Archie Self claimed his maiden PDC Development Tour title with a 5-2 victory over Sam Jackson in the final of Event 22 at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan. Self averaged 91.64 in the final, while Jackson posted a 95.57 average in defeat. The win marks a breakthrough moment for Self, who had previously reached the semi-finals of Event 17 and the quarter-finals of Event 16 this year.
Self's path to the title included a 5-3 semi-final win over Nathan Potter, where he averaged 98.92. In the quarter-finals, he edged Dominik Gruellich 5-4 with a 97.83 average. Earlier in the day, he defeated Oliver Ufer 4-2 in the last 16. Jackson, meanwhile, reached the final with a 5-2 semi-final victory over Dylan Slevin, and had earlier beaten Shane de Jong 4-2 in the last 16.
Following Event 22, Sebastian Bialecki leads the Development Tour Order of Merit with £21,900. Jack Drayton is second on £12,100, followed by Cam Crabtree (£11,900), Leon Weber (£11,350) and Jamai van den Herik (£11,000). Self's victory moves him up to ninth on £9,450, while Owen Bates sits tenth with £9,200. The top two players on the Development Tour who have not secured their Tour Card through another route will win a two-year Tour Card for 2027 and 2028, while the top three also qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship if they haven't done so already. The highest ranked player on the Order of Merit receives a spot at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts.
The 2026 Development Tour consists of 24 events held across Leicester, Milton Keynes, Hildesheim and Wigan. The season began in February at Leicester Arena and concludes this weekend at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, with Events 23 and 24 taking place on Sunday 4 October. Each event carries a total prize fund of £20,000, with the winner receiving £3,000, the runner-up £2,000, and semi-finalists £1,000. Quarter-finalists earn £750, last 16 losers £350, last 32 losers £250, and last 64 losers £100. The format sees matches played first to four legs up to the quarter-finals, before switching to best of nine from the semi-finals onwards.
The Development Tour is open to players aged 23 and under as of January 2026, with a minimum age of 16, and only those outside the top 64 of the main PDC Order of Merit can compete. Beau Greaves, who has held a PDC Tour Card since this season, is among those eligible. The tour is not currently available to watch, though DAZN has confirmed a deal to show events in Germany from 2027, raising the possibility of future coverage. For now, results are available via DartConnect and the Tournament Centre.
Looking ahead, Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com, predicts Charlie Manby will finish atop the Development Tour Order of Merit. "I think that Beau Greaves is quite often an easy answer but also I don't see her playing every single event either so I don't think she will lead but I'm intrigued to see how she gets on," Gill said. He also named Charlie Manby, Sebastian Bialecki, Owen Bates, Cam Crabtree and Tyler Thorpe as players to watch. Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com, sees Jurjen van der Velde as a potential winner. "The Development Tour is the perfect breeding ground for talent to develop and qualify for the World Championship or win their Tour Card," Leering said. He also highlighted Dutch players Jamai van den Herik and Owen Roelofs, as well as Germans Yorick Hofkens and Leon Weber, and noted Sebastian Bialecki and Dylan Slevin as ones to keep an eye on.
