Preview:
With the PDC Winter Series just hours away, starting with the PDC Grand Slam qualifier, I take a look at just what each Loxley sponsored player has at stake over the course of the week, with Ryan Searle, Matthew Edgar and Aaron Beeney all looking to make their own impact and add to their season earnings. A tough field, and yet, as all three have shown over the course of the year, anything is possible. With Ryan debuting new darts (available now from Loxley), as well as both Matthew and Aaron using their new Loxley equipment, it’ll be an interesting week for the trio!
Ryan Searle
As it stands, Ryan Searle is Loxley’s highest ranked player, sitting 41st with £125,750 on the Order of Merit. A good week could potentially see him push further towards the Top 32 in the overall PDC rankings, as he looks to put himself in the best possible position in the upcoming PDC World Championships. Little pressure on Ryan, as he seems all-but certain to qualify for the World’s, sitting second on the ProTour OoM, when the Top 32 in the PDC OoM have been removed (due to the Top 32 in the PDC OoM gaining automatic qualification). No room for error though – he’ll need to be ‘on it’ from the first dart to the last to ensure his spot!
Matthew Edgar
Just 21 places below Ryan sits the ‘Prime Time’ player himself, Matthew Edgar, in 62nd, with £49,250 won over the last two years. With such fine margins separating Matthew and those around him, he’ll be desperate to move further up the rankings. In addition to this, Matthew currently sits just £1,250 behind the 32nd player in the ProTour OoM, who isn’t currently qualified for the World Championships through the overall rankings. One big result is all Matthew may need to cement himself in the PDC World Championships, and to bring the Edgar Nation to the big stage once again!
Aaron Beeney
Sitting in joint 149th, with £1,000 on the PDC OoM is 2020 Tour Card winner Aaron Beeney, who’s start to life in PDC darts has been unfortunately hindered by the current Coronavirus pandemic. With competitive darts beginning to resume, Aaron will be determined to add to his OoM earnings this week, and build up some momentum ready for a fresh start in 2021, with the experience gained from this year proving invaluable as he looks to retain his Tour Card. There is potential for him to debut in a televised event, with the knowledge that, like with Matthew Edgar, one or two good days could change his career, as it did at Q-School in January. With a prize fund of £375,000 for the week, Aaron has every chance of building on what he has already achieved in such a short space of time, and reaching new heights within the PDC.
Best of luck to Ryan, Matthew and Aaron this week! I’ll be following along, writing up daily reports on the players, as they all look to earn their share of the near £400,000 prize money up for grabs. With all three in good form, expect great things from Team Loxley! You can follow the action live on DartConnect, or watch along from the PDC’s streaming services – you may even see a Loxley player on the stream!
Day 1
A tough task for the Loxley sponsored players today, as they were drawn to face both current, and former champions at nearly every stage! I follow Ryan Searle, Matthew Edgar and Aaron Beeney in the first day of the PDC Winter Series, as they look to get their campaigns off to a strong start. Heartbreak for two of the three yesterday, with Ryan and Matthew coming within touching distance of a Grand Slam spot. A fresh mindset is needed, if they want to progress over the course of the week – in a last bid to qualify for the PDC World Championship next month.
Ryan Searle
Drawn to play the second game on Board 2, Ryan faces a very difficult task against former BDO World Champion, and World Masters Champion, Steve Beaton. Sharing his board is another World Champion, with Adrian Lewis set to take on the ‘German Giant’, Gabriel Clemens, shortly after.
Unfortunately for Ryan, he ran into an inspired ‘Bronzed Adonis’, falling to a 6-2 defeat, averaging 97.1. A tough defeat to take, with Beaton averaging 0.5 less than Ryan, and yet Ryan did well to try stage a comeback after falling 4-0 down thanks to some impressive finishing from the former World Champion. Back-to-back legs of 13 and 12 darts helped Ryan claw his way back into the game, but by then it was too late, as Steve held throw, then broke to take the last two legs.
Matthew Edgar
Just two boards across, on Board 4, Matthew takes on a World Champion of his own in Jelle Klaasen, who rose to fame after defeating Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld to win the BDO World Championship, back in 2006. Drawing parallels again to Ryan Searle’s board, two-time back-to-back World Champion, Gary Anderson, also features on Matthew’s board. A player he knows all too well – should they meet, Matthew will want to emulate his recent victory over the ‘Flying Scotsman’, in which he hit a 170 checkout to claim the victory (not that he ever mentions it).
