World Youth Championship Final
Blackburn’s Bradley Brooks is PDC World Youth Champion
Bradley Brooks claimed glory in the 2020 PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship final with a dramatic 6-5 win over Joe Davis on Sunday night in Coventry.
In only the second World Youth Championship final to go to a deciding leg, it was 20-year-old Brooks who scooped the £10,000 title and also secured a place in next month’s William Hill World Darts Championship.
The pair had secured their spot in Sunday’s final at the Ricoh Arena at the end of September, when the early rounds were staged in Barnsley, and could barely be separated across 11 captivating legs.
The lead changed hands five times during the contest as the pair battled to succeed Luke Humphries as champion, with Brooks posting a match-high 104 finish in leg two. Brighton’s Davis, 23, was first to reach five legs as he posted tops in leg nine, with Brooks hitting the same bed to force a deciding leg with a 13-darter.
The Blackburn thrower initially wired tops for the title, but Davis was unable to finish 103 to give Brooks a second chance, which he gratefully took on tops to seal the win. Both players will also compete in the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts, while Brooks’ debut World Championship appearance at Alexandra Palace will cap his third year on the PDC ProTour.
PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final
Bradley Brooks 6-5 Joe Davis
Best of 11 legs
Joe Davis v Bradley Brooks – Leg-By-Leg
1-0 – Double ten gives Davis a nerve-settling opening leg.
1-1 – Brooks finishes 104 to level.
1-2 – Brooks breaks throw by landing tops to lead.
2-2 – Brooks misses the bull, and Davis breaks back on tops.
3-2 – Brooks misses tops to finish 112, and Davis capitalises on double 16 to regain the lead.
3-3 – Three missed doubles from Davis allow Brooks to level on double ten.
3-4 – Davis misses three darts at double 18, allowing Brooks to hit double ten once again, breaking throw to move back in front.
4-4 – Davis opens with the game’s first, and punishes missed doubles across two visits from Brooks with double ten to level.
5-4 – Double top edges Davis back ahead as he moves a leg away from the title.
5-5 – Brooks finishes double top for a 13-darter to send the final into a deciding leg.
5-6 – Brooks is first to a finish, wiring tops to take out 72. Davis, though, is unable to finish 103 – leaving 16 – as Brooks returns to this time land tops for glory.