THERE was success for Dimitri van den Bergh and Josh Payne in Coventry on Saturday as the pair were both victorious in a Youth Tour double header at the Ricoh Arena.
Van den Bergh cemented his place at the summit of the PDC Youth Tour order of merit with victory over Adam Smith-Neale, while Payne defeated Keegan Brown to secure his maiden Youth Tour crown.
In the day’s first event, van den Bergh secured his third PDC Youth Tour title of the year as he comfortably disposed of 20-year-old Smith-Neale at the Ricoh.
Smith-Neale had only got past the last 64 on one occasion in his previous eight Youth Tour events, but enjoyed a welcome return to form as he beat Dirk van Duijvenbode, Rowby-John Rodriguez and Payne en route to the final.
Van den Bergh defeated Harry Ward, Mike Zuydwijk, and Kurt Parry in his opening rounds to set up a tasty quarter-final matchup with James Hubbard, who was placed just below the 20-year-old in the rankings.
However, it was the number one who edged a tight encounter 4-3 before going on to beat Ryan de Vreede to seal his place in the last two.
And van den Bergh’s impressive form would continue in the final as raced into a 2-0 lead, taking out 20 on double 10 on both occasions, before Smith-Neale hit back with a superb ton-plus checkout to register his first leg.
The Belgian showed his class though and reacted with an impressive checkout of his own, taking out 92 to regain his two-leg advantage, before winning the next leg to seal a 4-1 success.
In the second event of the afternoon, Payne won his first PDC Youth Tour event with a sensational comeback victory over current World Youth champion Brown.
The 20-year-old had already beaten Brown 4-2 in the quarter-finals of the first event, before coming back from 3-0 down in the final to secure a second victory of the day against the youngster.
Payne had stormed out of the blocks in the afternoon, dropping just two legs in the first four rounds, before securing back-to-back 4-3 wins over Jake Jones and Rowby-John Rodriguez to book his place in the last two.
Brown would head into the final in similarly strong form as he backed up solid victories over Stephen Mallams, Rob Hewson, Nicholas Day and Mike Zuydwijk with two explosive displays in his next rounds.
First the 21-year-old comfortably disposed of the day’s earlier winner van den Bergh 4-1 in the quarter-finals, before whitewashing Reece Robinson, who had won the last Youth Tour event in July, 4-0 in the semis.
And it looked as if Brown would complete a hat trick of extremely impressive wins as he raced into a 3-0 lead in the final at the Ricoh.
However, a superb 110 checkout for Payne would spark a sensational comeback as he took the next three legs on the spin to break Brown’s heart and steal the £1000 winner’s cheque from right under his nose.
The PDC Development Tour weekend in Coventry continues on Sunday, when a double-header of PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events will be held at the Ricoh Arena.
View the full list of results from both events below.
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event 13
Saturday September 27, Ricoh Arena, Coventry
First Round
Joshua Richardson 4-0 Ryan Delaney
Connor Scutt 4-1 James Harris
Arron Fairweather 4-3 Ben Songhurst
Adam Smith-Neale 4-0 Brad Burnett
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-0 Adam Crawford
Sam Head 4-1 Ryan McCarthy
Liam Johnson BYE
Charlie Symons 4-0 Matthew Dargue
Jack Petcher BYE
Reece Robinson 4-1 Mike De Decker
George Edwards BYE
Robyn Byrne 4-0 Jack Fuller
Dean Reynolds BYE
Danny Roberts 4-3 James Thompson
Nicholas Hastings BYE
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-0 Callum Carr
Sean Johnson 4-2 Andrew Clark
Aden Kirk 4-2 Ryan Jones
Josh Payne 4-0 Liam Gallagher
Ryan Newton 4-2 Shane Friedlander
David Carr BYE
Liam Cooper 4-0 Ben Oldroyd
Andrew Ryan BYE
Tommy Lishman 4-3 Arron Holdstock
Steve Lennon BYE
Keegan Brown 4-3 George Killington