A very close encounter between Matthew and Jelle, but it was the Dutchman that unfortunately denied ‘Prime Time’ a spot in the L64, defeating him 6-5. A poor performance all things considered, with Matthew averaging 82.6 in a game that he will feel he should’ve won with ease. Nevertheless, four more opportunities for redemption, as the hunt goes on for Matthew’s first senior PDC title on the professional tour.
Aaron Beeney
A great opportunity for Aaron to take on one of the men-of-the-moment, as he faces 2020 World Matchplay champion, and recent World Cup semi-finalist Dimitri van den Bergh in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. After a disappointing performance yesterday in the Grand Slam qualifier, Aaron will want to put things right – what better way than to knock out the young Belgian star?
With both Ryan and Matthew falling at the first hurdle, it was now up to Aaron to claim Loxley’s first win of the day, and of the Winter Series. Unfortunately for Aaron, this wasn’t the case, as Dimitri cruised to a 6-2 victory at Aaron’s expense, despite a steady 84.6 average from Aaron. A 145 checkout to seal the fifth leg seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for Aaron, who now has the tough task of picking himself back up again for tomorrow’s action.
A disappointing day all-round for team Loxley – they’ll all know things must improve if they each want to achieve their individual goals over the course of the week. All three go again tomorrow in Day 2 of the PDC Winter Series!
Day 2
After a bitterly disappointing day from team Loxley on Day 1 of the PDC Winter Series, the three will look to rectify their mistakes today, and get their campaigns off to a fresh start. With the initial day one nerves out the way, I followed Ryan Searle, Matthew Edgar, and Aaron Beeney as they all looked to add to their resumè as professional darts players, and deny Unicorn’s Michael Smith his second consecutive title.
Ryan Searle
In a replay of the PDC Grand Slam qualifier L16 on Monday, Ryan was drawn to play Justin Pipe in the opening round – a tough task, against a player in very good form as of late. Ryan will look to avenge his 5-1 defeat, knowing a top performance is needed if he is to get anything out of the game.
A steady, but unspectacular performance from Ryan saw him fall at the first hurdle for the second consecutive day, with Justin averaging well into the mid-90’s. A game that could’ve gone either way, Ryan just couldn’t find the extra gear needed, as Justin rattled off the last two legs in 15 and 12 darts to claim a 6-4 victory.
Matthew Edgar
Another familiar opponent for team Loxley, as Matthew faced off against ‘Yozza’ Jamie Hughes – who Ryan defeated in the L32 on Monday in the PDC Grand Slam qualifiers. With Jamie seemingly dipping in, and out of form as of late, Matthew knows he can take nothing for granted, and must be ‘on it’ from the first dart, to the last.
Altogether a poor performance from Matthew, as he suffered a 6-0 whitewash defeat, with an inspired Jamie Hughes averaging 95.9, in comparison to Matthew’s 82.2. There were chances for Matthew throughout the match, which unfortunately he failed to convert, allowing Jamie to put himself into an unassailable lead. Two defeats from two for Matthew – he’ll need to be on top form tomorrow, with his Tour Card now potentially at stake!
Aaron Beeney
Winless in his opening two games of the week, Aaron will look to put matters right and claim his third Pro-Tour win of the year, as he faced Michael Barnard for a place in the L64. With a disappointing performance yesterday, Aaron will want to bounce back, and claim Loxley’s first win of the PDC Winter Series.
This he did, defeating Michael to progress into the L64, for the third time in his career! A 6-4 win, averaging 77.6 – it wasn’t pretty, but he got the job done, setting up a tantalising tie against Dutch star Martijn Kleermaker in the next round. A poor average from Barnard, but Aaron won’t care – capitalising on every mistake his opponent made to take home the win.
Unfortunately, Aaron couldn’t make it two wins from two, as Martijn stole a 6-5 victory, despite one of Aaron’s strongest performances on the tour so far. An 88.7 average from Aaron just wasn’t enough, with Kleermaker holding his throw for a 12 darter, denying Aaron a chance at a 121 finish for the match. Nevertheless an impressive day, with some valuable ranking money added to his total – hopefully he can build on this throughout the rest of the Winter Series!
