BEN WARD and Ross Smith shared the spoils in the double-header of PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events held at the Barnsley Metrodome on Saturday.
Ward started the day's opening event confidently with whitewash victories over Rainer Hofweber and 2013 Challenge Tour winner Josh Payne.
The 24-year-old from Dorset then dispatched Rick Veugelers before recording excellent 4-3 triumphs over Jan Dekker and Adam Hunt to reach the last four for the first time in his career.
In the semi-finals, Ward ended the hopes of Glasgow’s Richard Baillie with a 4-1 win and he secured his first PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour victory with a tense 4-3 victory over Josh Jones.
Jones enjoyed his best performance on the PDC Challenge Tour to date and began in superb style as he dropped just one leg in his first three matches.
Jones defeated Arron Fairweather by a 4-1 margin before the 23-year-old from Warwickshire stunned PDC Challenge Tour Order of Merit leader Ross Smith with a deciding leg victory.
Jones was taken the full distance by Austria’s Rowby John Rodriguez in the last four before edging a tight deciding leg, but his hopes of a maiden title were ended by Ward in the decider.
Previous Challenge Tour winners Ross Smith and Adam Hunt reached the last eight of the tournament and were joined by exciting German teenager Max Hopp and Dutch newcomer Jeffrey De Graaf.
Gaz Cousins hit a fantastic nine-dart finish in his preliminary round clash against Eric de Meel – the 16th to be hit in PDC competition’s so far in 2013.
After a run to the last eight in the first event of the day, Ross Smith began a run to his fourth appearance in the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour final with a whitewash victory over Adam Lipscombe.
Smith then dispatched Ryan Murray and Nathan Derry with 4-2 victories before defeating Michael Blake by a 4-1 margin to reach the last eight.
The Bolton-based thrower - who hit a nine-darter in the Gibraltar Darts Trophy a fortnight ago - ended Dekker’s hopes with a 4-1 win before overcoming another Dutchman, De Graaf, in a deciding leg.
Smith then confirmed victory with a fine 4-1 triumph over Samuel Head to claim the £500 winner’s prize for the third time in the 2013 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour.
Portsmouth’s Head started his run to a second Challenge Tour final with comfortable wins over Brandon Walsh and Jamie Landon before a 4-2 triumph over Ben Songhurst secured a place in the last 16.
Head then defeated Ashley Sandon James with a comfortable 4-0 win before ending the challenges of Cousins and Kettering’s impressive Ricky Evans with excellent 4-2 victories to reach the final.
Head’s hopes of claiming of his maiden Challenge Tour title were ended by Smith, and the 20-year-old was forced to settle for the £300 runner’s-up prize.
Hopp put together another good run before losing at the quarter-final stage for the second time in the day, and the German was joined by Dutchman Dekker, Scotland’s Ryan Hogarth and nine-dart hero Cousins.
The weekend’s action at the Barnsley Metrodome concludes on Sunday where one further PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour event, which will take place with £3,000 in prize money on offer.
PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour
Event Ten
Saturday July 13, Barnsley Metrodome
Preliminary Round
Sam Hewson 4-2 Ryan Palmer
Richard Baillie 4-2 Dan Dean
James Young 4-1 Gordon Hastings
Gaz Cousins 4-1 Eric van Meel
Rick Veugelers 4-3 Darryl Greig
Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-0 Dan Butler
Adam Smith Neale 4-3 Jack Tweddell
Samuel Head 4-0 Nicholas Day
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-0 Mark Sidgwick
Ryan Hogarth 4-0 Ryan Sullivan
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-2 Phillip Coward
Colin Feeley 4-0 Robert Turpin
Arron Fairweather 4-0 Billy Holmes
Sean Johnson 4-2 Ben Songhurst
Gavin Howard 4-3 Dean Forde
First Round
Benito van de Pas 4-3 Shane Edwards
Paul Barham 4-2 David Pallett
Curtis Hammond 4-2 Lee Whitworth
Kurt Parry 4-0 Sam Hewson
Harry Lane 4-1 Stuart Clark
Sam Davidson 4-1 Callum Mackay
Luke Woodhouse 4-2 George Killington
Richard Baillie 4-2 Bradley Coltman
Aden Kirk 4-0 Sean White
Conor Mayes 4-3 Ryan Jones
Carl Sparrow 4-3 Roy Leenders
James Young 4-1 James Welding
Nick Paenen 4-0 Stuart Hunt
Max Hopp 4-2 Kevin Voornhout
Jake Patchett 4-1 Brandon Walsh
Gaz Cousins 4-3 Darren Beveridge
Josh Payne 4-1 Oliver Stell
Ben Ward 4-0 Rainer Hofweber
Tom Sykes 4-0 Curtis Bagley
Rick Veugelers 4-0 Josh Clough
Ryan De Vreede 4-1 Luke Allen
Jon Farmer 4-2 Tommy Lishman
Andrew Hughes 4-0 Frankie Ansell
Jan Dekker 4-3 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Adam Hunt 4-1 Benjamin Whitcombe
Paul Blackstone 4-1 Craig Simpson
Sam Hill 4-0 Paul Cooper
Jimmy Hendriks 4-2 Adam Smith Neale
Keegan Brown 4-1 Ryan Murray
John de Kruijf 4-0 Chris Millward
Gareth Thomas 4-2 Jordan David Lewis
Sion Thomas 4-2 Samuel Head
Shaun Griffiths 4-1 Nathan Aspinall
Lewis McGurn 4-1 Joe Harrison
Shane Freidlander 4-0 Kirsty Haw
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-0 Joshua Witcombe
Shaun Michael Lovett 4-1 Sean Ryan
Daniel Day 4-3 Jamie Landon
Ashley Sandon James 4-3 Alex Long
Ricky Evans 4-1 Ryan Hogarth
Chris Aubrey 4-0 Ben Carver
Jason Marriott 4-0 Adam Lipscombe
Nick Adamson 4-0 Leighton Jones
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-1 Scott Johnson
Michael Blake 4-1 Jamie Holmes
Rhys Hayden 4-2 Hermie van Orsouw
Dan Read 4-2 Liam Fairclough
Colin Feeley 4-3 Jamie Wilkins
Jack Hill 4-1 Sam Hayden
John Bryan 4-2 Daniel King-Morris
Jake Jones 4-1 Robert Marsden
Arron Fairweather 4-0 Kirsty Hutchinson
Josh Jones 4-1 Dan Franzen
Joshua Richardson 4-2 Ross Twell
Willem Mandigers 4-0 Callum Hinchcliffe
Sean Johnson 4-2 Dan Green
Luis Barberan 4-0 Gary Gullan
Nathan Derry 4-2 Jamie Atkins
Reece Robinson 4-2 Sam Hamilton
Michael McFall 4-1 Gavin Howard
Matthew Dennant 4-0 Matthew Dicken
Ross Smith 4-0 Kevin Bambrick
Wouter Vaes 4-1 Andrew Clark
Alan Bell 4-0 Darren Whittingham
Second Round
Benito van de Pas 4-0 Paul Barham
Kurt Parry 4-3 Curtis Hammond
Harry Lane 4-2 Sam Davidson
Richard Baillie 4-3 Luke Woodhouse
Aden Kirk 4-1 Conor Mayes
Carl Sparrow 4-1 James Young
Max Hopp 4-3 Nick Paenen
Gaz Cousins 4-3 Jake Patchett
Ben Ward 4-0 Josh Payne
Rick Veugelers 4-2 Tom Sykes
Ryan De Vreede 4-1 Jon Farmer
Jan Dekker 4-1 Andrew Hughes
Adam Hunt 4-1 Paul Blackstone
Sam Hill 4-0 Jimmy Hendriks
John de Kruijf 4-2 Keegan Brown
