ADC Deliver: Atkinson and Newell Triumph at Championship Tour Opener
Adam Atkinson and Tony Newell became the first ADC/Winmau Championship winners of the year after winning the opening events in Sunderland across the weekend.
The events proved a popular success for the nascent ADC and led Steve Brown to say:
“It’s fair to say that this weekend the ADC has delivered”
Atkinson beat Tony Wood 6-4 in the Final of event one and included an 83.40 average in beating his English opponent, whilst Newell won on Sunday defeating former PDC tour card holder Gary Blades 6-3 in the final with an 87.80 average. Opponent Blades threw three maximums in Houghton le Sand but struggled to finish, with Newell averaging two points lower than his opponent.
Adam Atkinson wins the very first ADC/Winmau Championship Tour Event
A checkout of 71 capped of the win for second in the ADC rankings Atkinson who hit one maximum during the match and sits on 468 points in the current rankings only behind Matt Jackson who did not feature this weekend. His win on Saturday earnt him 256 points which leaves him 54 points behind number one Jackson.
Adam came through a difficult Quarter-Final on Saturday beating Adam Warner 5-4, including a 105 checkout to take a 3-2 lead and break throw coming from 2-0 down after losing the second leg to a 92 out on his own darts.
Atkinson joined the ADC earlier this year and won the ADC Knack preseason competition in March earning him 64 points.
Newell included a fourteen-dart leg in the fifth leg to take a 3-2 lead in the Final, whilst Blades took out 90 in the second leg in just two darts to level the match after his opponent held to win the opening leg. This was Newell’s first appearance in the ADC this year and his 256 points earnt puts him seventh in the rankings behind Lloyd Pennell in sixth by 12 points.
Tony Newell aka The Bear claimed the 2nd event and £1000
He also beat an underwhelming Darren Williams who averaged just 64.21 average in the Semi-Final, with a whitewash victory including checkouts of 82 and 112 to finish fifteen dart legs in what was a routine victory for Newell.
Third-placed, in the rankings, Tony Wood lost in the final but sits five points clear of Graham Hall in fourth after earning 128 points for reaching the Final. Wood beat George Ripley with a 93.61 average in a 4-1 win in the Last 16 and included a 90 checkout to finish a fourteen-dart leg to lead 3-1 and hold throw.
Wood also reached the Quarter Finals of event 2 and lost to Dave Prins 5-3 in the Quarter Final who made a first-round appearance in the recent WDF World Championships which were held at Lakeside back in April.
Local man, and multiple PDC champion, Colin Osborne had a solid, if unspectacular, weekend with two Qtr-final appearances, despite not showing his best form. The Wizard was impressed with the professionalism of the staging and the vent itself and was looking forward to the rest of the years events:
“Everything was very seriously undertaken, I play darts, it’s what I have done for decades and this is as good an amateur event as I have played in….”
The ADC Championship tour continues with events three and four scheduled to take place on the 2nd of July in Bristol with the likes of Atkinson and Wood looking to hunt down Matt Jackson at the top of the rankings.
The next event in the ADC calendar is the York Open event which is scheduled to take place in York this weekend with more ranking points on the line for many players.
ADC Championship Tour 1:
Quarter-Final Results
Adam Atkinson 5-4 Adam Warner
Jack Male 5-4 Colin Osborne
Sam Cromwell 5-4 Lee Budgen
Tony Wood 5-3 Liam Maughan
Semi-Finals:
Adam Atkinson 5-3 Jack Male
Tony Wood 5-4 Sam Cromwell
Final:
Adam Atkinson 6-4 Tony Wood
ADC Championship Tour 2:
Quarter-Final Results
Tony Newell 5-3 Kevin Naunton
Darren Williams 5-3 Gary Stephens
Gary Blades 5-0 Colin Osborne
Dave Prins 5-3 Tony Wood
Semi-Finals:
Gary Blades 5-0 Dave Prins
Tony Newell 5-0 Darren Williams
Final:
Tony Newell 6-3 Gary Blades
—–ENDS—–
Words: Harry Masterson & JR Lott