Owen Bates stormed to his second Winmau Development Tour title of 2025 on Saturday, as 23-year-old Patrik Williams celebrated a maiden victory in Leicester.
Saturday’s Development Tour double-header saw Events 8-9 take place at the Mattioli Arena, and it was Williams who emerged through a 299-player field in the day's opener to win his first title on the Winmau Development Tour.
The 23-year-old - who had never been past the last 16 on the Winmau Development Tour - managed to claim his first title with a 5-2 victory against Nathan Potter in the Event Eight decider.
Williams trailed early on in the game, before winning three legs on the spin in 17, 14 and 15 darts. Potter would then win a leg of his own, before Williams came back and won the final two legs to claim the title.
The Englishman kicked off Event Eight by beating Welshman Fabian Tapner 4-3 in a last-leg decider, before beating compatriots Harry Martin and Lleyton Molyneux to book his place in the last 32.
Williams then went on to beat Bram van Dijk and Coby Jones-Swanson in quick sucession, before seeing off Event Seven winner Ryan Branley, beating the 16-year-old 5-3. Williams then produced an excellent display, whitewashing Dutchman Damian Vetjens 5-0 to set up a tie against Potter.
Potter himself produced a trio of brilliant performances, beating Jurjen van der Velde, Dominik Gruellich and David Schlichting, but was left to rue a host of missed opportunities in the final.
Bates then triumphed in the Event Nine, as he beat German youngster Leon Weber 5-2 to secure his second Winmau Development Tour title of 2025.
The 22-year-old from Devon dropped nine legs in total all tournament, as he kicked off his Event Nine campaign with two whitewash victories against Alexander Melton and Karl-Louis Mueller.
The Englishman then went on to beat Jeffrey Keen and Taylor McGuckian, before producing a brilliant performance against Charlie Large, winning 4-0 and averaging 105.47 on his way to victory.
Bates’ precision on the outer ring continued into the latter stages of the competition, beating Keenan Thomas 5-1 in the quarter-finals, before dispatching of the Order of Merit leader Beau Greaves by the same scoreline in the last four.
Bates then went on to survive going behind in the final to Weber, as the Englishman trailed 2-1, before reeling off four legs on the spin in 14, 13, 15 and 17 darts to win his second title of the year.
The year’s second weekend of Winmau Development Tour action concludes on Sunday with Event Ten.
The top two players from the 2025 Development Tour Order of Merit will each win a PDC Tour Card for 2026-27 and a place in the 2025/26 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Greaves’ lead has been reduced to £1,900, after her closest challenger Bates closed the gap following his victory in Event Nine, whilst Charlie Manby, Ryan Branley and Sebastian Bialecki make up the current top five.
The event draws and results are listed in the Match Centre.
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2025 Winmau Development Tour
Saturday March 29, Mattioli Arena, Leicester
Event Eight
Quarter-Finals
Nathan Potter 5-3 Dominik Gruellich
David Schlichting 5-1 Owen Bates
Damian Vetjens 5-4 Levy Frauenfelder
Patrik Williams 5-3 Ryan Branley
Semi-Finals
Nathan Potter 5-2 David Schlichting
Patrik Williams 5-0 Damian Vetjens
Final
Patrik Williams 5-2 Nathan Potter
Event Nine
Quarter-Finals
Owen Bates 5-1 Keenan Thomas
Beau Greaves 5-2 Jannis Barkhausen
Sebastian Bialecki 5-2 Charlie Manby
Leon Weber 5-4 Jurjen van der Velde
Semi-Finals
Owen Bates 5-1 Beau Greaves
Leon Weber 5-3 Sebastian Bialecki
Final
Owen Bates 5-2 Leon Weber