Henry Coates produced a clinical display to win PDC Development Tour Event 23 at the Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan, defeating Owen Bates 5-1 in the final with a 97.41 average. Coates had earlier overcome Tyler Thorpe 5-3 in the semi-finals, while Bates saw off Jamai van den Herik 5-2.
The quarter-finals saw van den Herik edge Kaya Baysal 5-3, Bates defeat Ansh Sood 5-1, Thorpe beat Archie Self 5-2, and Coates overcome Keanu van Velzen 5-3. The top 16 results included van den Herik beating Connor Hopkins 4-1, Baysal defeating Killian Heffernan 4-1, Bates overcoming Luuk De Waal 4-3, Sood edging Owen Roelofs 4-3, Thorpe beating Mylo Michiels 4-3, Self defeating Lenny Schlueter 4-2, Coates seeing off James Beeton 4-1, and van Velzen beating Coby Jones-Swanson 4-2.
Following Event 23, Sebastian Bialecki leads the Development Tour Order of Merit with £21,900, ahead of Jack Drayton on £12,100 and Jamai van den Herik on £12,000. Cam Crabtree is fourth on £12,000, with Leon Weber (£11,350), Owen Bates (£11,200), Dominik Gruellich (£10,550), Jurjen van der Velde (£10,350), James Beeton (£10,300), and Archie Self (£10,200) completing the top ten. Henry Coates sits 11th on £9,050, while Charlie Manby is 12th on £8,500. With 15 players still in contention for a World Championship spot at Alexandra Palace, the race remains wide open.
The Development Tour consists of 24 events held across Leicester, Milton Keynes, Wigan, and Hildesheim. Events 1-5 took place at Leicester Arena from 20-22 February, Events 6-10 at Arena MK in Milton Keynes from 24-26 April, Events 11-15 at Arena MK from 5-7 June, Events 16-20 at Halle 39 in Hildesheim from 31 July to 2 August, and Events 21-24 at Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan on 3-4 October. Each event carries a £20,000 total payout, with the winner earning £3,000, runner-up £2,000, semi-finalists £1,000, quarter-finalists £750, last 16 losers £350, last 32 losers £250, and last 64 losers £100.
The top two players on the Development Tour Order of Merit who have not secured a Tour Card through another route will win a two-year Tour Card for 2027 and 2028. The top three also qualify for the PDC World Darts Championship if they haven't done so already, while the highest ranked player receives a spot at the 2026 Grand Slam of Darts. The top 16 who had not obtained a PDC Tour Card before 2027 Qualifying School were granted free entry to the final stage of Q-School, and the eight highest ranked players who did not earn a Tour Card for the 2026 season qualified for the first round of the 2026 UK Open.
The Development 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 in the UK and beyond. For now, results are available on DartConnect and through the Tournament Centre. The field includes PDC Tour Card holders aged 23 and under as of January 2026, with a minimum age of 16. Only those not in the top 64 of the main PDC Order of Merit can play, meaning players ranked 65-128 and anyone within the age limit are eligible, such as Beau Greaves and Charlie Manby as brand new Tour Card holders.
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 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, along with Dutch players Jamai van den Herik and Owen Roelofs, and German 18-year-olds Yorick Hofkens and Leon Weber.
