TED EVETTS and Nathan Rafferty claimed the first two Unicorn Development Tour titles of 2019 on Saturday in Wigan.
The Robin Park Tennis Centre played host to the year's opening two tournaments for players aged 16-23, with Evetts and Raffert claiming their fifth and second Development Tour titles respectively.
Evetts picked up his fifth Development Tour title in the opening event of 2019 with a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland's Rafferty in the final.
The 21-year-old’s success on the 2018 Development Tour saw him qualify for the 2018/19 World Championship and regain his place on the ProTour, and Evetts wasted no time in replicating that success.
Evetts won his opening three matches of the day without the concession of a leg, before edging past Ciaran Teehan 4-3 to reach the last 16 where he saw off fellow Tour Card Holder Bradley Brooks 4-2.
A convincing 5-1 victory over Benjamin Smith in the quarter-finals was followed by a 5-2 success over Dutch youngster Geert Nentjes, before Evetts produced a stunning 103 average to take the first title of the year.
Rafferty bounced back from disappointment to storm to go all the way in Event Two, defeating Aiden Cope 5-2 in the final game of the day.
Rising star Rafferty, who reached the last 32 of the 2018 UK Open, didn't drop a leg in his opening two matches, before coming through deciding legs against William Borland and Brooks to advance to the quarter-finals.
There, a sensational performance saw Rafferty whitewash World Matchplay semi-finalist Jeffrey de Zwaan 5-0, before seeing off Wessel Nijman 5-3 to reach his second final of the day where he doubled his Development Tour title tally almost a year on from his maiden crown.
The Unicorn Development Tour continues on Sunday at Wigan's Robin Park Tennis Centre, as the likes of Evetts, Rafferty, De Zwaan and Luke Humphries return to battle it out at Events Three and Four.
Sunday's play will commence at 10.30am with Event Three, to be followed later in the day by Event Four. See event draws, live scores and results in DartConnect.
At the conclusion of the series of 20 tournaments across 2019, the top two players on the Unicorn Development Tour Order of Merit will earn a place at Alexandra Palace for the 2019/20 William Hill World Championship.
The Development Tour season concludes with the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship, with qualifiers from the Development Tour Order of Merit joined by international qualifiers in competing in that event.
2019 PDC Unicorn Development Tour
Saturday March 9, Robin Park Tennis Centre, Wigan
Event One
Last 16
Jim Moston 4-1 Tommy Lishman
Andrew Davidson 4-3 Lewis Pride
Harry Ward 4-1 Jurjen van der Velde
Nathan Rafferty 4-0 Callum Matthews
Ted Evetts 4-2 Bradley Brooks
Benjamin Smith 4-3 Jarred Cole
Geerty Nentjes 4-3 Berry van Peer
George Killington 4-3 Henk Snijder
Quarter-Finals
Andrew Davidson 5-1 Jim Moston
Nathan Rafferty 5-1 Harry Ward
Ted Evetts 5-1 Benjamin Smith
Geert Nentjes 5-2 George Killington
Semi-Finals
Nathan Rafferty 5-4 Andrew Davidson
Ted Evetts 5-2 Geert Nentjes
Final
Ted Evetts 5-0 Nathan Rafferty
Event Two
Last 16
Wessel Nijman 4-1 Marvin van Velzen
Callan Rydz 4-1 Thomas Lovely
Jeffrey de Zwaan 4-3 Lewis Pride
Nathan Rafferty 4-3 Bradley Brooks
Aiden Cope 4-1 Rhys Griffin
Luke Humphries 4-1 Matthew Holbrook
Keane Barry 4-3 Ciaran Teehan
Hywel Manuel 4-1 Kevin Doets
Quarter-Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Callan Rydz
Nathan Rafferty 5-0 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Aiden Cope 5-0 Luke Humphries
Keane Barry 5-0 Hywel Manuel
Semi-Finals
Nathan Rafferty 5-3 Wessel Nijman
Aiden Cope 5-4 Keane Barry
Final
Nathan Rafferty 5-2 Aiden Cope