Archie Self and Daniel Stephenson shared the glory as the 2024 JDC Advanced Tour – and the post-Luke Littler era – got off to a dramatic start in Coventry.
Englishman Self, 14, won the first event of the season after beating Ireland’s Aidan O’Hara – the current JDC European Open champion – 6-5 in a nail-biting final, before his compatriot Stephenson, 16, bagged the second event after beating Ryan Branley in another deciding-leg shootout.
Self saw off Rune Van Damme of Belgium, Jack Nankervis of England, Moritz Linn of Germany and Stephenson, before his 6-5 win against O’Hara.
In the second event of the day, Stephenson beat Englishmen Stephen Podmore, Nankervis and Callum Beddows, then Gibraltar’s Nico Bado, before edging past Branley in an 11-leg thriller.
EVENT 1 SUMMARY
SELF finished 16th in the Advanced Tour in 2023 and retained his tour card, having initially won it back at Q-School at the start of last year.
And the Berkshire-based thrower stated his intentions for the new season by winning the first event of 2024.
His 83.56 average against Van Damme was the highest in the opening round, as he won 4-2. In a competitive first round, eight of the 16 matches went the distance, including high-quality contests between Nankervis and Charlie O’Connor, and Stephenson and Daan Toxopeus.
Self was a 4-2 winner against Nankervis in round two, while JDC European Open champ O’Hara, breezed past Cayden Smith 4-0 as he settled into the day’s proceedings.
Half of the quarter-finalists hit 80-plus averages to underline the quality of the Advanced Tour field, with the highest average (89.59) being thrown by Kieran Thompson, who finished on the wrong side of a 4-1 defeat against Tergel Khurelkhuu.
In the semis, Self beat Stephenson 5-1 with an 82.74 average, after hitting checkouts of 108 and 84, while O’Hara hit a 125 out-shot in his 5-3 2in against Tergel.
The final itself was a thriller. Self led 2-0 thanks to a 150 checkout in the second leg, O’Hara pulled it back to 2-2 then went 4-3 up himself, before Self won three of the last four legs to clinch the title.
EVENT 2 SUMMARY
STEPHENSON has held an Advanced Tour card since 2022 – and the player from North-East England showed his experience at this level to successfully negotiate the second event of the day.
He hit the ground running in round one, beating Podmore 4-2 with a 78.79 average and finishes of 84 and 90. Other opening-round highlights included Tergel’s 92.49 average in his 4-0 win against recent Super 16 champion Joseph Westby, the Mongolian throwing two 171s and a 110 checkout.
Stephenson averaged 89.73 and Nankervis 86.27 in the second round as the eventual champion emerged with a 4-0 victory, while Branley came through arguably the match of the round against O’Hara. Branley won 4-3, clinching victory with a 110 checkout with O’Hara sitting on 80.
Branley showed character again in the quarter-finals, coming through 4-3 against Tergel having trailed 3-1, while Stephenson averaged 84.55 in his 4-1 win against Beddows.
After two deciding-leg finishes, Branley was a 5–0 winner in the semis, hitting the day’s highest average of 93.94 against Mason Teese, while Stephenson advanced with a 5-3 win over Bado.
The final was another classic that went the distance. Stephenson led 2-0 thanks to a 143 checkout in the second leg, then trailed 3-2 and 4-3, before clinching a high-scoring deciding leg to wrap up the title.
Steve Cotton
9/3/2024
