Hopp & Aspinall Reach World Youth Final

MAX HOPP and Nathan Aspinall will contest the final of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship on Sunday November 29, after winning through Monday's early rounds of the £50,000 tournament.

A field of 64 players from around the world - including 13 international qualifiers from as far afield as Australia, India, America and Canada - took part in the tournament at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan.

Reigning World Youth Champion Keegan Brown saw his title defence end in the first round as he lost out 6-4 to Rowby-John Rodriguez in a repeat of the 2014 final.

However, Rodriguez would lose out to Josh Payne in the second round and was then surpassed by brother Roxy-James Rodriguez, who reached the semi-finals before suffering a 6-3 loss to Aspinall.

Aspinall, a 24-year-old from Stockport, has previously won a PDC Unicorn Development Tour event this year and will now compete for the £10,000 first prize at the Butlins Minehead Resort on Sunday November 29.

The number seven seed defeated James Thompson in his first round game before being pushed all the way by Sam Head and Scott Dale, and he then overcame Payne 6-4 in the quarter-finals before seeing off Rodriguez to reach the decider.

German 19-year-old starlet Hopp, meanwhile, dropped only one leg in each of his opening two wins, against Stephen Rosney and Berry van Peer, before seeing off Belgium's Kenny Neyens, Holland's Jeffrey de Zwaan and Dean Reynolds to qualify.

Reynolds - a PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour winner during 2015 - had defeated Australian qualifier Robbie King and former World Youth Champion James Hubbard during his run to the semi-finals, and pushed Hopp all the way to a deciding 11th leg.

Bradley Kirk, who won two Development Tour events last weekend, won through to the quarter-finals alongside de Zwaan, Payne and Scott Taylor, while Dutch trio Benito van de Pas, Jimmy Hendriks and Wouter Vaes were amongst the last 16.

Wales' Jamie Lewis, who has broken into the world's top 32 this year, was a second round casualty as he lost 6-4 to Neyens.

The PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final will be held on Sunday November 29 at the Butlins Minehead Resort during the Cash Converters Players Championship Finals.

The venue holds happy memories for Aspinall, who won through to the last 32 of the Coral UK Open back in March before losing out on the big stage to James Wade.

2015 PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship
First Round
Nick Kenny 6-4 Dimitri Van den Bergh (1)
Jeffrey De Zwaan 6-4 Tommy Lishman
Wouter Vaes 6-4 Jake Jones
Joshua Richardson 6-1 Andrew Briere
Berry van Peer (8) 6-3 Aaron Dyer
Max Hopp 6-1 Stephen Rosney
Kenny Neyes 6-2 Jordan Matthews
Jamie Lewis 6-0 Ryan Meikle
Dean Reynolds (5) 6-3 Robbie King
James Hubbard 6-1 Piyush Chauhan
Shaun Griffiths 6-1 Nicholas Day
Chris Quantock 6-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Mike De Decker (4) 6-2 Dawson Murschell
Sam Hewson 6-4 Sven Groen
Scott Taylor 6-3 Fredi Gselmann
Ted Evetts 6-4 Harry Ward
Josh Payne (2) 6-5 Mike Zuydwijk
Rowby-John Rodriguez 6-4 Keegan Brown
Aden Kirk 6-3 Lewis Venes
Jack Tweddell 6-0 Jamie Rundle
Nathan Aspinall (7) 6-4 James Thompson
Sam Head 6-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Scott Dale 6-2 John De Kruijf
Kurt Parry 6-5 Steve Lennon
Benito van de Pas (6) 6-0 Rhys Griffin
Matthew Dicken 6-3 Ryan De Vreede
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-2 Kai Gotthardt
Kevin De Vries 6-1 George Killington
Bradley Kirk (3) 6-1 Josh McCarthy
Adam Hunt 6-0 James O'Toole
Jimmy Hendriks 6-3 Reece Robinson
Thomas Luksch 6-2 Sarthak Patel
Last 64 Losers £250

Second Round
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-3 Nick Kenny
Wouter Vaes 6-4 Joshua Richardson
Max Hopp 6-1 Berry van Peer
Kenny Neyens 6-4 Jamie Lewis
Dean Reynolds 6-2 James Hubbard
Shaun Griffiths 6-3 Chris Quantock
Sam Hewson 6-1 Mike De Decker
Scott Taylor 6-5 Ted Evetts
Josh Payne 6-3 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jack Tweddell 6-4 Aden Kirk
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Sam Head
Scott Dale 6-1 Kurt Parry
Benito van de Pas 6-2 Matthew Dicken
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-0 Kevin De Vries
Bradley Kirk 6-2 Adam Hunt
Jimmy Hendriks 6-3 Thomas Luksch
Last 32 Losers £500

Third Round
Jeffrey de Zwaan 6-4 Wouter Vaes
Max Hopp 6-3 Kenny Neyens
Dean Reynolds 6-4 Shaun Griffiths
Scott Taylor 6-5 Sam Hewson
Josh Payne 6-2 Jack Tweddell
Nathan Aspinall 6-5 Scott Dale
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-3 Benito van de Pas
Bradley Kirk 6-1 Jimmy Hendriks
Last 16 Losers £1,000

Quarter-Finals
Max Hopp 6-4 Jeffrey de Zwaan
Dean Reynolds 6-5 Scott Taylor
Nathan Aspinall 6-4 Josh Payne
Roxy-James Rodriguez 6-3 Bradley Kirk
Quarter-Final Losers £1,500

Semi-Finals
Max Hopp 6-5 Dean Reynolds
Nathan Aspinall 6-3 Roxy-James Rodriguez
Semi-Final Losers £2,500

Final
Max Hopp v Nathan Aspinall
Final to be played on Sunday November 29 at Butlins Minehead Resort during Cash Converters Players Championship Finals
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000