An improvement over yesterday, yet still not the results the players were after – they’ll go again tomorrow, with two of the three hunting their first win of the week. Congratulations to Aaron in his third ProTour win – hopefully a sign of things to come this week!
Day 3
With just one win between them so far in the PDC Winter Series, team Loxley will look to rectify things today as they toe the oche for Day 3. Fresh off the back of just his third ever ProTour victory, Aaron Beeney will want to build on his progress made yesterday, as he looks for his fourth win as a PDC professional. For Ryan Searle and Matthew Edgar, a chance for redemption, with neither player so far hitting the heights found on Monday in the Grand Slam qualifier, in which they both came so close to qualification.
Ryan Searle
Up first for Ryan was young star Bradley Brooks, coming fresh off of a good run to the L32 yesterday, where he lost out to eventual finalist, Jose de Sousa. A tough task, with Brooks showing good form as of late – a big performance needed if Ryan is to progress in today’s competition.
An incredible performance from Ryan sees him through, defeating ‘Bamm-Bamm’ 6-1 in a phenomenal performance. Averaging just shy of 100, Ryan had just one leg won in over 15 darts, with Brooks managing to avoid the whitewash thanks to a 14 dart leg of his own.
The waiting game was now on for Ryan, keeping a close eye on the match between Christian Bunse, and Rowby-John Rodriguez. A tough board for Ryan, who knows victory in his next match will see him face the victor of the battle of former BDO World Champions, as Glen Durrant takes on Scott Mitchell. It was Bunse who eventually prevailed, with a stunning 98.8 average to defeat the Austrian 6-4. With both players in such good form, this match may be too tough to call.
In his best performance of the week, Ryan dismantled Christian Bunse 6-3, with a staggering 101.4 average to book his place in the L32. Powerful scoring and relentless doubling helped him to brush aside the young German, and set up a clash against, as I mentioned earlier, a former BDO World Champion.
This World Champion ended up being Glen Durrant, as the 2017, 2018 and 2019 champion defeated the 2015 champion Scott Mitchell, coming through a tense last leg decider, with both players averaging 93!
Yet again, Ryan prevailed, brushing aside the recently crowned PDC Premier League champion 6-4, in a cagey affair on the streaming board. A 92.9 average was enough for Ryan, who’s opponent never seemed to get going, with Glen averaging just 87.9. Another huge confidence boost for Ryan, who now knows the defending champion is out! Could this be Ryan’s time to add to his PDC title collection?
No time to dream just yet, as Ryan’s next opponent was revealed – Latvian star Madars Razma, who had defeated Peter Jaques, Jitse van der Wal and Ted Evetts on his way to setting up a clash with ‘Heavy Metal’ in the L16, as he looked to reach his first ProTour quarter-final in nearly two years.
In another close encounter, Ryan once again ran out as the victor, edging past Madars with a fantastic 126 checkout to seal the match. Both players averaged 88, and yet it was Ryan who managed to find the extra gear, coming from 2-0 down to win 6-4. The quarter-final beckoned, with Ryan not having to wait long to discover his next opponent.
It was William O’Connor, former PDC World Cup finalist, who was tasked with trying to stop Ryan as he looked to double his PDC title tally. With the news top seed Gerwyn Price had been knocked out, both players believed that they could be the PDC Winter Series Day 3 champion!
Despite a well timed 140 checkout from Ryan, he could do little to stop the onslaught from William O’Connor, as he fell to a 6-3 defeat at the quarter-final stage of the competition. Despite scoring well, his doubling let him down at key times, with three of O’Connor’s legs potentially going the other way. Nevertheless, a good day for Ryan, with valuable ranking money attained – his PDC Winter Series campaign is now well and truly underway!
Matthew Edgar
For Matthew, he faces his first round opponent from Tuesday, as he takes on Jelle Klaasen for a place in the L64. Matthew will be focused on forgetting about their previous meeting, in which he squandered a 5-2 lead, allowing Jelle to capitalise on missed doubles to rattle off the last 4 legs in quick succession.
Worrying signs now for Matthew, as he falls to his third consecutive defeat in the PDC Winter Series. A poor performance from, averaging 85.4, allowed Jelle to coast home to a 6-3 win, averaging 96.7 – over 11 points higher than his opponent. All to do now for Matthew, who needs to pick up some ranking money in the next two days, should he wish to retain his Tour Card for another year.
