Burnett claims title on 2024 Challenge Tour opening day
Richie Burnett and Danny Jansen each picked up titles as the 2024 Winmau Challenge Tour got underway in Milton Keynes on Friday.
The opening day of the 2024 Challenge Tour saw veteran Welshman Burnett defeat Darryl Pilgrim 5-4 to claim Event One glory, before Dutchman Jansen also defeated Pilgrim 5-3 to triumph in Event Two.
Former Lakeside champion Burnett defeated former PDC Tour Card holders Devon Petersen and Peter Jacques on his way to the latter stages of Event One, averaging 100.37 in a 5-2 victory over Jacques.
Burnett then defeated Reece Colley and Stefan Bellmont in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before coming through a last-leg decider with Pilgrim to pick up his first Challenge Tour title.
Jansen, who, like Burnett, lost his Tour Card at the end of the 2023 campaign, defeated fellow Dutchmen Christian Kist and Wesley Plaisier en route to the quarter-finals where he overcame Ross Montgomery 5-2.
The Players Championship event winner then defeated John Henderson 5-3 in the semi-finals, before a 5-3 victory over Pilgrim sealed his first Challenge Tour title.
The 2024 Winmau Challenge Tour continues on Saturday, with Events 3-4 taking place at the Marshall Arena.
The top two players from the final 2024 Challenge Tour Order of Merit will secure a PDC Tour Card for 2025/26 and a place in the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Click here to view Events 1-2 Results
Match stats and results are available through DartConnect.
2024 Winmau Challenge Tour
January 19
Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes
Event One
Quarter-Finals
Franz Roetzsch 5-2 Connor Scutt
Darryl Pilgrim 5-1 Conan Whitehead
Richie Burnett 5-4 Reece Colley
Stefan Bellmont 5-1 Jarno Bottenberg
Semi-Finals
Darryl Pilgrim 5-2 Franz Roetzsch
Richie Burnett 5-3 Stefan Bellmont
Final
Richie Burnett 5-4 Darryl Pilgrim
Event Two
Quarter-Finals
Adam Paxton 5-2 Devon Petersen
Darryl Pilgrim 5-2 Trevor Burkhill
Danny Jansen 5-2 Ross Montgomery
John Henderson 5-2 Romeo Grbavac
Semi-Finals
Darryl Pilgrim 5-1 Adam Paxton
Danny Jansen 5-3 John Henderson
Final
Danny Jansen 5-3 Darryl Pilgrim
