Wessel Nijman secured his second Winmau Development Tour title of 2023 on Friday, as former World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks returned to the winner's circle in Germany.
The third weekend of 2023 Development Tour action saw Halle 39 play host to another double-header on Friday, with Nijman and Brooks sharing the spoils in Hildesheim.
Brooks began Event 11 with whitewash wins over Nando Engelen and Jurjen van der Velde, and he accounted for a third Dutchman in round three, surviving three match darts in his deciding-leg win against Jarno Bottenberg.
The 23-year-old raised his game as the event progressed, crashing in four 180s in his 4-1 drubbing of Germany’s Enrico Frank to move through to the last 16.
There, Brooks won through a second last-leg shoot-out of the afternoon against Connor Arberry, before reaching Friday’s showpiece with resounding 5-2 wins over Fred Box and Harry Gregory.
Brooks then produced an exhibition of finishing to deny Owen Roelofs in a high-quality final, averaging 101 and taking out 72, 80, 94 and 100 checkouts to celebrate a 5-3 victory.
Roelofs defeated Luke Littler and Gian van Veen – the top two on the Development Tour Order of Merit – in reaching the Event 11 decider, which he followed up with a semi-final success against his compatriot Bradly Roes.
However, it was another Dutchman who stole the show in Event 12, as Nijman delivered a ton-topping average to dispatch Irish thrower Dylan Slevin 5-1 and scoop the £2,500 top prize in the process.
Nijman, a winner at Event Six last month, averaged 100.34 and reeled off five consecutive legs to triumph in Germany, which elevates him to third on the Development Tour Order of Merit.
The 22-year-old raced through to the last 32 without relinquishing a leg, and an emphatic 4-1 victory over Littler saw him continue his title charge.
Nijman averaged 96 and 98 respectively in wins over Van der Velde and Ljubenko, and he fought back from 4-2 down to thwart Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the semi-finals, reeling off three straight legs in 15, 14 and 15 darts to advance.
Slevin drew first blood in the Event 12 decider, only for Nijman to power to victory with an explosive burst, featuring an 11-darter midway through the contest.
The 2023 Winmau Development Tour continues on Saturday, as Littler bids to extend his lead at the top of the Order of Merit with £9,600, just ahead of Van Veen [£9,500] - a semi-finalist in Event 12.
Nijman has catapulted himself into third position on £7,800, with Event 11 winner Brooks and Poland’s former UK Open quarter-finalist Sebastian Bialecki in fourth and fifth spots respectively.
The top two players from the final 2023 Development Tour Order of Merit will win a PDC Tour Card for 2024-25 and a place in the 2023/24 World Darts Championship.
The event draws and results are listed in the Match Centre.
2023 Winmau Development Tour
Friday June 9
Halle 39, Hildesheim
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Harry Gregory 5-1 Lewis Gurney
Bradley Brooks 5-2 Fred Box
Owen Roelofs 5-3 Luke Littler
Bradly Roes 5-4 Jarred Cole
Semi-Finals
Bradley Brooks 5-2 Harry Gregory
Owen Roelofs 5-3 Bradly Roes
Final
Bradley Brooks 5-3 Owen Roelofs
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 5-2 Sebastian Bialecki
Wessel Nijman 5-1 Filip Ljubenko
Gian van Veen 5-3 Owen Roelofs
Dylan Slevin 5-2 Jack Male
Semi-Finals
Wessel Nijman 5-2 Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Dylan Slevin 5-4 Gian van Veen
Final
Wessel Nijman 5-1 Dylan Slevin