Aaron Beeney
A chance for Aaron to progress for the second consecutive day, as he faces a former winner on the ProTour, Joe Murnan, who won his sole PDC title back in 2015, in a ProTour event held in Crawley. Aaron will want to repeat his performance from yesterday’s clash against Martijn Kleermaker, knowing an average around the 90 mark may be enough to see him through.
It may not have been the 90 average I’d suggested, but despite averaging 11 points less in the averages, Aaron secured his second win in as many days to push himself into the L64. In a typical case of averages meaning very little, Aaron took his chances brilliantly, with a well timed 180 in the deciding leg allowing him a chance at D18, which he took to move into the L64. Fantastic courage from him!
Up next was ‘The Silencer’ Jeff Smith, who defeated Jamie Hughes in a thrilling match earlier in the afternoon. A 6-4 win for Smith, averaging 97.5 in what was one of the highest combined averages of the day so far, with Hugest himself averaging 95.7. Top form needed from Aaron, if he wishes to progress to the L32 for the first time in his career.
It wasn’t meant to be, as Aaron fell to a 6-0 defeat at the hands of ‘The Silencer’. In a ruthless performance, Jeff averaged 103.7, affording Aaron just one solitary dart at double – a shot at bullseye in the final leg, unfortunately falling into the single 19. Another impressive day from Aaron, who is showing signs of improvement every time he steps up to the oche. More of the same tomorrow!
Some good signs today from team Loxley, with an incredible quarter-final run from Ryan Searle the highlight of the week so far! Another impressive day from Aaron Beeney, as he earned his second win of the week, with a hard fought match deservingly going his way. Disappointment yet again for Matthew Edgar, who desperately needs to find the form he showed on Monday in the Grand Slam qualifier.
Still time, with two days left of the competition – come on team Loxley!
Day 4
With the PDC Winter Series beginning to come to a close, Ryan Searle, Matthew Edgar and Aaron Beeney all know that it truly is now, or never. With all three well adjusted to the environment after the first three days, their personal goals are firmly in their minds as they look to push up the rankings.
For Ryan, he’ll look to build on his impressive performance yesterday, making the quarter-finals before losing out to an impressive William O’Connor. After a very poor start, Matthew will look to earn his first win of the week, with the task seemingly tougher with every passing event – a strong run in the remaining two competitions may be enough to see him retain his Tour Card, after what has been a turbulent year on the tour. With performances seemingly improving day, by day – Aaron Beeney will look to continue his winning form, having progressed to the second round in the last two tournaments.
Ryan Searle
His campaign would today start off against former PDC World Championship finalist, Andy ‘The Hammer’ Hamilton. A man in good form, Hamilton managed to hit a 9 darter on day two of the Winter Series, with strong performances helping him to two L64 placings over the first three events – adding £1000 to his ranking money.
Start as you mean to go on! Replicating his form from yesterday, Ryan fires in a 101.7 average on his way to a 6-3 win, with his opponent averaging exactly 15 points less. Racing into a 4-0 lead, Andy managed to claw his way back into the game, winning the next three legs in 17, 15 and 16 darts. A hold of throw from Ryan put him just one leg away from the match, with a fantastic 12 darter to seal the win.
Up next was another former World Championship finalist, as he faced Scott Waites for a place in the L32. A close encounter with Darren Webster saw Scott through, scraping through as a 6-5 winner, averaging 86.7. More of the same needed from Ryan, who knows Scott is more than capable of causing an upset – anything is possible in these floor events!
More of the same, indeed, as Ryan yet again averages well over 100 in a 6-2 demolition job over ‘Scotty 2 Hotty’. Recording one of his highest ever averages in the PDC – a 105.9 – Ryan brushes aside the man from Halifax on his way to the next round. With just one leg won in over 15 darts, Ryan will be quietly confident, as he waits to see who his next opponent will be.
This opponent was revealed as a familiar opponent for team Loxley, as Ryan was drawn to play Joe Murnan – the man beaten by Loxley’s own Aaron Beeney just over 24 hours ago! A fantastic 101.3 average in his first game, with a lacklustre 80.5 in his next – which Joe will turn up to face Ryan?
