NEWTON SEES OFF HUYBRECHTS FOR SPEEDY HIRE UK OPEN QUALIFIER WIN

WES NEWTON took victory in the first Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier of 2012 with a 6-3 defeat of in-form Belgian Kim Huybrechts in Crawley on Saturday.

World number six Newton secured his first PDC ProTour win since last March - which also came at the K2 Centre - with the triumph, which sees him pocket £6,000 and immediately secure his place in June^s UK Open televised finals in Bolton.

The Fleetwood ace showed strong form throughout Saturday^s event, overcoming recent Tour Card winner Richie Howson, Holland^s Jerry Hendriks, Scotland^s Robert Thornton and Andy Brown in reaching the last eight, taking out 137 to secure victory against the latter.

After seeing off local rival Ronnie Baxter 6-4 in the quarter-finals, he won four straight legs from 3-2 down to defeat Coventry^s Kevin Dowling in the semis.

Following an edgy start in the final, where Huybrechts shared the first four legs, Newton hit top gear with a 14-darter and superb bullseye finishes of 167 and 84 - after the Belgian missed darts at a double in both legs - to lead 5-2.

Newton hit a 180 in the eighth leg, but missed the bull for a 121 finish as Huybrechts kept the match alive with a fine 130 checkout.

However, after the pair traded 180s in the next, another miss from the Belgian on double 14 allowed Newton in to post double six and take victory.

Huybrechts reached his first PDC final with his performances on the day, picking up wins over left-handers Mark Webster and Mark Hylton, a whitewash victory over Mark Stephenson and a 6-3 defeat of Vincent van der Voort.

He then won his quarter-final with Scott Rand with a 148 checkout before defeating Simon Whitlock 6-4 in the semis, and claims £3,000 prize money.

Having also reached the World Championship quarter-finals on his Alexandra Palace debut, Huybrechts^ display meant that he has now reached the last eight in five of his last six tournaments.

Coventry^s Dowling reached the semi-finals in his best-ever run on the PDC ProTour, defeating recent Players Championship winner Michael Smith, three-time World Champion John Part and Ireland^s William O^Connor along the way.

He was joined in the last four by in-form Australian Whitlock, while Ireland^s William O^Connor, Warwickshire^s Prakash Jiwa, Baxter and Rand all won through to the quarter-finals.

PDC newcomer Dean Winstanley reached the last 16 for the second successive PDC ProTour event, with Andy Brown reaching that stage for the first time since winning his Tour Card in 2011.

The second of eight Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifiers will be played on Sunday, with over 190 players in action.

Speedy Hire UK Open Qualifier One
K2 Centre, Crawley - February 11

Preliminary Round
Denis Ovens 6-2 Mark Lawrence
Paul Nicholson 6-5 Adrian Gray
Steven Pearson 6-5 Gary Eastwood
Aaron Turner 6-5 Tony Ayres
Carlos Rodriguez 6-3 Darren Williams
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Brandon Walsh
Connie Finnan 6-2 Lee Whitworth
Aden Kirk 6-2 Paul Sawyer
Toon Greebe 6-5 Co Stompe Jnr
Ted Hankey 6-5 Steve West
Matt Clark 6-5 Steve Maish
Les Wallace 6-2 Andy Turnbull
Magnus Caris 6-3 Stephen Hardy
Matthew Edgar 6-3 Steve Farmer
Gaz Cousins 6-2 Barrie Bates
Kevin Painter 6-4 Dave Honey
Robert Thornton 6-1 Alex Clyburn
Nick Fullwell 6-3 Anthony Littleton
Michael Smith 6-3 Peter Harris
Ryan Harrington 6-3 Peter Evison
Richie Burnett 6-2 Brendan Dolan
Stuart Kellett 6-0 Lee Butler
James Guilfoyle 6-4 Adrian Bolitho
Ross Smith 6-3 Sam Hill
Gino Vos 6-1 Lewis Venes
John Part 6-3 Dennis Smith
Mark Jones 6-4 Brian Woods
Mervyn King 6-3 Roland Scholten
Darren Webster 6-5 Andy Hamilton
James Wade 6-3 Ian White
Peter Wright 6-4 Kevin McDine
Andy Smith 6-5 Damien Sherwood
Terry Jenkins 6-2 Andy Relf
Shaun Griffiths 6-5 Gary Anderson
Johnny Haines 6-2 Keith Rooney
Jamie Lewis 6-2 Chris Thompson
Jyhan Artut 6-0 Dave Kelly
Joey Palfreyman 6-4 Rees Hall
Gareth Pass 6-4 Nigel Birch
Alex Roy 6-0 James Pastfield
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Sean White
Colin Osborne 6-0 Dave Ladley
Joe Murnan 6-3 Nathan Richards
Adam Smith-Neale 6-3 Neville Roberts
Chris Aubrey 6-2 Liam Kelly
Matt Jackson 6-3 Darren Johnson
Prakash Jiwa 6-3 Ian Lever
Paddy Meaney 6-5 Dave Chisnall
John Jenkinson 6-5 Paul Barham
Michael Barnard 6-5 Steve Beaton
Simon Burt 6-3 Geoff Whitworth
Josh Jones 6-3 Daniel Bunker
Justin Pipe 6-2 Rocco Maes
Jamie Caven 6-2 Andrew Palmer
Mareno Michels 6-3 Jason Crawley
Mark Walsh 6-1 Joe Hunt
Gary Butcher 6-1 Tony Wood
Steve Brown 6-5 Daniel Day
Richard Plowman 6-4 Martin Perring
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Ashley Holgate
Mick Todd 6-1 Jelle Klaasen
Richard North 6-2 Philip Wathen
Kim Huybrechts 6-1 Stuart White
Mark Webster 6-3 Steve Evans
Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Michael Mansell
Mark Hylton 6-3 Darren Latham

