Semi-Finalists (Sean Negrette, Justin Hewitt, Jerome Chipol, Craig Galliano)
A total of 16 youngsters came down to participate in the Fourth Youth Ranking of the season which took place on Saturday 17th January 2018.
With 6 ranking events in total and only two more to play after this one things are very tight at the top of the table. However, Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt have both achieved enough points to guarantee themselves a top 4 finish regardless of how many points they get in the next two ranking events which means they have both qualified for the European Cup squad, congratulations to them both.
The other two spots are still up for grabs. Sean’s victory in this event does not mathematically get him into the top 4 but it he has certainly got himself into a great position to qualify.
First Round
In the first round games we saw comfortable 3-0 victories for Joseph Ward against Kyle Mor, Sean Negrette against Keith Medhurst Jnr, Jerome Chipol against Dylan De Los Santos, Joseph Borge against Kadrian Martinez, Kaylan Franco against Dylan Duo Jnr and Justin Hewitt against Elton Victory. The other result saw Jayc Alecio defeat youngster Nico Bado 3-1. However, the stand out tie from the first round was Ethan Smith the number one seed against Craig Galliano the back to back ranking title winner. The game was full of excitement as both players had darts at the double to win the game but in the end it was Craig who managed to hold his nerve and hit the crucial double and take the game with a 3-2 win.
Quarter-Final
In the Quarter-Finals Sean Negrette managed to defeat Jayc Alecio in straight legs with a comfortable 3-0 victory. Craig Galliano defeated Joseph Ward 3-1 and Justin Hewitt defeated Kaylan Franco by the same scoreline 3-1. In the last tie Jerome Chipol defeated youngster Joseph Borge with a straight forward 3-0 win.
Semi-Final
In the first Semi-Final tie Sean Negrette came up against Craig Galliano. They both faced each other in the previous ranking event in the first round and Sean managed to win that tie 3-1 and this time around the exact same thing occurred. Sean defeated Craig with a 3-1 win.
In the second Semi-Final tie Justin Hewitt came up against Jerome Chipol. This is the third time in a row the pair have faced each other in a ranking event, the previous two ties went Justin’s way. Once again it was Justin with his heavy scoring who managed to take the tie with a 3-1 win.
Final
Sean Negrette v Justin Hewitt.
The pair faced each other in the previous ranking final and that tie went Justin’s way with a 4-3 victory over Sean. However, this time it was Sean who managed to get revenge over his teammate and win the final with a convincing 4-1 win.
Sean won the bull and started the game.
Leg 1 – Sean managed to hold his throw with a D8 to lead 1-0.
Leg 2 – Sean hit a brilliant 118 checkout to break the throw and lead 2-0.
Leg 3 – Justin checked out 46 on tops to get one leg back 2-1.
Leg 4 – Sean held his nerve and hit tops for a 3-1 lead.
Leg 5 – Sean won the game on D16 and took the title with a 4-1 win.
First Round Results
Craig Galliano 3-2 Ethan Smith
Joseph Ward 3-0 Kyle Mor
Jayc Alecio 3-1 Nico Bado
Sean Negrette 3-0 Keith Medhurst Jnr
Jerome Chipol 3-0 Dylan De Los Santos
Joseph Borge 3-0 Kadrian Martinez
Kaylan Franco 3-0 Dylan Duo Jnr
Justin Hewitt 3-0 Elton Victory
Quarter-Final Results
Craig Galliano 3-1 Joseph Ward
Sean Negrette 3-0 Jayc Alecio
Jerome Chipol 3-0 Joseph Borge
Justin Hewitt 3-1 Kaylan Franco
Semi-Final Results
Sean Negrette 3-1 Craig Galliano
Justin Hewitt 3-1 Jerome Chipol
Final
Sean Negrette 4-1 Justin Hewitt
Congratulations to Sean Negrette, commiserations to Justin Hewitt.
180’s
Joseph Ward x1
High Finishes (+100)
Justin Hewitt 130
Jeremy Cruz caught up with Sean after the final for an interview…
So Sean, after losing in the Final in the last ranking event you managed to get the better of Justin this time round with a convincing win, you must be happy with this result?
“Yes I’m really happy with this win, I have been training loads recently and finally it has paid off.”
You made it all the way to the final by only dropping one leg all night, which included a brilliant 3-1 victory over Craig Galliano in the Semi-Final, do you think this win gave you confidence going into the final?
“This win did give me a boost but I already had confidence going into the final as I have played in several finals before and I have gained a lot of experience from them. Whenever I play a final I always think that I have nothing to lose like this I can decrease my nerves.”
You hit several 140’s and a brilliant 118 finish in the second leg to take a 2-0 lead in the final, do you think this finish gave you boost to go on and win the game?
“All those 140’s and the 118 checkout did give me a big boost to win the game, but at no point did I get over confident because in the last final against Justin I was 2-0 up and I lost the game 4-3.”
In the previous final you lost out by one leg and this time you managed to defeat Justin convincingly, did you think about that defeat in order to get motivation to win?
“At the beginning of the game I thought to myself this is going to be my final, the last final was very close and I lost in last leg dicider. I got motivation by believing in myself.”
This victory puts you into third place in the Rankings, although you have not mathematically made it into the top 4 yet you have extended the gap between 3rd and 4th place and you are in a great position to qualify, how confident are you that you will qualify for the European Cup again this year?
“At the moment I am playing really well and I am confident that I can make it into the squad, but I will not think about this when I play the last two ranking event, I will just go out there and give it my all to gain more points.”
Apart from the youth, this season you have also made it into the Quarter-Final and a Final of a Senior Ranking event and you currently sit 4th in the standings. This is a great achievement for a youth player, you must be really happy with your form at the moment?
“Yes I am really happy with the way I am performing lately, I have been practicing everyday for at least one hour and the training is paying off.”
And finally Sean, what would it mean what would it mean for you if you made the European Cup squad again this season?
“Qualifying for this years European Cup in Turkey would mean the world to me as this is what my target at the beginning of the season was. I was in the squad last year and the experience I gained was amazing and I would love to go again and show that I deserve to be in the squad.”
Below is the updated ranking table
