Young Dutchman Michael van Gerwen is the 6th different winner on the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour.
He beat Wolverhampton’s Ash Khayat in the final at Wigan……in the end, it was a convincing 4-0 win for Van Gerwen who is looking to restore former glories on the Pro Tour.
The highly-rated Unicorn duo of Joe Cullen and Arron Monk both lost in the 2nd Round.
Monk went down 3-1 to Darren Whittingham, who went onto reach the quarter-finals, while Cullen lost by the same score to Chris Aubrey, who was eventually beaten by Khayat in the semi-finals.
But the standards on the Unicorn Youth Tour is getting better by the event.
In the final, Van Gerwen hit three 180s and two 14 dart legs to round off a successful day, as he took the £600 winner’s cheque….
“It is a really big confidence boost for me,” he said. “I know how well I can play but have been too inconsistent. This is a great tournament. Hopefully now I can go on and qualify for the World Matchplay.”
It was the perfect present for Van Gerwen, who has also just celebrated his 22nd birthday.
In the 1st Round, he beat the current PDC Unicorn Youth Order of Merit leader Shaun Griffiths and later in the semi-finals, he recorded an impressive victory over Co Stompe Jnr, who is aiming to follow in his father’s footsteps on the Pro Tour.
Results:
Quarter – Finals:
Chris Aubrey 3-0 Paul Barham
Co Stompe Jnr 3-2 Jamie Lewis
Michael van Gerwen 3-0 Josh Jones
Ash Khayat 3-2 Darren Whittingham
Semi-Finals:
Ash Khayat 4-3 Chris Aubrey
Michael van Gerwen 4-2 Co Stompe Jnr
Final:
Michael van Gerwen 4-0 Ash Khayat
By STUART PYKE
Photo courtesy PDC