First Round
Darren Whittingham 6-4 Peter Manley
Bernd Roith 6-2 Denis Ovens
Paul Nicholson 6-0 Steven Pearson
Carlos Rodriguez 6-1 Aaron Turner
Andrew Gilding 6-5 Co Stompe
Ronnie Baxter 6-3 Kirk Shepherd
Connie Finnan 6-3 Aden Kirk
Ted Hankey 6-1 Toon Greebe
Keegan Brown 6-4 James Richardson
Andy Brown 6-0 Colin Monk
Matt Clark 6-1 Les Wallace
Matthew Edgar 6-4 Magnus Caris
Jerry Hendriks 6-4 Steve Hine
Wes Newton 6-4 Richie Howson
Kevin Painter 6-1 Gaz Cousins
Robert Thornton 6-3 Nick Fullwell
Kevin Dowling 6-1 Ian Moss
Andrew Hibbert 6-4 Stephen McNally
Michael Smith 6-2 Ryan Harrington
Stuart Kellett 6-2 Richie Burnett
Danny Summers 6-5 Andy Pearce
Keith Stephen 6-2 Reece Robinson
Ross Smith 6-5 James Guilfoyle
John Part 6-1 Gino Vos
Dean Winstanley 6-5 Paul Rowley
Dyson Parody 6-5 Mike Veitch
Mark Jones 6-3 Mervyn King
James Wade 6-3 Darren Webster
James Hubbard 6-2 James Young
William O^Connor 6-5 Ron Atwill
Andy Smith 6-4 Peter Wright
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Shaun Griffiths
Wayne Jones 6-3 Steve Grubb
Tony West 6-0 Stefanie Luck
Johnny Haines 6-2 Jamie Lewis
Jyhan Artut 6-4 Joey Palfreyman
Mark Frost 6-2 Ian Jopling
Martyn Turner 6-1 Mick McGowan
Alex Roy 6-2 Gareth Pass
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Colin Osborne
Colin Lloyd 6-4 Alan Tabern
Arron Monk 6-1 Kurt Van De Rijck
Adam Smith-Neale 6-4 Joe Murnan
Matt Jackson 6-2 Chris Aubrey
Antonio Alcinas 6-2 Andrew Cornwall
John Henderson 6-3 John Bowles
Prakash Jiwa 6-4 Paddy Meaney
Michael Barnard 6-3 John Jenkinson
Scott Rand 6-2 Jack Hill
Jim Walker 6-5 Devon Petersen
Josh Jones 6-3 Simon Burt
Jamie Caven 6-3 Justin Pipe
Peter Hudson 6-3 Dave Smith
Chris Mason 6-4 Jimmy Mann
Mark Walsh 6-1 Mareno Michels
Steve Brown 6-1 Gary Butcher
Joe Cullen 6-1 Darrell Claydon
Nigel Heydon 6-0 Tony Tasker
Vincent van der Voort 6-0 Richard Plowman
Mick Todd 6-4 Richard North
John Scott 6-2 Richie Walsh
Mark Stephenson 6-0 Lee White
Kim Huybrechts 6-5 Mark Webster
Mark Hylton 6-5 Michael van Gerwen

