Ryan Joyce has climbed into the world’s top 32 after reaching his second career major semi-final at the World Grand Prix.
The 39-year-old, who also made the final four of the Players Championship Finals last November, is up to number 32 on the PDC Order of Merit after an impressive run in the double-start event in Leicester last week.
‘Relentless’ recorded wins against Josh Rock (2-0), Nathan Aspinall (3-2) and Rob Cross (3-2) to make the semi-finals at the Mattioli Arena, where his run ended in a defeat to the world number one Luke Humphries.
JOYCE STUNS CROSS 🤯
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 11, 2024
It's a massive win for Ryan Joyce as he beats Rob Cross 3-2 to reach just his second TV Semi-Final.
Can he go all the way at the World Grand Prix?
📺 https://t.co/BtWBaRnhB5#WGPDarts pic.twitter.com/r55ZNrTJgG
Meanwhile, Wessel Nijman finished top of the Development Tour Order of Merit to secure a debut in the Grand Slam of Darts next month.
The Dutchman won his maiden title in the senior ranks of the PDC with a Players Championship victory earlier this month, and picked up a brace of event wins on his last weekend playing on the Development Tour.
The 24-year-old won Events 21 and 22 in Wigan on Saturday, taking his haul of Development Tour titles this season up to seven, with his final haul standing at 12 titles in the PDC youth system.
✅ 16 consecutive wins
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 12, 2024
🔥 Four 100+ averages
🏆 Back-to-back titles
Wessel Nijman secured his place at the Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts, as he tops the Winmau Development Tour Order of Merit with back-to-back wins in Wigan!https://t.co/hxlh0HgPM8
Tavis Dudeney claimed his first Development Tour title with a triumph in Event 23 on Sunday.
‘The Dude’ whitewashed PDC tour card holder Jurjen van der Velde 5-0 in the final to pocket the £2,500 top prize.
DUDENEY WINS EVENT 23!
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) October 13, 2024
Tavis Dudeney celebrates his maiden Winmau Development Tour title with a whitewash win over Jurjen van der Velde in the Event 23 showpiece! 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/XwEwUAuA1e
The final weekend of Development Tour action this year also saw deep runs for several other Team Mission players.
Cam Crabtree made the quarter-finals of Event 22, Llew Bevan reached the last eight of Event 21 and went one better with a semi-final in Event 23 the next day.
Dominik Gruellich got to a pair of quarter-finals (Events 22 and 24) which helped the German finish 10th on the final Order of Merit.
On Monday, the PDC World Youth Championship was played down to the final with 11 Team Mission players amongst the 128-player field in Wigan.
Thomas Banks, Viktor Tingstrom and Tavis Dudeney all bowed out in the last 32, whilst Dominik Gruellich was knocked out by Dylan Slevin in an all-Mission last 16 tie.
Another Mission vs Mission clash in the quarter-finals saw Slevin edge past Wessel Nijman 6-5, before Slevin was beaten by the top seed Gian van Veen in the last four.
Over in Budapest, Lex Paeshuyse showcased his talent by winning the WDF World Masters boys’ title on Saturday.
The 13-year-old beat Mason Teese 6-1 in the final to take home the title, and capped off a fine week in the Hungarian capital by qualifying for the WDF Boys’ World Championship.
The new WDF Boys World Masters and Belgium's newest darts sensation, Lex Paeshuyse 👏 pic.twitter.com/6jRIcI5fqO
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) October 12, 2024
The young Belgian, who also reached the final of the World Open, clinched one of four spots in the qualifiers for Lakeside.
The JDC number one Archie Self will also be a part of the eight-player field in the boys’ event after winning through the qualifiers.
The 14-year-old also made the semi-finals of the World Open, whilst Francesco Basili enjoyed a run to the last eight of the World Masters.
SELF COMPLETES THE LINEUP!
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) October 12, 2024
Archie Self is our fourth and final qualifier from today for the 2024 WDF Boys World Championship.
The 14-year-old defeated Ireland's Jack Porter 5-3 in the final qualification game. pic.twitter.com/ybRlYJopMA
Good luck to our #MissionAcademy players competing in the WDF World Youth Masters in Budapest today.
— Mission Darts (@MissionDarts) October 10, 2024
🇸🇪 Liam Nordström
🇭🇺 Balázs Szoták
🏴 Archie Self
🇸🇰 Dominik Kočik
🇧🇪 Lex Paeshuyse
🏴 Kyle Davidson
🇮🇹 Francesco Basili
🇳🇴 Mathias Myrvang Isaksen (not pictured)#ForTheWin pic.twitter.com/plK6U57TrE
It was an eventful week in Budapest for Connor Scutt who narrowly missed out on a place in the World Masters men’s final.
‘The Sniper’ had come through a nail-biting tie-breaker leg against Dave Dwyer and Robbie Mills to progress through the group stages on Wednesday.
The current Challenge Tour leader then moved through the gears in the knockout stages, posting 98, 106 and 110 averages to advance to finals day, where he lost out 6-5 to Kai Gotthardt.
Connor Scutt wins the unprecedented tie-breaker leg to top his group and reach tomorrow's knockout rounds.
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) October 9, 2024
He's joined by the USA's Dave Dwyer, with Canada's Robbie Mills missing out. pic.twitter.com/TocHJhQ5jG
Rhian O’Sullivan reached a pair of finals in the women’s events, losing out to Beau Greaves in the deciders of the World Masters and World Open.
Almudena Fajardo, a runner-up at the last World Masters in 2022, marked her return to action on the WDF circuit with a quarter-final run in the World Open.
Picture: PDC