VAN DER VELDE AND DRAYTON DOMINATE DEVELOPMENT TOUR
23/02/2026 By Aaron Nijjar
By Aaron Toubian
JURJEN van der Velde and Jack Drayton secured a brace of titles on the PDC Development Tour.
The weekend began with Dutch delight as Van der Velde saw off a string of big names including Beau Greaves, Owen Bates and Jenson Walker.
He then powered to a dominant 5-1 win over Irish ace Dylan Slevin in the first final of the weekend, firing in a blistering 95+ average to seal the Event One crown.
World No.69 Sebastian Bialecki also ran out victorious, as he clinched the Event Two title at the Mattioli Arena.
Saturday afternoon belonged to Van der Velde as he turned on the style to clinch Event Three glory.
The Zevenhuizen hotshot fired in a blistering 97.5 average to power past Charlie Manby 5–3 in a high-quality final.
Drayton stormed to a sensational 18-match winning streak as he sealed back-to-back titles at Events Four and Five.
The 19-year-old pocketed £6,000 for his exploits, underlining his status as one of the brightest young talents on the circuit.
Drayton bagged the prized scalp of Greaves in the quarters of Event Four, pinning a brilliant 127 checkout to edge a dramatic last-leg shootout.
The Lancashire ace defeated Angelo Balsamo 5-1 in the final to secure a maiden PDC crown.
Drayton carried his sizzling form into Sunday afternoon, seeing off Cam Crabtree 5–3 in the final while averaging a rock-solid 90.67 to seal the deal in style.
Following the weekend’s five events, Van der Velde sits just above Drayton on top of the Development Tour Order of Merit.
The victorious pair are followed by Bialecki, Manby, Slevin, Balsamo, James Beeton, Crabtree, Peter Kelemen and Dominik Gruellich, who make up the top ten.
The Development Tour season continues in Milton Keynes on 24-26 April.
Image by Taylor Lanning.
