Nathan Rafferty and Keane Barry claimed victories on Friday, as a blockbuster weekend of Winmau Development Tour action began in Germany.
Two of the sport’s most prodigious talents were victorious in Events 11 and 12, as players aged 16-24 featured in the first of three days of competition at the Halle 39 in Hildesheim.
Rafferty edged out Gian van Veen 5-4 in a high-quality Event 11 final, averaging 96 and converting a 114 finish in the deciding leg to scoop the £2,000 title, his sixth on the Development Tour.
The Northern Irishman began his campaign with whitewash wins over Pim Van Bijnen, Todd Pearce, Fransy Kalis and Marvin Koch, having also dumped out former World Youth champion Bradley Brooks.
Rafferty then reeled off three straight legs to claim a 5-3 victory over Lewy Williams in the last eight, before defeating Barry by the same scoreline in the semi-finals.
Van Veen also kicked off Event 11 with three successive whitewashes, and he overcame former Development Tour Event winners Jarred Cole and Jurjen van der Velde, only to be denied a maiden title in a dramatic finale.
Elsewhere, Geert Nentjes succumbed to Conor Heneghan in the last 32, despite posting averages of 111, 103.54 and 109.31 in wins over Connor Arberry, Owen Roelofs and Mark Tabak respectively.
In Event 12, Barry clinched his fourth Development Tour crown with a resounding 5-0 victory over fellow countryman Ciaran Teehan.
After battling past Bradly Roes in a scrappy affair, Barry followed up whitewash wins over Jan Weidauer and Heneghan with a comprehensive 4-1 success against Keelan Kay.
The UK Open semi-finalist posted a 99 average to edge out Event Nine winner Nathan Girvan, and a 101 average saw him condemn Williams to a second quarter-final exit of the day.
The 19-year-old then recovered from a sluggish start to account for Dylan Slevin in another all-Irish affair, which propelled him to the £2,000 top prize and a second Development Tour title of the campaign.
Having secured a deciding-leg win over his compatriot Katie Sheldon in round two, Teehan claimed the scalps of emerging Dutchman Kevin Doets and Cole to record his best showing of 2022.
However, the best performance of Event 12 was registered by Welsh youngster Alec Small, who averaged 107.36 in the last 16, before losing out to Teehan in the last eight.
Saturday will see Events 13 and 14 take place in Hildesheim, with play expected to begin at approximately 9:30 GMT.
The top two players from the 2022 Development Tour Order of Merit will win a PDC Tour Card for 2023-24 and a place in the 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship.
See full results in the Match Centre.
See match stats through DartConnect.
PDC Winmau Development Tour
Friday June 3, Halle 39, Hildesheim
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Keane Barry 5-1 Jack Vincent
Nathan Rafferty 5-3 Lewy Williams
Gian van Veen 5-2 Cavan Phillips
Jurjen van der Velde 5-3 Danny Jansen
Semi-Finals
Nathan Rafferty 5-3 Keane Barry
Gian van Veen 5-3 Jurjen van der Velde
Final
Nathan Rafferty 5-4 Gian van Veen
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
Keane Barry 5-1 Lewy Williams
Dylan Slevin 5-1 Maikel Mossou
Ciaran Teehan 5-2 Alec Small
Jarred Cole 5-0 Jurjen van der Velde
Semi-Finals
Keane Barry 5-3 Dylan Slevin
Ciaran Teehan 5-3 Jarred Cole
Final
Keane Barry 5-0 Ciaran Teehan