With three players having won their first senior PDC televised titles in 2022, the face of the sport at the top level is changing – so we look at ten products of the Junior Darts Corporation system bidding to make their mark.
The JDC - the PDC’s junior darts partner - has evolved from a series of nationwide Academies to an international development circuit which also hosts tour events, international knockout tournaments and the Junior World Darts Championship.
Joe Cullen and Ross Smith - who have picked up their first TV titles in 2022 - competed on the PDC’s Development Tour during their emergence, and the JDC is now seeing the fruits of their labour in the progression of prospects onto the PDC circuit.
Here, we look at ten young talents forcing their way into the darting big-time…
Keane Barry
The 2019 JDC Junior World Champion has already made tremendous strides in the PDC since securing his Tour Card in 2021, reaching the UK Open semi-finals in March with wins over the likes of Jeffrey de Zwaan, Ricky Evans and James Wade in Minehead.
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
The Austrian star - crowned JDC Junior World Champion in 2017 - is one of the most exciting prospects in the sport, and after scooping five Development Tour titles in 2021, he featured at last year’s Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals before making his World Championship bow in December.
Bradley Brooks
JDC Academy product Brooks won the JDC European Open in 2017, and after claiming a PDC Tour Card for the second time in 2020, he was crowned PDC World Youth Champion later that year, before celebrating a hat-trick of Development Tour titles in 2021 to top the Development Tour Order of Merit.
Jurjen van der Velde
Van der Velde has produced some superb displays in 2022, winning a brace of Challenge Tour titles and a second Development Tour crown, and the 2018 JDC Junior World Champion is provisionally set to claim a two-year Tour Card for 2023/24 via the Development Tour Order of Merit.
Maikel Verberk
The 23-year-old Dutchman burst on to the scene with JDC Junior World Championship success in 2016, and while he’s been a regular feature on the Development Tour, he made his televised PDC debut at the 2021 UK Open, courtesy of his Challenge Tour exploits in 2020.
Joshua Richardson
Richardson - son of former PDC Tour Card Holder James - won the inaugural JDC Junior World Championship in 2015, and he recently celebrated his maiden Development Tour title in Wigan to round off the 2022 campaign.
Bradly Roes
Roes is another emerging talent, and the 18-year-old defeated Leighton Bennett in last year’s JDC Junior World Championship final to become the third Dutchman to lift the title, following in the footsteps of Van der Velde and Verberk.
Leighton Bennett
Bennett has enjoyed sustained success in the JDC system, winning multiple tour events and reaching last year’s JDC Junior World Championship final. The 16-year-old - part of England’s JDC World Cup winning team in 2021 - competed at the 2022 PDC Qualifying School and has gained experience on the ProTour, Challenge Tour and Development Tour this year.
Luke Littler
Littler is one of the sport’s most promising talents, and the 15-year-old enjoyed a trophy-laden 2021-22 campaign on the JDC circuit, winning the World Cup, MVG Masters and Gibraltar Darts Open, landing a nine-darter live on stage in Gibraltar, and going on to claim the JDC Super 16 title on stage in Milton Keynes.
Henry Coates
Coates - a 16-year-old star from Derbyshire - was also part of England’s JDC World Cup winning side in 2021, and has continued his rise in 2022, defeating Bennett to win a second Advanced Tour event of his career. The teenager has also made his Development Tour debut with appearances in nine events this year, and he qualified for the World Youth Championship.
For information about the JDC, please visit www.juniordarts.com.