Arthur Allston won two of the four JDC Foundation Tour events over the Easter weekend to increase his lead at the top of the rankings to 18 points with eight events to play.
There were also first event wins of the Foundation Tour season for Declan Mainwaring and Taylor James-Harding in Coventry.
Allston was the standout performer on an excellent weekend of darts, with the 15-year-old from Suffolk winning Event 10 on Saturday and then following it up by triumphing in Event 12 on Sunday.
In Event 10, he only dropped three legs in his first six matches, which included a 90-plus average in a 3-1 last-16 win over Hayden Ball, clinching the win with a 140 checkout.
He beat Alex Hopkins 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final, hitting the winning double with his opponent waiting on double 15. In the final, Allston beat Ethan Baines 5-2, needing a 124 checkout to hold throw in the third leg, before grabbing the decisive break and closing out the win.
He ended the weekend on a high by winning Event 12 – his fourth event win of the Foundation Tour season.
Again, he was decisive in the early rounds, dropping only three legs on his route to the final. His best performance of the event came in the semi-final, beating Louis Jones 4-1 with another 90-plus average.
The match went with throw in the first three legs before Allston broke with a 120 checkout and then sealed the win with an 82 checkout.
The final was an excellent match, with Allston fighting back from 4-2 down to beat Callum Ryan 5-4. Ryan broke throw with a 96 checkout to lead 2-1, to spark a run of four consecutive breaks of throw, including Allston taking out 146 with Ryan waiting on 32. Allston sealed the win with a 14-dart leg, hitting a 180 to leave 46, which he took care of in two darts.
There was almost a dream send-off for Craig Murtagh, with the 17-year-old Northern Irishman reaching the semi-final in his last Foundation Tour event. He will be too old to compete in future events but bowed out with an excellent run to the semis – his best performance of the season.
Allston was not the only player to celebrate over the weekend, with Mainwaring and James-Harding also tasting glory.
Mainwaring won the first event of the Easter weekend, the 15-year-old from Ashton-under-Lyne beating Kaleb Gascoyne 5-2 in the final after a superb run, in which he did not drop a leg in his first four matches.
In the final, Mainwaring broke throw for a 3-1 lead and then took out 98 to move within one leg of victory. Gascoyne hit tops to maintain hope, but Mainwaring got the job done in the next leg to seal his first Foundation Tour win.
There was also a first win for 14-year-old James-Harding, who won Event 11, beating Charlie Greensmith in the final.
Greensmith broke throw in the opening leg, but James-Harding soon settled down, breaking straight back, holding, then breaking again to lead 3-1. Even though Greensmith broke back, James-Harding did the same – and then held throw to clinch a 5-2 win.
The next round of events takes place in Coventry on the weekend of May 3-4.
EVENT 9
Final:
Declan Mainwaring (Eng) 5-2 Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Declan Mainwaring (Eng) 4-1 Kyle Gilding (Eng)
Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng) 4-3 Jake Robinson (Eng)
EVENT 10
Final:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 5-2 Ethan Baines (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 4-3 Alex Hopkins (Eng)
Ethan Baines (Eng) 4-3 Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng)
EVENT 11
Final:
Taylor James-Harding (Eng) 5-2 Charlie Greensmith (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Taylor James-Harding (Eng) 4-1 Owen Black (Wal)
Charlie Greensmith (Eng) 4-2 Ethan Baines (Eng)
EVENT 12
Final:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 5-4 Callum Ryan (Eng)
Semi-finals:
Arthur Allston (Eng) 4-1 Louis Jones (Eng)
Callum Ryan (Eng) 4-2 Craig Murtagh (Nir)
RANKINGS
Arthur Allston (Eng) 45 points
Kaleb Gascoyne (Eng) 27 points
Jake Hobbs (Eng) 26 points
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