Mission Recap – Another Major Final For Team Mission

Mission Recap – Another Major Final For Team Mission

Martin Lukeman enjoyed a dream run to the final of the Grand Slam of Darts to make it two finalists from Team Mission in the last two PDC major events.

After finishing top of Group C with a perfect three wins from three games, ‘Smash’ continued to impress on his Wolverhampton debut with a run to his first ever major final.

The 39-year-old posted a trio of high 90s averages as he saw off Ross Smith (10-5), Rob Cross (16-11) and Mickey Mansell (16-12) on the WV Active Aldersley stage.

Lukeman’s previous best run in a major event had been a pair of quarter-finals in the 2022 World Grand Prix and this year’s UK Open, but the Watford ace broke new ground with Friday night’s victory over Cross taking him through to the final day on Sunday.

A hard-fought battle with Northern Ireland’s Mansell, in a match which saw both players competing in their maiden major semi-final, Lukeman fired in 12 scores of 180 to help him progress to the final.

‘Smash’ made history as the first player to make the Grand Slam final after winning through the Tour Card Holder Qualifiers, but the deciding clash with the reigning Premier League champion Luke Littler proved to be a step too far for as he finished on the wrong end of a 16-3 scoreline.

Lukeman’s £73,500 haul for reaching the final sees him move back into the world’s top 40 and up to number 37 on the PDC Order of Merit, and he has also qualified already for the 2025 Grand Slam of Darts by making the final in Wolverhampton on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, Ritchie Edhouse saw his bid for back-to-back major titles come to an end in the last 16 at the Grand Slam. The European Championship winner was beaten 10-4 by Rob Cross on Wednesday night.

Ryan Joyce’s Grand Slam bid also ended in the last 16. ‘Relentless’ had knocked out Michael van Gerwen in a winner-takes-all clash in Group G, but his run ended in a 10-2 defeat to an in-form Gian van Veen on Thursday.

The schedule of play has been confirmed for the first round of the Players Championship Finals, with 10 players from Team Mission set to be in action in the first round at Butlin’s Minehead.

On Friday afternoon, Ritchie Edhouse will take on Luke Woodhouse on the main stage, in a repeat of their recent European Championship semi-final, before Stephen Burton faces James Wade and then the Grand Slam finalist Martin Lukeman goes up against Connor Scutt in an all-Mission clash.

Meanwhile on stage two, Madars Razma goes up against Krzysztof Ratajski, Ryan Joyce faces Karel Sedlacek, Alan Soutar takes on Jermaine Wattimena and Wessel Nijman meets Kim Huybrechts.

In Friday’s evening session, James Hurrell will play Danny Noppert and Josh Rock faces off with Ricky Evans, with both matches taking place on stage two.

Elsewhere, Thomas Banks and Joe Croft both competed in the ADC Championship Tour Grand Final in Portsmouth on Saturday.

Teenager Banks qualified as the number one seed but saw his title bid end in the quarter-finals with a 4-2 defeat to former world youth champion Bradley Brooks.

Croft battled back from 2-0 and 3-1 down against Charlie Martin in his quarter-final before being edged out in a last-leg decider.

The duo will both return to the Live Lounge stage in Portsmouth next month to take part in the ADC Global Championship (December 9-22).

Picture: PDC

Back to blog