout.
The world champion produced the goods throughout the event, producing many highlights along the way, including a 4-1 win over Callum Ryan in the last 64 which saw him produce an average of 88.95 and a 12-dart leg.
He survived a scare in the last 16, beating Junior Howard 4-3, before stamping his authority on the event with wins against Leo Howard, Rhys Butler and Walker.
Walker arrived at Q-School with high expectations and the praise of the PDC’s world No 1 and No 2 ringing in his ears – and he did not disappoint.
He played some excellent darts during the event, reeling off three successive 80-plus averages to reach the semis, before seeing off England’s Taylor McGuckian in the last four.
There was another deep run for England’s Kaya Baysal, the Event 2 runner-up, who played consistently well in reaching the last eight, where he lost 4-3 to McGuckian.
RESULTS:
Final:
Lex Paeshuyse (Bel) 4-3 Jayden Walker (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Lex Paeshuyse (Bel) 4-1 Rhys Butler (Eng)
Jayden Walker (Eng) 4-1 Taylor McGuckian (Eng)
Quarter-finals:
Lex Paeshuyse (Bel) 4-2 Leo Howard (Eng)
Rhys Butler (Eng) 4-2 Riley Emery (Eng)
Taylor McGuckian (Eng) 4-3 Kaya Baysal (Eng)
Jayden Walker (Eng) 4-0 Senne Aerts (Bel)
Event 4
Dominik Kocik of Slovakia was the fourth and final event winner at Q-School, beating England’s Lee Bradshaw 4-2 in the final on Sunday evening.
The 15-year-old trailed 1-0 and 2-1, before reeling off three successive legs to seal the title and ensure he qualified for the Advanced Tour as one of the four event winners.
The first four legs saw holds of throw, before Kocik broke in the fifth and then held his nerve to wrap up the win, with Englishman Bradshaw, 14, joining him on the Advanced Tour via the rolling order of merit.
Kocik certainly earned his victory, coming through three different matches by a scoreline of 4-3 on his way to the final.
He was staring down the barrel at 3-1 down against England’s Alfie Armitage in the last 64, with his opponent missing match darts. But he held his nerve to find a way through – as he did against Arthur Allston in the quarter-final and Leo Howard in the semis.
Bradshaw, by comparison, had enjoyed a relatively straightforward run to the final, not once being taken to a deciding leg, as he won his first two matches 4-0, his next two 4-1 and the two after that 4-2.
He beat England’s Callum Mitchell 4-2 in the quarter-final, including a 16-dart leg, before a 4-2 win against Scotland’s Craig Devlin in the semi-final. That match had gone with throw – until the sixth leg, when Bradshaw took out 76 to break and seal his place in the final.
RESULTS:
Final:
Dominik Kocik (Svk) 4-2 Lee Bradshaw (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Lee Bradshaw (Eng) 4-2 Craig Devlin (Sco)
Dominik Kocik (Svk) 4-3 Leo Howard (Eng)
Quarter-finals:
Lee Bradshaw (Eng) 4-2 Callum Mitchell (Eng)
Craig Devlin (Sco) 4-3 Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng)
Leo Howard (Eng) 4-2 Jake Hobbs (Eng)
Dominik Kocik (Svk) 4-3 Arthur Allston (Eng)
ADVANCED TOUR CARD WINNERS:
Event winners: Ben Townley, Jack Courtney, Lex Paeshuyse, Dominik Kocik
Order of merit: Lee Bradshaw, Leo Howard, Kaya Baysal, Jayden Walker, Rhys Butler, Craig Devlin, Jack Peet, Taylor McGuckian, Kyle Davidson
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