Second Round
Bernd Roith 6-5 Darren Whittingham
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Carlos Rodriguez
Ronnie Baxter 6-0 Andrew Gilding
Connie Finnan 6-4 Ted Hankey
Andy Brown 6-4 Keegan Brown
Matt Clark 6-3 Matthew Edgar
Wes Newton 6-1 Jerry Hendriks
Robert Thornton 6-4 Kevin Painter
Kevin Dowling 6-5 Andrew Hibbert
Michael Smith 6-5 Stuart Kellett
Keith Stephen 6-5 Danny Summers
John Part 6-2 Ross Smith
Dean Winstanley 6-5 Dyson Parody
James Wade 6-5 Mark Jones
William O^Connor 6-4 James Hubbard
Terry Jenkins 6-3 Andy Smith
Wayne Jones 6-4 Tony West
Johnny Haines 6-2 Jyhan Artut
Mark Frost 6-2 Martyn Turner
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Alex Roy
Arron Monk 6-3 Colin Lloyd
Adam Smith-Neale 6-2 Matt Jackson
John Henderson 6-4 Antonio Alcinas
Prakash Jiwa 6-5 Michael Barnard
Scott Rand 6-3 Jim Walker
Jamie Caven 6-1 Josh Jones
Peter Hudson 6-2 Chris Mason
Mark Walsh 6-3 Steve Brown
Joe Cullen 6-3 Nigel Heydon
Vincent van der Voort 6-4 Mick Todd
Mark Stephenson 6-3 John Scott
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Mark Hylton
Losers £200

Third Round
Paul Nicholson 6-3 Bernd Roith
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Connie Finnan
Andy Brown 6-4 Matt Clark
Wes Newton 6-3 Robert Thornton
Kevin Dowling 6-3 Michael Smith
John Part 6-4 Keith Stephen
Dean Winstanley 6-4 James Wade
William O^Connor 6-3 Terry Jenkins
Johnny Haines 6-5 Wayne Jones
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Mark Frost
Arron Monk 6-5 Adam Smith-Neale
Prakash Jiwa 6-1 John Henderson
Scott Rand 6-5 Jamie Caven
Mark Walsh 6-1 Peter Hudson
Vincent van der Voort 6-3 Joe Cullen
Kim Huybrechts 6-0 Mark Stephenson
Losers £400

Fourth Round
Ronnie Baxter 6-2 Paul Nicholson
Wes Newton 6-5 Andy Brown
Kevin Dowling 6-5 John Part
William O^Connor 6-5 Dean Winstanley
Simon Whitlock 6-4 Johnny Haines
Prakash Jiwa 6-3 Arron Monk
Scott Rand 6-5 Mark Walsh
Kim Huybrechts 6-3 Vincent van der Voort
Losers £600

Quarter-Finals
Wes Newton 6-4 Ronnie Baxter
Kevin Dowling 6-4 William O^Connor
Simon Whitlock 6-2 Prakash Jiwa
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Scott Rand
Losers £1,000

Semi-Finals
Wes Newton 6-3 Kevin Dowling
Kim Huybrechts 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Losers £2,000

Final
Wes Newton 6-3 Kim Huybrechts
Winner £6,000
Runner-Up £3,000

Final - Leg-By-Leg
Wes Newton v Kim Huybrechts
0-0 - Wes Newton wins the bull and throws first.
1-0 - Huybrechts misses tops to break throw, and Newton punishes that on double eight.
1-1 - The Belgian hits a 180 to be first to a finish, and although he misses the bullseye for an 84 checkout he returns to post double eight.
2-1 - Huybrechts is unable to take out 139, hitting 99 to leave tops only to see Newton hit the same bed at the first attempt to regain the lead.
2-2 - Huybrechts is again first to a finish, and hits double eight with his fifth dart to take the leg and level.
3-2 - Newton produces his best leg of the match, hitting back from a slow start with two 140s to leave 95, which he finishes in two for a 14-darter
4-2 - Huybrechts misses double 11 for a 124 checkout, and Newton superbly finishes 167 to break for the first time in the final.
5-2 - Hubrechts misses the bull for a 122 finish, and Newton lands the bull again - for an 84 finish - to lead 5-2.
5-3 - Newton wires the bull for a 121 checkout which would have sealed victory, and Huybrechts takes out 130 on double five to stay alive.
6-3 - The pair trade 180s but Huybrechts misses double 14 for a 107 checkout and Newton hits double six to secure the triumph.