Mission Recap - Nijman Shines On His Winter Gardens Debut

Mission Recap - Nijman Shines On His Winter Gardens Debut

Wessel Nijman had a Winter Gardens debut to remember as he knocked out Nathan Aspinall 10-8 in the first round of the World Matchplay.

The 25-year-old qualified for the prestigious tournament in Blackpool as the fifth highest ranked qualifier on the ProTour rankings, having won his maiden ProTour title and reached a pair of European Tour semi-finals in the last 12 months.

The Dutchman produced a nerveless display to beat the Premier League star Aspinall in his Winter Gardens opener, averaging 101, hitting eight 180s and finishing 63 per cent on the doubles.

The victory earned Nijman a first appearance in the last 16 of a major ranking event in the PDC, with his run ending in an 11-5 defeat to the eventual runner-up James Wade.

Mike De Decker also tasted success on the Winter Gardens stage as he secured his first win at the World Matchplay with a 10-7 triumph over Dave Chisnall in the first round.

The reigning World Grand Prix champion, who was making his second appearance in Blackpool, battled back from 7-6 down to beat Chisnall, checking out 104 and 148 finishes in the last two legs to advance to the last 16.

De Decker’s campaign also ended in the second round after losing 11-8 to an in-form Jonny Clayton, while Ryan Joyce was beaten 10-8 in a closely-fought encounter with Stephen Bunting in the first round.

In the Women’s World Matchplay, Robyn Byrne’s return to the Winter Gardens stage ended in a first-round defeat to the eventual champion Lisa Ashton.

Byrne broke Ashton’s throw in the opening leg but lost four of the next five legs to bow out of the competition, having qualified for the second time after missing out in 2024.

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Mike De Decker will make his World Series of Darts debut next month after being picked to play in both the Australian Darts Masters and New Zealand Darts Masters events.

The Belgian number one has been chosen as one of the PDC’s eight representatives to compete in the double-header of televised events, which starts with the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongoing (August 8-9).

De Decker will also be a part of the field for the New Zealand Darts Masters in Auckland the following weekend (August 15-16).

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Mission Academy duo Kyle Davidson and Sam Jackson both went home with gold medals after competing at the recent WDF Europe Youth Cup in the Netherlands.

Davidson was part of the Scotland boys’ team that won the Team event, beating England 9-5 in the final.

There was a Mission Academy representative in both teams in the final, with Jackson part of the England team that lost the decider, but still went away with the Overall title in the boys’ category.

Davidson and his partner Mitchell Lawrie also made the quarter-finals of the boys’ pairs event, while Jackson went a step further in the boys’ singles, reaching the semi-finals before losing 5-3 to the eventual champion Lawrie.

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Senne Aerts made a big impression during the opening weekend of the new JDC Foundation Tour, winning a title and reaching another final in Coventry.

The Belgian teenager was beaten 5-3 by Jake Robinson in the Event 1 final, before going one better in the next competition as he saw off Taylor James-Harding in a last-leg decider to clinch the Event 2 title.

Meanwhile, Riley Emery and Alfie O’Flynn Rogers caught the eye with runs to the last 16 in Events 1 and 2 respectively.

After the first weekend of Phase 2, Aerts sits in second place on the ranking table with 11 points, just a point behind the early leader Harry Childs.

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Jack Caulfield has qualified for the WDF Boys’ World Masters after winning the qualifier during the recent INDO Irish Matchplay weekend.

The 15-year-old was made to work hard in the qualifier as he prevailed in last-leg deciders in all of his knockout games from the last 32 all the way through to the final.

On the same weekend, Caulfield reached the last 16 of the Irish Matchplay men’s singles and the quarter-finals in the Players Championship Division A event.

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Martin Lukeman and Cam Crabtree teamed up to win the men’s pairs at the UKDA National Finals Weekend in Bolton on Friday night.

The Team Mission duo dropped just five legs on their way to the final, but were pushed all the way in the deciding contest against Taylor McGuickan and David Pallett.

The first six legs of the final all went with throw and in the decider Lukeman and Crabtree saved their best for last, holding throw in 14 darts to secure the title.

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Archie Self added another title to his collection by winning the Berkshire Open men's singles title on Sunday.

The 15-year-old defeated Paul Hogan 7-2 in the final and sealed the victory with a 91 checkout for a brilliant 11-dart leg against the throw.

Picture: PDC

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