Brad Phillips was named the JDC Scott Farms European Open on Saturday evening as he defeated Sean Cummins in a gripping final at the all action sports centre in Bristol.
Phillips, who had performed admirably all day, proved a step too far for Irish prospect Cummins. 15-year-old Phillips, who will be performing on the PDC Development Tour next year, hitting two maximums in a sensational final performance.
Cummins reached the semi-finals dropping just four legs, and keeping his tournament average well above the 75 mark. He would save his best performance for the glitz and glamour of the evening session.
An 87 average, his best performance of the weekend, was enough to see off Scotland’s Nathan Girvan in a deciding leg and but the 15-year-old into a first JDC major final.
Bradley Phillips would outscore the Irish youngster in the early stages of the tournament, smashing in a 89.7 average in his 4-0 demolition of England teammate Tavis Dudeney. Wins of Gibraltar’s Justin Hewitt and then the Netherland’s Owen Roelofs would set up an all English semi-final.
Henry Coates would provide the opposition as Phillips looked to build on three MODUS UK Tour wins in 2018. The 12-year-old had been a standout performer throughout the afternoon, and he ran ‘Bedhead’ close in a dramatic final four encounter.
A 171 and two 140’s were not enough to defeat the rampant Phillips. With a maximum and 33% checkout rate to his name, Phillips cruised into the final.
Jurjen van der Velde produced the highest average of the day in hi 4-0 last 64 win over Reece Pauling, the Dutchman hammering home a 93.9 three-dart average.
Harry Gregory was another heavy scorer in the opening rounds, averaging 84 in his victory over Scotland’s Johnny Gallazzi, but would bow out in the following round to have Daan Bastiaansen.
The players return to the Action Indoor Sports Centre for Sunday’s JDC Junior Darts World Championships, starting around 11pm.
