![Wessel Nijman (PDC)](/sites/default/files/styles/news_hero_tablet/public/2024-07/ET6_Littler%20v%20Nijman%205-2%20%281%29.jpg?h=a6640b07&itok=qjgmMDdE)
Wessel Nijman clinched his fifth Winmau Development Tour crown of 2024 on Saturday, as Niko Springer doubled his title tally in Milton Keynes.
Following back-to-back wins on Friday, Nijman continued his sparkling form at the Marshall Arena, succumbing to Springer in the Event 18 decider before adding to his haul in Event 19.
Springer - an Event Ten winner back in May - had lost to Nijman in three previous finals throughout the year, but he avenged those hat-trick of defeats to surge up to third on the Development Tour Order of Merit.
The 24-year-old kicked off his Event 18 campaign with a 4-0 demolition of his compatriot Oliver Klein, before edging out Event 16 runner-up Tavis Dudeney and Belgium's Born Van Put to reach round four.
Springer then posted ton-topping averages to dismiss Llew Bevan and Jack Male, and after winning through another deciding-leg tie against Gibraltar's Craig Galliano, he stormed through to the final with a whitewash win over Ireland's Dylan Slevin,
Springer trailed 3-0 and 4-2 against Nijman, but a skin-saving 158 checkout in leg seven turned the tide, as the emerging German completed the comeback to boost his hopes of a World Darts Championship debut in December.
Nijman extended his winning run on the Winmau Development Tour to 23 games in advancing to the Event 18 final, conceding just four legs in his opening seven matches.
The Dutch darter averaged 109.21 in his sensational last 16 success against Charlie Manby, and he produced another eye-catching display to sweep aside Tour Card Holder Leighton Bennett in the last eight.
Despite his narrow defeat to Springer, Nijman returned to winning ways in Event 19, winning through five last-leg deciders on his way to pocketing the tenth Development Tour title of his fledgling career.
Whitewash wins over Xymen Dobbelaere and Jakub Janaszkiewicz were sandwiched in between 4-3 victories against Jannes Bremermann and Viktor Tingstrom, and he came out on top in another seven-leg affair against Cole Davey to reach the quarter-finals.
There, Nijman denied newly crowned Women's World Matchplay champion Beau Greaves for the third time in four events, surviving multiple match darts to prevail in a nervy last-leg shoot-out.
The 24-year-old then won another marathon contest against Germany's Dominik Gruellich to set up a showdown against Jack Male, where he ran out a convincing 5-2 winner to cap off another memorable day in Milton Keynes.
Male denied Springer in the semi-finals to thwart the German's bid for back-to-back titles, and he also celebrated notable wins against Thomas Banks and Northern Ireland's Nathan Rafferty to claim the £1,000 runner-up prize.
Jack Howarth and Sebastian Bialecki also made their mark with nine-darters in Event 18, achieving perfection against Malik Istvan and Bennett respectively.
However, the headlines belonged to Nijman, who now boasts a sizeable £6,700 lead over Keane Barry on the Development Tour Order of Merit, heading into Event 20 on Sunday.
The top two players from the 2024 Development Tour Order of Merit will win a PDC Tour Card for 2025-26 and a place in the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The event draws and results are listed in the Match Centre.
Click here for match stats through DartConnect.
2024 Winmau Development Tour
Saturday July 27, Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
Event 18
Quarter-Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-1 Leighton Bennett
Dylan Dowling 5-2 Keenan Thomas
Dylan Slevin 5-0 Angelo Balsamo
Niko Springer 5-4 Craig Galliano
Semi-Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-0 Dylan Dowling
Niko Springer 5-0 Dylan Slevin
Final
Niko Springer 5-4 Wessel Nijman
Event 19
Quarter-Finals
Jack Male 5-2 Nathan Rafferty
Niko Springer 5-4 Ryan Branley
Dominik Gruellich 5-3 Leighton Bennett
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Beau Greaves
Semi-Finals
Jack Male 5-4 Niko Springer
Wessel Nijman 5-4 Dominik Gruellich
Final
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Jack Male