The Winmau DPA Pro Tour Event 9 was played on Sunday at the Italian Club Bunbury, with everything still to play for in the race for the Kyle Anderson Memorial Trophy. Stuart Coburn entered the day in the lead after claiming two event wins on Saturday.
On Sunday, however, Coburn was eliminated in the round of 32 by Mal Cuming, opening the door for Joe Comito to potentially secure the trophy if he made it to the final.
In the quarter-finals, Comito progressed with a 2–1 set victory over Jeremy Fagg. Ronald Nakata defeated Brandon Weening by two sets to nil. Bill Aitken eliminated Tim Pusey with the same scoreline, while the final match went to James Bailey, who overcame Jordan Mathers 2–1.
In the semi-finals, Aitken and Bailey’s opening set went to a deciding leg, which Bailey won. He also claimed the deciding leg in the next set to go two sets up. Aitken responded by taking the third set 3–1, but Bailey halted the comeback by winning the fourth set 3–1, securing a 3–1 match victory.
Comito faced fellow Western Australian Nakata in the other semi-final. Comito, the current Australian DPA number one, took the first five legs of the match. Nakata then claimed two consecutive legs to force a deciding leg in the second set, but Comito held firm to take it. He then opened the third set with two straight legs, only for Nakata to level the set at 2–2. Comito closed out the match by taking the final leg, winning three sets to nil.
This result confirmed Comito as the Kyle Anderson Memorial winner, though he still had a chance to widen the gap at the top of the PDC World Championship qualification race in the final against Bailey.
In the final, the first set began cautiously, with the first three legs going against the throw. Comito was the first to hold throw, which proved crucial as he took the set 3–1. In the second set, he held throw again and broke Bailey once more. Although Bailey broke back, Comito responded with a 15-dart leg to take the set and move ahead two sets to nil.
Bailey began a comeback by holding throw with a 15-darter and then broke Comito in 13 darts to lead the third set 2–0. He went on to hold throw again to win the set and reduce the deficit to 2–1.
In the fourth set, Bailey levelled the match by breaking Comito in legs one and three, and holding throw in between. Both players then held throw in their opening legs of the deciding set. Bailey held again to move one leg from victory. With Comito requiring 16 on throw, Bailey threw a 140 to apply pressure. It proved effective. Comito busted his attempt, and Bailey stepped up to the oche and cleaned up 26 he required with his last dart in hand.
Thanks to his win on Sunday, James Bailey moved up to second place on the Order of Merit, overtaking Stuart Coburn. Comito, despite losing in three finals across Saturday and Sunday, claimed the Kyle Anderson Memorial thanks to his consistent performances and moved further ahead in the Order of Merit as he chases a second successive PDC World Championship of darts appearance.
In the DPA Challenge Tour, Friday saw Steven Riches defeat Rory Harper in the final, while Daryle Mitchell overcame Jason Jeanes on Saturday in their final. On Sunday, Jeanes reached his second final of the weekend and this time emerged victorious, defeating Kjell-Ove Almeland.
Mark Anderson continues to lead the table in the DPA Challenge Tour, with Joel Hynd now joined by Jason Jeanes in equal second place, four points behind Anderson.
The Dart Technology Ladies Tour saw Jordan Clarke win Friday’s final 5–4 against Samara Ugle. On Saturday, Angela Clarke claimed the final over Martekea Wilson. Sunday saw a rematch of the previous day’s final, with Wilson taking the win over Clarke.
Jade Lock continues to lead the field in the Dart Technology Ladies Tour, twelve points clear of her nearest rival, Tracey Rosenow
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