MICHAEL SMITH claimed his second PDC Unicorn Youth Tour title in the space of two days thanks to a 4-2 victory against Josh Payne to claim the £500 winners prize in Wigan.
The St Helens thrower, who defeated Ricky Evans in the first of Saturday's two events, began a dominant day of darts with whitewash victories over Hermie van Orsouw and Nicholas Day.
Smith followed that with 4-2 wins over Aden Kirk and Shaun Griffiths before disposing of Reece Robinson by a 4-1 margin to reach the last four.
Smith defeated Jack Hill by the same scoreline to reach the final, where he beat Payne 4-2 to claim his fifth title of the year on the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour - closing the gap on current Order of Merit leader Arron Monk to only £50.
Payne, who reached the semi-finals of a Youth Tour event in Cologne in June, began his path to his first final of 2012 by edging out Lewis Venes 4-3 in his first match.
He then defeated Michael Blake and Brandonn Monk for the loss of just one leg before securing a semi-final spot thanks to a superb 4-3 victory over Arron Monk in the last eight.
Payne romped into the final thanks to a 4-0 defeat of Jake Patchett but found Smith to strong in the decider, having to settle for the £300 runner-up prize.
Jack Hill enjoyed his best performance on the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour to date as he reached the semi-finals before losing out to eventual winner Smith.
Jake Patchett reached the semi-finals for the second time this year, defeating Evans and Jamie Lewis along the way.
The final PDC Unicorn Youth Tour tournaments of 2012 will take place in Crawley at the K2 Centre on 3-4 November, where players will play in two events each worth £3,000 in prize money, to be held following the respective Players Championships on Saturday and Sunday.
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Event 18
First Round
Aaron Bateman 4-2 Dion Glennon
Steve Haggerty 4-2 Curtis Hammond
Samuel Head 4-3 James Thompson
Darren Whittingham 4-0 Adam Hart
Wouter Vaes 4-0 Robert Marsden
Rainer Hofweber 4-1 Shane Friedlander
Tom Hodgson 4-2 Peter Browning
Michael Smith 4-0 Hermie van Orsouw
John de Kruijf 4-0 Daniel King-Morris
Jack Twedell 4-2 Mark Nissen
Brandon Walsh 4-0 Christopher Quantock
Sam Hewson 4-0 Ryan Maher
Tommy Lishman 4-3 Carl Draper
Oliver Stell 4-2 Dan Read
Sam Hill 4-1 Andrew Clark
Jamie Lewis 4-2 James Hubbard
Second Round
Ryan Harrington 4-3 Robbie Hewson
Aaron Bateman 4-1 Chris Aubrey
Jack Hill 4-2 Ryan Sullivan
Steve Haggerty 4-1 Paddy Meaney
Sean Ryan 4-2 Sam Hamilton
Samuel Head 4-2 Jamie Clements
Ricky De Vos 4-2 Jamie Landon
Darren Whittingham 4-0 Kirsty Haw
Reece Robinson 4-1 George Killington
Wouter Vaes 4-2 Jamie Green
Ryan De Vreede 4-3 Matthew Dicken
John Seagrave 4-2 Rainer Hofweber
Jack Morris 4-3 Alexander Topper
Shaun Griffiths 4-2 Tom Hodgson
Aden Kirk 4-2 James Young
Michael Smith 4-0 Nicholas Day
Brandonn Monk 4-3 Adam Hunt
John De Kruijf 4-2 Curtis Bagley
Josh Payne 4-3 Lewis Venes
Michael Blake 4-1 Jack Twedell
Joe Davis 4-3 Joshua Carter
Lee Whitworth 4-0 Brandon Walsh
Arron Monk 4-1 Adam Smith-Neale
Sam Hewson 4-0 Cain Unwin
Ricky Evans 4-1 Sam Davidson
Tommy Lishman 4-3 Matthew Dennant
Jake Jones 4-2 Ryan Herrington
Jake Patchett 4-3 Oliver Stell
Kurt Parry 4-1 Liam Showell
Sam Hill 4-1 Martin Walker
James O'Connor 4-0 Dan Dean
Jamie Lewis 4-1 Keegan Brown
Third Round
Aaron Bateman 4-3 Ryan Harrington
Jack Hill 4-0 Steve Haggerty
Samuel Head 4-3 Sean Ryan
Darren Whittingham 4-1 Ricky De Vos
Reece Robinson 4-1 Wouter Vaes
John Seagrave 4-3 Ryan De Vreede
Shaun Griffiths 4-0 Jack Morris
Michael Smith 4-2 Aden Kirk
Brandonn Monk 4-1 John De Kruijf
Josh Payne 4-0 Michael Blake
Lee Whitworth 4-1 Joe Davis
Arron Monk 4-1 Sam Hewson
Ricky Evans 4-0 Tommy Lishman
Jake Patchett 4-3 Jake Jones
Sam Hill 4-0 Kurt Parry
Jamie Lewis 4-0 James O'Connor
Losers £50
Fourth Round
Jack Hill 4-0 Aaron Bateman
Samuel Head 4-1 Darren Whittingham
Reece Robinson 4-0 John Seagrave
Michael Smith 4-2 Shaun Griffiths
Josh Payne 4-1 Brandonn Monk
Arron Monk 4-2 Lee Whitworth
Jake Patchett 4-0 Ricky Evans
Jamie Lewis 4-2 Sam Hill
Losers £75
Quarter-Finals
Jack Hill 4-1 Samuel Head
Michael Smith 4-1 Reece Robinson
Josh Payne 4-3 Arron Monk
Jake Patchett 4-3 Jamie Lewis
Losers £100
Semi-Finals
Michael Smith 4-1 Jack Hill
Josh Payne 4-0 Jake Patchett
Losers £200
Final
Michael Smith 4-2 Josh Payne
Winner £500
Runner-Up £300
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Information
The tournaments are open to any player aged 14 or above, with an upper age limit of being 21 on January 1 2012. Players aged 21 at this time are eligible to compete in all 2012 events.
Entry to each PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event costs £30 and must be made using the PDC Online Entry System.
Existing PDPA members will already have login details, while new players must first register their details by following this link.
Existing PDPA members or young players who have entered previously for the Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier through the PDC Online Entry System must check that their Date of Birth is correct in the system to be allowed to enter Youth Tour tournaments.
New players must complete their Date of Birth whilst registering, and must provide ID when registering at their first tournament.
The entry deadline for each tournament will be 5pm on the Friday immediately prior to each weekend (i.e, 5pm on Friday September 28 for the Wigan events).
Click here to visit the PDC Online Entry Registration Page
Click here to visit the PDC Online Entry System
All players who enter the events will be issued with a Players' Brief via email ahead of the events.
The final two Youth Tour events will then take place following the Players Championship events in Crawley on Saturday November 3 and Sunday November 4, as part of the weekend at the K2 Centre which will begin with the William Hill Grand Slam of Darts Wildcard Qualifier on Friday November 2.
Remaining 2012 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Events:
Event 19 - Saturday November 3 (Crawley)
Event 20 - Sunday November 4 (Crawley)
PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship
The Last 64 of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship will be played during the Spring of 2013, with the final then taking place as part of the McCoy's Premier League Darts Play-Offs.
The top 32 from the final 2012 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit will be joined in the event by a series of International Qualifiers and Rileys Qualifiers. Full details will be confirmed in due course.