Kay Is PDC Development Tour Winner Again

Keelan Kay won an event and finished runner up in another on the final weekend of this season's PDC Development Tour.

Kay had a disappointing Friday with exits in the UK Development Tour events 7 and 8 where the teenager went out to 21 year old PDC Tour Card holder, Bradley Brooks, and Ireland's Jordan Boyce in the Last 64.

On the Saturday though, the first tournament, Event 9, was where Kay made his mark starting with a 4-3 win over Welsh youngster Connor Hopkins before a 91.09 average did for Callum Schofield, which included legs of 13, 17 and 12 in a 4-0 win.

A 4-3 win over 16 year old English starlet, Nathan Care, followed with Kay averaging 85.36 before a Last 16 win over Callum Loose by 4-1.

Kay was as many as 3-1 down before reeling off four out of five to take a 5-4 win over Connor Arberry in the quarter final stage with winning legs of 17,14,19 before just about getting over the line in the final leg.

A victory over Ireland's 22 year old Tour Card holder, Ciaran Teehan, by the same scoreline put the Kay (88.26) into the final.

All legs went with throw with the exception of the final one with Kay winning legs in a truly world class 17,15,19,16,18 aided by outshots of 96 and a stunning 118 in the final visit of the match.

The talented Dubliner would be Kay's opponent in the final with the 19 year old proving to be another worthy adversary.

Kay (88.54) once again only broke throw just the once to take the match 5-4, in a match that brought included two legs of 14 darts and a 15 to give the former WDF World Cup winner a second PDC title of his fledgling career.

Event 10 saw a defeat for the former Devon county player in the Last 16 stage despite averaging an impressive 94.04 in his odd leg in seven loss to Welsh prodigy Cavan Phillips.

Sunday started with a third early exit to Llew Bevan by 4-2 in Event 11 before another brilliant performance by the Winmau 360 sponsored player in the final competition of the season.

Kay started with emphatic wins over Scot Leighton Calder, and English youngsters Jake Fewell, Adam Paxton and Harry Gregory in a run that saw Kay reach the Last 16 by only dropping two legs.

Teenager Nathan Care stood in Kay's way for the second time in the weekend and Kay (99.73) romped to victory by 4-1; starting the contest with a brace of 12 dart legs aided by 121 and 100 checkouts.

Jordan Boyce, who was also meeting Kay for the second time during the weekend, was then blown away by a score of 5-1.

Kay (86.13) showed his superiority with two 16 and two 17 dart legs in a routine win to setup a semi final with Joshua Richardson.

Kay (86.53) raced into a 3-0 lead aided by legs of 14 and 12 with 110 and 90 finishes before Richardson, who is the son of former PDC Tour Card holder James Richardson, roared back to win four out of five legs.

Fortunately for Kay he had the throw, which proved vital in him setting up a second final appearance of the weekend.

Reigning PDC World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks stood in Kay's way with both men needing to win to top the PDC Development Tour rankings for the season.

The honour came with automatic entries to the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts, 2022 PDC World Championship, and a Tour Card for 2022-23 seasons.

After starting with a 70 checkout in 18 darts, the occasion and all that was riding upon it appeared to get the better of the Plymouth player as the much more experienced Brooks ran out a comfortable 5-1 winner.

Kay and his fans should not in any way shape or form be too disheartened with an outstanding performance over the weekend and season.

Kay ends third in the rankings and the highest ranked teenager with a spot booked easily in the revamped PDC World Youth Championship.

The event, held on November 28th at Butlins Minehead, will see the ten PDC Tour Card holders of age join the top eight from the UK and European Development Tours, plus six regional qualifiers in a round robin event.

Considering his recent heroics in both the PDC Challenge and Development tours, as well as Modus Live League, Kay will most certainly be a feared opponent.