A FURTHER 14 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers have won places in the Coral UK Open following the penultimate weekend of knockouts across the country.
The Rileys Amateur Qualifiers are giving any darts player the chance to win one of 32 spots in March's Coral UK Open Televised Finals at the Butlins Minehead Resort, where they could take on the likes of Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen or Adrian Lewis.
The fourth of five weekends of qualifying events saw 14 knockouts held, with the remaining nine qualifiers to be discovered on February 28 & March 1 with the last Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.
Lionel Sams, a former PDC professional, won through the Rileys Amateur Qualifier in Oxford for a second successive year to seal his spot in the UK Open for a ninth time, defeating Aidan Wiltshire in the final.
Another former professional, John Ferrell, won through the Rileys Brighton knockout with a narrow 5-4 defeat of Lee Jennings in their final after also edging out another previous UK Open qualifier, Danny Pinhorne, in the semi-finals.
Rileys Stirling winner Dave Prins, who defeated Ryan Murray 5-2 in his decider, previously qualified in 2011 and Rileys Leicester winner Lee Russell - who edged out Sam Hill 5-4 in the final - competed in the 2012 UK Open.
Jason Mold's win in the Rileys Norwich knockout (pictured) saw him qualify for the second successive year with a 5-2 win over Jimmy Murphy in the final, having also competed in Minehead last March.
Rory Duffy won the the Rileys Harlow knockout to earn his debut in a major tournament - but the Waltham Abbey-based teacher will be following in famous footsteps, with his mother Linda Batten-Duffy having been a women's world number one in the 1980s.
Rileys Bootle winner Mick Brooks is a former Lakeside Championship qualifier, Chippenham's Adi Acott won through in Newport with a 5-4 win over Russell Joyner.
The second qualifier from Rileys Wolverhampton was Matthew Tedstone, a machine operator from Smethwick who defeated Ben Green 5-4 in their final, while James McEwan, a roofer from Ayrshire, won the Rileys Greenock event.
Lloyd Pennell, a chef by trade, defeated John Bywater in the final of the Rileys Lincoln event, while Ashbourne-based farmer Rob Smith was the qualifier at Burton-on-Trent.
Bricklayer Graham Hall defeated Kevin Taylor 5-2 in the final of the Rileys Solihull knockout, while Kevin Smith, a kitchen fitter, was the winner at Rileys Gillingham, overcoming Jim Needham 5-2 in their final.
The Rileys Amateur Qualifiers conclude this weekend with the final nine events on February 28 & March 1. See below for the full list of competing Rileys Sports Bars.
Entry Information
Entry costs £5 and is available online through the Rileys website - www.rileys.co.uk/tournaments - or can be made in person or by calling the relevant clubs below. For contact details visit the Rileys website .
The Rileys Amateur Qualifiers are open to any player who will be aged 16 or above on the date of the event. Players who competed in the 2015 PDC Qualifying School are not permitted to enter. PDPA Associate Members with "Challenge Tour Only" membership are eligible to compete in the Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.
All venues below will have a 12pm registration deadline, with play commencing at 1.30pm, with the exception of London Victoria (as detailed below)
The format in all Rileys Amateur Qualifiers will be the best of seven legs down to the final, which will be the best of nine legs, 501 straight start with a double to finish.
One player will qualify from each Rileys Amateur Qualifier below to compete in the Coral UK Open TV Finals at the Butlins Minehead Resort from March 6-8.
2015 Coral UK Open
Rileys Amateur Qualifiers
Dates & Venues
Friday January 30
London Victoria - Tommy Sanwell
Saturday January 31
Coventry - Dean Sanders
Sheffield - Peter Hudson
Saturday February 7
Wolverhampton - Stuart White
Saturday February 14
Liverpool - Bradley Williams
Twickenham - Dave Parletti
Sunday February 15
London Victoria - Paul Dawkins
Northampton - Chris Packer
South Benfleet - Kevin Edwards
Saturday February 21
Brighton - John Ferrell
Burton-on-Trent - Rob Smith
Gillingham - Kevin Smith
Harlow - Rory Duffy
Lincoln - Lloyd Pennel
Newport - Adi Acott
Norwich - Jason Mold
Stirling - David Prins
Wolverhampton - Matthew Tedstone
Sunday February 22
Bootle - Mick Brooks
Greenock - James McEwan
Leicester - Lee Russell
Oxford - Lionel Sams
Solihull - Graham Hall
Saturday February 28
Aberdeen
Chester
Chorlton
Colchester
Ipswich
Nottingham
Southampton
Worcester
Sunday March 1
Reading