James Wilkinson BYE
Samuel Fuller 4-0 Jack Holmes
Jamie Branton BYE
Jordan Patterson 4-0 Lee Clark
Stephen Mallams BYE
Sam Hewson 4-0 Kurtis Atkins
Nicholas Day 4-0 James Muckian
Adam Hunt 4-0 Sam Hill
Sam van der Reijden 4-2 David Day
Matthew Dicken 4-0 Krit Middleton
Shaun Lovett BYE
Matt Smith 4-2 Justin Evans
Luke Allen BYE
Dan Green 4-1 Chris Gower
Kacey Jones BYE
George Gardner 4-2 James Young
Jeffrey de Zwaan BYE
Ryan de Vreede 4-1 Scott Johnson
Jake Jones BYE
Dean Finn 4-1 Tony Field
Tommy Wilson BYE
Max Hopp 4-1 Bradley Coltman
Kurt Parry 4-0 George Parker
Josh McCarthy 4-0 Connor Roach
John de Kruijf 4-0 Jordan Singh
Zoe Jones 4-2 Ben Cheesman
Dimitri van den Bergh BYE
Harry Ward 4-0 Brandonn Monk
Mike Zuydwijk BYE
Brandon Walsh 4-0 Josie Paterson
Michael Artiss BYE
Ted Evetts 4-1 Rick Pellow
Rob Hewson BYE
Jack Tweddell 4-0 Dan Read
Nick Kenny BYE
Kieran Bridgwater 4-3 Cain Unwin
James Hubbard BYE
Jack Faragher 4-2 Daniel Lidgett
Second Round
Joshua Richardson 4-0 Connur Scutt
Adam Smith-Neale 4-1 Arron Fairweather
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-2 Sam Head
Charlie Symons 4-1 Liam Johnson
Reece Robinson 4-1 Jack Petcher
George Edwards 4-3 Robyn Byrne
Danny Roberts 4-3 Dean Reynolds
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-2 Nicholas Hastings
Aden Kirk 4-3 Sean Johnson
Josh Payne 4-2 Ryan Newton
Liam Cooper 4-0 David Carr
Andrew Ryan 4-3 Tommy Lishman
Keegan Brown 4-2 Steve Lennon
Samuel Fuller 4-0 James Wilkinson
Jordan Patterson 4-2 Jamie Branton
Sam Hewson 4-1 Stephen Mallams
Adam Hunt 4-1 Nicholas Day
Matthew Dicken 4-0 Sam van der Reijden
Matt Smith 4-3 Shaun Lovett
Dan Green 4-2 Luke Allen
George Gardner 4-3 Kacey Jones
Ryan de Vreede 4-3 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jake Jones 4-1 Dean Finn
Max Hopp 4-1 Tommy Wilson
Kurt Parry 4-3 Josh McCarthy
John de Kruijf 4-2 Zoe Jones
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-2 Harry Ward
Mike Zuydwijk 4-3 Brandon Walsh
Ted Evetts 4-3 Michael Artiss
Jack Tweddell 4-1 Rob Hewson
Kieran Bridgwater 4-3 Nick Kenny
James Hubbard 4-2 Jack Faragher
Losers: £25
Last 32
Adam Smith-Neale 4-2 Joshua Richardson
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-0 Charlie Symons
Reece Robinson 4-0 George Edwards
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-0 Danny Roberts
Josh Payne 4-3 Aden Kirk
Liam Cooper 4-3 Andrew Ryan
Keegan Brown 4-1 Samuel Fuller
Sam Hewson 4-0 Jordan Patterson
Adam Hunt 4-1 Matt Dicken
Matt Smith 4-2 Dan Green
Ryan de Vreede 4-1 George Gardner
Max Hopp 4-1 Jake Jones
Kurt Parry 4-1 John de Kruijf
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Mike Zuydwijk
Ted Evetts 4-3 Jack Tweddell
James Hubbard 4-3 Kieran Bridgwater
Losers: £50
Last 16
Adam Smith-Neale 4-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-0 Reece Robinson
Josh Payne 4-0 Liam Cooper
Keegan Brown 4-1 Sam Hewson
Adam Hunt 4-0 Matt Smith
Ryan de Vreede 4-2 Max Hopp
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-2 Kurt Parry
James Hubbard 4-3 Ted Evetts
Losers: £100
Quarter-Finals
Adam Smith-Neale 4-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Josh Payne 4-2 Keegan Brown
Ryan de Vreede 4-3 Adam Hunt
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-3 James Hubbard
Losers: £150
Semi-Finals
Adam Smith-Neale 4-3 Josh Payne
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Ryan de Vreede
Losers: £250
Final
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Winner: £1000
Runner-Up: £500
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event 14
Saturday September 27, Ricoh Arena, Coventry
First Round
Sam Head 4-2 Cain Unwin
Kieran Bridgwater 4-2 Matt Smith
Jack Tweddell 4-2 Josie Paterson
Jack Holmes 4-3 Ryan McCarthy
Tommy Wilson BYE
Arron Fairweather 4-3 Aden Kirk
Rowby-John Rodriguez BYE
John de Kruijf 4-2 Aaron Holdstock
George Killington BYE
Tony Field 4-0 Charlie Symons
Harry Ward BYE
Max Hopp 4-3 James Thompson
