Alex Roy and Alan Tabern were winners in yesterday’s double-header of PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour events held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Roy, who has competed in host of major televised tournaments over a 15-year period, showed signs of his best form in the opening event as he dropped just one leg in his first three games before edging out 2014 Challenge Tour event winner Matthew Edgar by a 5-4 scoreline.
The 39-year-old Watford ace recorded his third whitewash win of the event in the quarter-finals over fellow Hertfordshire man Tim Martin before defeating Manchester youngster Shaun Griffiths 5-3 in the last four.
Roy took on Mark Lawrence for the £2,000 first prize in the final and managed to hold his nerve to win 5-4 and claim his first win in a PDC event since 2008.
Pontefract lorry driver Lawrence produced a strong display at the Ricoh Arena with an excellent run to the final, defeating Colin Fowler – who recorded a brilliant Challenge Tour double in Wigan recently – at the last 16 stage.
Lawrence, a former UK Open quarter-finalist, beat Doug Thompson and Garry Spedding by 5-1 margins before losing the decider by the narrowest of margins to Roy.
Manchester’s Griffiths produced his best performance in a PDC competition for 18 months with a good run to the semi-finals following a barren spell of results.
The highly-rated 22-year-old, who won a Youth Tour event three years ago, defeated Ian McFarlane and Mark Frost en route to the semi-finals before a semi-final loss to Roy ended his hopes of a crack at the £2,000 first prize.
Cumbria’s Garry Spedding bettered his quarter-final effort last time out on the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour with a fine run to the semi-finals on Sunday in Coventry, defeating Prakash Jiwa and Steve Douglas before losing to Lawrence at the last four stage.
Leicester’s Jason Wilson reached the last eight for the second consecutive Challenge Tour event while Martin, Staffordshire’s Doug Thompson and four-time Lakeside competitor Douglas reached the same stage to achieve their best results at this level.
St Helens ace Alan Tabern went on to claim the second PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour event of the day as he continued his strong displays at this level in 2014.
The former top ten player overcame Mark Frost in a tough first round encounter before edging out Stephen Gallimore in a deciding leg to reach the last 32.
The games got tougher for Tabern but he held his nerve as he recorded 5-3 wins over Jamie Robinson and Reece Robinson before narrowly beating Matthew Dennant in a deciding leg.
Tabern won through his semi-final challenge with relative ease thanks to a 5-1 defeat of Wilson to reach his third PDC Uncicorn Challenge Tour final of the year, and he saw off Dave Honey 5-3 to claim his second title of the year.
Honey enjoyed an excellent run to the final in the second event of the day, which began with a tough 5-4 win over Michael Blake before seeing off John Scott by a 5-3 margin.
The Worcestershire thrower reached the last eight with wins over Trevor Burkhill and Michael Beal before stopping Event Seven winner Alex Roy in his tracks with a 5-3 triumph.
That put Honey through to the semi-finals, where he edged out Matt Clark in a deciding leg before losing the final to Tabern 5-3.
Wilson improved on his quarter-final effort earlier in the day with a fine run to the last four – his best result to date – before being denied a place in the decider by Tabern after a 5-1 loss.
Clark, who had reached the final of a Challenge Tour event three weeks ago, produced a run to the semi-finals in Event Eight which included wins over Nick Fullwell and Matthew Edgar before narrowly missing out on a spot in the final.
Event Seven winner Roy was on form again in the second event of the day, dropping just two legs in his opening three matches, and kept his hopes of a brilliant double alive with a 5-3 victory over Danny Pinhorne in the last 16.
Roy, though, was to be denied that achievement as he was beaten 5-3 by Honey at the last eight stage – having to settle for £2,300 in prize money for his fine display across the day.
Douglas reached the quarter-finals for the second time on Sunday while 2013 Youth Tour winner Matthew Dennant reached the same stage along with Reading’s Joe Lacey.
The next PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour double-header will take place on Sunday June 1 at the Robin Park Tennis Centre in Wigan, and is open to PDPA Associate Members, who can enter through the PDC Online Entry System.