Gareth Thomas 4-3 Sion Thomas
Shaun Griffiths 4-1 Lewis McGurn
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-1 Shane Friedlander
Shaun Michael Lovett 4-3 Daniel Day
Ricky Evans 4-3 Ashley Sandon James
Chris Aubrey 4-0 Jason Marriott
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-1 Nick Adamson
Rhys Hayden 4-0 Michael Blake
Colin Feeley 4-2 Dan Read
Jack Hill 4-1 John Bryan
Arron Fairweather 4-1 Jake Jones
Josh Jones 4-0 Joshua Richardson
Sean Johnson 4-3 Willem Mandigers
Nathan Derry 4-2 Luis Barberan
Michael McFall 4-2 Reece Robinson
Ross Smith 4-3 Matthew Dennant
Wouter Vaes 4-3 Alan Bell
Third Round
Benito van de Pas 4-2 Kurt Parry
Richard Baillie 4-0 Harry Lane
Carl Sparrow 4-2 Aden Kirk
Max Hopp 4-1 Gaz Cousins
Ben Ward 4-2 Rick Veugelers
Jan Dekker 4-1 Ryan De Vreede
Adam Hunt 4-2 Sam Hill
John de Kruijf 4-0 Gareth Thomas
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-2 Shaun Griffiths
Ricky Evans 4-1 Shaun Michael Lovett
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-2 Chris Aubrey
Colin Feeley 4-1 Rhys Hayden
Arron Fairweather 4-1 Jack Hill
Josh Jones 4-0 Sean Johnson
Nathan Derry 4-2 Michael McFall
Ross Smith 4-2 Alan Bell
Losers £50
Fourth Round
Richard Baillie 4-1 Benito van de Pas
Max Hopp 4-1 Carl Sparrow
Ben Ward 4-3 Jan Dekker
Adam Hunt 4-2 John de Kruijf
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-3 Ricky Evans
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-3 Colin Feeley
Josh Jones 4-1 Arron Fairweather
Ross Smith 4-3 Nathan Derry
Losers £75
Quarter-Finals
Richard Baillie 4-1 Max Hopp
Ben Ward 4-3 Adam Hunt
Rowby John Rodriguez 4-3 Jeffrey De Graaf
Josh Jones 4-3 Ross Smith
Losers £100
Semi-Finals
Ben Ward 4-1 Richard Baillie
Josh Jones 4-3 Rowby John Rodriguez
Losers £200
Final
Ben Ward 4-3 Josh Jones
Winner £500
Runner-Up £00
Event 11
Saturday July 13, Barnsley Metrodome
Preliminary Round
Harry Lane 4-3 Liam Fairclough
Tommy Lishman 4-1 Kevin Bambrick
Rhys Hayden 4-2 Jake Patchett
Max Hopp 4-0 Curtis Hammond
Josh Payne 4-0 Darren Whittingham
Josh Clough 4-1 Sam Hayden
Gary Gullan 4-0 Sam Davidson
Ross Twell 4-3 Shane Friedlander
Brandon Walsh 4-3 Ryan Sullivan
Alex Long 4-1 Benjamin Witcombe
Adam Smith Neale 4-1 Hermie van Orsouw
Luke Allen 4-2 Mark Sidgwick
Ryan De Vreede 4-1 Nick Paenen
First Round
Kevin Voornhout 4-2 Sean Johnson
Dan Dean 4-1 Paul Cooper
Josh Jones 4-2 Andrew Hughes
Jamie Wilkins 4-2 Harry Lane
Jon Farmer 4-0 Cameron Hinchcliffe
Jimmy Hendriks 4-0 Kirsty Hutchinson
Lee Whitworth 4-1 Phillip Coward
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-1 Tommy Lishman
Roy Leenders 4-0 Joshua Richardson
David Pallett 4-2 Sam Hewson
Darren Beveridge 4-0 Joe Harrison
Rhys Hayden 4-0 Frankie Ansell
Nathan Aspinall 4-1 Scott Johnson
Luke Woodhouse 4-0 Kirsty Haw
Craig Simpson 4-2 Luis Barberan
Max Hopp 4-0 Sion Thomas
Rick Veugelers 4-0 Daniel King-Morris
Michael Blake 4-0 James Young
Conor Mayes 4-1 Jake Jones
Shane Edwards 4-2 Josh Payne
Rainer Hofweber 4-1 Jack Tweddell
Nathan Derry 4-2 Ben Ward
Ross Smith 4-0 Adam Lipscombe
Ryan Murray 4-0 Josh Clough
Chris Aubrey 4-0 Ben Carver
George Killington 4-2 Dan Franzen
Jan Dekker 4-0 Dan Read
Gary Gullan 4-1 Chris Millward
Oliver Stell 4-1 Stuart Hunt
Lewis McGurn 4-3 Nick Adamson
John de Kruijf 4-3 Dan Green