Jamie Branton BYE
Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-3 Michael Artiss
Matthew Dargue BYE
Ryan Newton 4-2 Dean Finn
Ryan Jones 4-0 Ben Cheesman
Jake Jones 4-1 Connor Roach
Sam van der Reijden 4-3 Shaun Lovett
Matthew Dicken 4-2 Liam Gallagher
Adam Hunt BYE
Dean Reynolds 4-0 Connor Scutt
Kurtis Atkins BYE
Mike de Decker 4-0 Ben Songhurst
James Wilkinson BYE
Sam Hill 4-3 Samuel Fuller
Liam Cooper BYE
Brandon Walsh 4-0 Jack Fuller
Robyn Byrne BYE
James Hubbard 4-2 Dan Green
Josh Payne BYE
Dan Read 4-0 Liam Johnson
Danny Roberts 4-0 Adam Crawford
Reece Robinson 4-1 Jordan Patterson
Ryan de Vreede 4-3 Joshua Richardson
Adam Smith-Neale 4-0 Rick Pellow
Nicholas Hastings BYE
David Day 4-3 Sean Johnson
Sam Hewson BYE
Zoe Jones 4-0 Jordan Singh
George Parker BYE
Justin Evans 4-1 George Edwards
George Gardner BYE
Chris Gower 4-2 Scott Johnson
Ted Evetts BYE
Jack Faragher 4-1 Bradley Coltman
James Young BYE
Josh McCarthy 4-0 Nick Kenny
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Jack Petcher
Ben Oldroyd 4-2 Krit Middleton
Dirk van Duijvenbode BYE
Steve Lennon 4-3 Brandonn Monk
Andrew Ryan BYE
Daniel Lidgett 4-2 Kacey Jones
Kurt Parry BYE
Tommy Lishman 4-3 David Carr
Callum Carr BYE
Shane Friedlander 4-3 Luke Allen
Brad Burnett BYE
Mike Zuydwijk 4-0 Ryan Delaney
Nicholas Day BYE
Andrew Clark 4-0 Lee Clarke
Rob Hewson BYE
Keegan Brown 4-0 Stephen Mallams
Second Round
Sam Head 4-3 Kieran Bridgwater
Jack Tweddell 4-2 Jack Holmes
Arron Fairweather 4-2 Tommy Wilson
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-3 John de Kruijf
Tony Field 4-3 George Killington
Max Hopp 4-0 Harry Ward
Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-0 Jamie Branton
Ryan Newton 4-0 Matthew Dargue
Jack Jones 4-1 Ryan Jones
Matthew Dicken 4-0 Sam van der Reijden
Dean Reynolds 4-0 Adam Hunt
Mike de Decker 4-0 Kurtis Atkins
Sam Hill 4-2 James Wilkinson
Liam Cooper 4-3 Brandon Walsh
James Hubbard 4-2 Robyn Byrne
Josh Payne 4-1 Dan Read
Reece Robinson 4-0 Danny Roberts
Ryan de Vreede 4-2 Adam Smith-Neale
David Day 4-2 Nicholas Hastings
Zoe Jones 4-1 Sam Hewson
Justin Evans 4-1 George Parker
George Gardner 4-3 Chris Gower
Ted Evetts 4-3 Jack Faragher
Josh McCarthy 4-0 James Young
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-3 Ben Oldroyd
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-3 Steve Lennon
Daniel Lidgett 4-3 Andrew Ryan
Kurt Parry 4-2 Tommy Lishman
Shane Friedlander 4-0 Callum Carr
Mike Zuydwijk 4-0 Brad Burnett
Nicholas Day 4-1 Andrew Clark
Keegan Brown 4-2 Rob Hewson
Losers: £25
Last 32
Sam Head 4-3 Jack Tweddell
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-2 Arron Fairweather
Max Hopp 4-0 Tony Field
Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-2 Ryan Newton
Jake Jones 4-1 Matthew Dicken
Mike de Decker 4-1 Dean Reynolds
Sam Hill 4-2 Liam Cooper
Josh Payne 4-1 James Hubbard
Reece Robinson 4-2 Ryan de Vreede
Zoe Jones 4-1 David Day
George Gardner 4-1 Justin Evans
Josh McCarthy 4-1 Ted Evetts
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-1 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Kurt Parry 4-3 Daniel Lidgett
Mike Zuydwijk 4-1 Shane Friedlander
Keegan Brown 4-3 Nicholas Day
Losers: £50
Last 16
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-0 Sam Head
Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-2 Max Hopp
Jake Jones 4-3 Mike de Decker
Josh Payne 4-0 Sam Hill
Reece Robinson 4-2 Zoe Jones
Josh McCarthy 4-1 George Gardner
Dimitri van den Bergh 4-0 Kurt Parry
Keegan Brown 4-2 Mike Zuydwijk
Losers: £100
Quarter-Finals
Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-1 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Josh Payne 4-3 Jake Jones
Reece Robinson 4-3 Josh McCarthy
Keegan Brown 4-1 Dimitri van den Bergh
Losers: £150
Semi-Finals
Josh Payne 4-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Keegan Brown 4-0 Reece Robinson
Losers: £250
Final
Josh Payne 4-3 Keegan Brown
Winner: £1000
Runner-Up: £500