Noa-Lynn van Leuven and Rene Eidams claimed maiden titles as the 2024 Winmau Challenge Tour continued in Germany on Friday.
The second weekend of the 2024 Challenge Tour began at Halle 39, Hildesheim on Friday, with over 230 players in action across a marathon day of action.
Van Leuven stole the headlines with Event Six success, capping off a dream debut by becoming the first woman to win a Challenge Tour event.
The 27-year-old produced a string of superb displays to clinch the £2,500 top prize, defeating four PDC title winners to become the 11th player to prevail on debut on the Challenge Tour circuit.
The Dutch trailblazer dispatched Switzerland's Event Four winner Stefan Bellmont, her compatriot Alexander Merkx and Darryl Pilgrim to advance to a quarter-final showdown against John Henderson.
Van Leuven later reeled off five straight legs from 3-0 down to stun Scotland’s former World Cup winner Henderson, before celebrating an emphatic semi-final success against Cam Crabtree.
The two-time Women's Series finalist then rounded off a landmark triumph with a 5-3 victory against Poland's former Tour Card Holder Tytus Kanik, producing a ton-plus average in the process.
Kanik also landed a ton-topping average in his fourth round win over Shane McGuirk, before seeing off his fellow Pole Sebastian Bialecki and Event Five winner Aden Kirk to scoop the £1,000 runner-up prize.
Later in the day, Eidams secured a landmark win of his own in Event Seven, recovering from 3-0 down to deny Dutchman Dennie Olde Kalter in a dramatic last-leg shoot-out.
Eidams – who famously took Michael van Gerwen to a tie-break on his World Darts Championship debut in 2016 – saw off a host of high-profile names en route to glory on home soil.
The 34-year-old began his campaign with 5-4 wins against former World Youth Champion Ted Evetts and Scottish veteran Andy Boulton, before whitewashing his compatriot Franz Roetzsch to reach the last 16.
The German continued his progress with last-leg wins against Patrick Peters and Crabtree, before storming into the Event Seven showpiece with a thumping 5-1 victory against Kevin Burness.
Burness landed a nine-darter during his last 16 clash against Adam Mould, before succumbing in the semi-finals alongside Sweden’s Andreas Harrysson.
The 2024 Winmau Challenge Tour continues with another double-header on Saturday, as Events Eight and Nine take place in Hildesheim.
The top two players from the 2024 Challenge 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.
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2024 Winmau Challenge Tour
Friday March 15, Halle 39, Hildesheim
Event Six
Quarter-Finals
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-3 John Henderson
Cam Crabtree 5-1 Charlie Martin
Tytus Kanik 5-1 Sebastian Bialecki
Aden Kirk 5-2 Danny Jansen
Semi-Finals
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-2 Cam Crabtree
Tytus Kanik 5-4 Aden Kirk
Final
Noa-Lynn van Leuven 5-3 Tytus Kanik
Event Seven
Quarter-Finals
Andreas Harrysson 5-2 Connor Scutt
Dennie Olde Kalter 5-4 Shane McGuirk
Rene Eidams 5-4 Cam Crabtree
Kevin Burness 5-2 Kai Gotthardt
Semi-Finals
Dennie Olde Kalter 5-3 Andreas Harrysson
Rene Eidams 5-1 Kevin Burness
Final
Rene Eidams 5-4 Dennie Olde Kalter