Arron Monk showed once again why he has the potential to be a big hit in the world of darts!
He won the first event of the 2012 PDC Unicorn Youth Tour in Derby on Saturday with an assured performance!
The Hampshire youngster beat James Hubbard in the final….and the talented Michael Smith won the second tournament on Saturday, beating Daniel King-Morris in the final.
Monk and Smith were two of the favourites going into this year’s tour and it didn’t take them long to prove a point.
The Youth Tour is getting more and more popular with young darts stars and over 130 players took part in the prestigious double-header.
And the ever increasing popularity will see many more young players from Europe enter the fray as the year goes on.
Well, Monk certainly rode his luck!
In his terrific victory, the reigning PDC Unicorn Youth World Champion won five of his seven matches in last leg deciders!
He certainly did it the hard way, but deserves all the credit because he had a really tough draw.
Monk beat the likes of Adam Hunt, Jamie Lewis, Jamie Green, Michael Smith and Chris Aubrey all 4-3.
Ironically, the easiest game for the young Unicorn ace came in the final….he beat 2012 Unicorn World Youth finalist James Hubbard 4-0….that included two 14 darters and a brilliant 150 check-out to take the win and pocket the £500 first prize.
Monk though, couldn’t repeat his success and the second tournament in Derby and was beaten 4-2 by King-Morris in the 4th Round as he perhaps ran out of steam.
Team Unicorn teenager Dan Read gained valuable experience on Saturday in Derby, as he reached the 3rd Round in the first of the tournaments and round two in the second event.
Read beat King-Morris and Damian Smith before losing 2-4 to Paddy Meaney….in the second of the youth events, there was a victory over Martin Walker, but a 4-2 defeat to Ricky Evans.
Results: Event 1
Quarter-Finals:
Jake Patchett 4-2 Jack Hill
James Hubbard 4-2 Ryan Herrington
Chris Aubrey 4-3 Jake Jones
Arron Monk 4-3 Michael Smith
Semi-Finals:
Arron Monk 4-3 Chris Aubrey
James Hubbard 4-1 Jake Patchett
Final:
Arron Monk 4-0 James Hubbard
Event 2 results:
Quarter-Finals:
James Hubbard 4-1 Kirk Deruyter
Michael Smith 4-2 Chris Aubrey
Daniel King-Morris 4-0 Aden Kirk
Adam Hart 4-1 David Pallett
Semi-Finals:
Michael Smith 4-1 James Hubbard
Daniel King-Morris 4-1 Adam Hart
Final:
Michael Smith 4-2 Daniel King-Morris
And the third Youth Tour event of the weekend takes place on Sunday
by STUART PYKE
Photo courtesy Lawrence Lustig / PDC