Paul Barham 4-2 Jack Hill
Shaun Michael Lovett 4-2 Robert Marsden
Ashley Sandon James 4-1 Kurt Parry
Gareth Thomas 4-0 John Bryan
Ross Twell 4-2 Michael McFall
Samuel Head 4-3 Daniel Day
Jamie Landon 4-0 Bradley Coltman
Richard Baillie 4-0 Gordon Hastings
Ben Songhurst 4-1 Brandon Walsh
Gaz Cousins 4-0 Joshua Witcombe
Ryan Jones 4-0 Jordan David Lewis
Andrew Clark 4-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Arron Fairweather 4-1 Alex Long
Colin Feeley 4-2 Gavin Howard
Matthew Dennant 4-0 Stuart Clark
Benito van de Pas 4-2 Matthew Dicken
Reece Robinson 4-2 Jamie Holmes
Jamie Atkins 4-1 Sam Hill
Ricky Evans 4-2 Sean White
Curtis Bagley 4-0 Paul Blackstone
Adam Smith Neale 4-2 Ryan Palmer
Sean Ryan 4-1 Dan Butler
Shaun Griffiths 4-1 Nicholas Day
Carl Sparrow 4-2 Wouter Vaes
Jason Marriott 4-1 Luke Allen
Eric van Meel 4-3 Rowby John Rodriguez
Adam Hunt 4-2 Sam Hamilton
Dean Forde 4-3 Aden Kirk
Billy Holmes 4-3 Ryan De Vreede
Willem Mandigers 4-2 Tom Sykes
Alan Bell 4-1 James Welding
Ryan Hogarth 4-1 Callum Mackay
Keegan Brown 4-1 Darryl Greig
Second Round
Kevin Voornhourt 4-1 Dan Dean
Jamie Wilkins 4-0 Josh Jones
Jimmy Hendriks 4-1 Jon Farmer
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-2 Lee Whitworth
David Pallett 4-1 Roy Leenders
Rhys Hayden 4-1 Darren Beveridge
Luke Woodhouse 4-3 Nathan Aspinall
Max Hopp 4-0 Craig Simpson
Michael Blake 4-2 Rick Veugelers
Shane Edwards 4-3 Conor Mayes
Nathan Derry 4-1 Rainer Hofweber
Ross Smith 4-2 Ryan Murray
Chris Aubrey 4-3 George Killington
Jan Dekker 4-2 Gary Gullan
Lewis McGurn 4-1 Oliver Stell
John de Kruijf 4-1 Paul Barham
Ashley Sandon James 4-3 Shaun Michael Lovett
Gareth Thomas 4-3 Ross Twell
Samuel Head 4-0 Jamie Landon
Ben Songhurst 4-1 Richard Baillie
Gaz Cousins 4-0 Ryan Jones
Arron Fairweather 4-3 Andrew Clark
Matthew Dennant 4-1 Colin Feeley
Reece Robinson 4-1 Benito van de Pas
Ricky Evans 4-3 Jamie Atkins
Adam Smith Neale 4-2 Curtis Bagley
Shaun Griffiths 4-1 Sean Ryan
Jason Marriott 4-2 Carl Sparrow
Adam Hunt 4-0 Eric van Meel
Billy Holmes 4-1 Dean Forde
Willem Mandigers 4-2 Alan Bell
Ryan Hogarth 4-2 Keegan Brown
Third Round
Kevin Voornhout 4-0 Jamie Wilkins
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-2 Jimmy Hendriks
Rhys Hayden 4-0 David Pallett
Max Hopp 4-1 Luke Woodhouse
Michael Blake 4-1 Shane Edwards
Ross Smith 4-2 Nathan Derry
Jan Dekker 4-0 Chris Aubrey
John de Kruijf 4-2 Lewis McGurn
Ashley Sandon James 4-2 Gareth Thomas
Samuel Head 4-2 Ben Songhurst
Gaz Cousins 4-1 Arron Fairweather
Matthew Dennant 4-2 Reece Robinson
Ricky Evans 4-0 Adam Smith Neale
Shaun Griffiths 4-0 Jason Marriott
Billy Holmes 4-2 Adam Hunt
Ryan Hogarth 4-2 Willem Mandigers
Losers £50
Fourth Round
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-2 Kevin Voornhourt
Max Hopp 4-0 Rhys Hayden
Ross Smith 4-1 Michael Blake
Jan Dekker 4-3 John de Kruijf
Samuel Head 4-0 Ashley Sandon James
Gaz Cousins 4-0 Matthew Dennant
Ricky Evans 4-2 Shaun Griffiths
Ryan Hogarth 4-3 Billy Holmes
Losers £75
Quarter-Finals
Jeffrey De Graaf 4-1 Max Hopp
Ross Smith 4-1 Jan Dekker
Samuel Head 4-2 Gaz Cousins
Ricky Evans 4-0 Ryan Hogarth
Losers £100
Semi-Finals
Ross Smith 4-3 Jeffrey De Graaf
Samuel Head 4-2 Ricky Evans
Losers £200
Final
Ross Smith 4-1 Samuel Head
Winner £500
Runner-Up £300