It turned out to be a mixture of the two, as Ryan comfortably defeated Joe with a 92.3 average, to Murnan’s 88.7. Moments of brilliance from both, with some poor legs thrown in too – an intriguing encounter that Ryan will be glad to come away the victor of, winning 4 of the last 5 legs to run away with a 6-3 victory.
Next up for Ryan was his second highest ranked opponent of the week, as he was drawn to face two-time back-to-back World Champion, Adrian Lewis. A player in very good form, ‘Jackpot’ is coming off the back of a huge scalp over the World No. 1, Michael van Gerwen – defeating the Dutchman 6-4 to set up the L16 clash against Ryan.
Despite a spirited performance, averaging just over 100 for the third time in four games, Ryan could do little to stop the onslaught provided by the former World Champion. A 104.1 average was enough for Lewis to progress to the quarter-final, facing the surprise package of the day, Ryan Murray! Overall, another good day for Ryan, who has finally found his feet, ready for the final day of action on Saturday.
Matthew Edgar
With Matthew not quite in panic mode just yet, he will be fully aware of his current ranking situation, with his PDC Tour Card at stake over the next two days. A tough draw for Matthew, who faces Joe Cullen in a must-win match for the host of EdgarTV.
Unfortunately, for the fourth time this week, Matthew falls to a first round defeat, with Cullen averaging 95 on his way to a 6-4 victory, with Matthew himself putting in an impressive performance – though coming out empty handed. Despite going 4-0 down, Matthew never game up, fighting back to 5-4, leaving 121 to try to level the match, and force a last-leg decider. This chance would never come, as Cullen ended the leg, and match, in just 15 darts to seal the win.
Aaron Beeney
With confidence high, Aaron will look for his third win in this year’s PDC Winter Series. To do this, he’ll have to negotiate the challenge of 2018 PDC German Darts Open champion Max Hopp, who will be equally confident, having recently come off the back of a run to the semi-final of the PDC World Cup, falling short to eventual champions, Wales.
The ‘Maximiser’ proved too strong in the end, with an impressive performance resulting in a 6-2 win for the German, averaging just under 100. Perhaps a harsh scoreline for Aaron, who himself averaged a respectable 86.5, but it just wasn’t enough as Max ran away with the win, winning half of his legs in under 15 darts!
Another mixed day for team Loxley, with two of the three trudging back to the hotel winless. Worrying times for Aaron, who knows tomorrow could prove a pivotal day in his darts career. No pressure on Ryan Searle, with his PDC Player Championship and PDC World Championship place now guaranteed. For Aaron, there is just pride to play for, as he looks to add precious money towards his overall ranking, in the hope that in 12 months time, he can avoid the situation Matthew now finds himself embroiled in.
World Championships Qualifiers
For two members of team Loxley, today marks a pivotal day in their PDC careers. For Matthew Edgar, his PDC career rests on a good performance today. Currently sitting 66th in the PDC rankings, Matthew needs to qualify for the PDC World Championship, in order to attain the prize money required to push himself inside the top 64, in order to retain his Tour Card. As he has held his card since 2018, his two year immunity has ended – he needs to be ranked within the top 64 should he wish to play on the PDC tour in 2021.
For Aaron Beeney, while he isn’t yet fighting for his Tour Card, having only played one year of his two year immunity period, the prize money available at the PDC World Championship could prove instrumental next year, when his immunity period ends. Aaron will be searching for a further confidence boost, off the back of a strong performance at the recent PDC Winter Series. Qualification for the PDC World Championship would set him in good stead for 2021, where he’ll look to progress into the top 64 – currently sitting at joint-145th.
Matthew Edgar
It would be Gary Blades up first for Matthew Edgar, who will want a strong start to the day in his bid to progress to the PDC World Championship. High stakes, and with it, high pressure – is the ‘Prime Time’ player up to the task?
A comfortable start for Matthew, as he defeats Gary Blades 6-4, in a deceptively close match. Despite only averaging 78, Gary managed to keep up with Matthew, with Matthew himself averaging 93 in a very strong performance. Three wins away from the World Championships!
There would be no Loxley vs. Loxley tussle in the second round, as Aaron Beeney was defeated by Martin Atkins (Wigan) to progress to the board final, to face Matthew. A difficult, yet winnable match for Matthew, who’ll look to put the pressure on to try carve out a lead before the nerves kick in.
It may not have been the style of win he wanted, but Matthew comes through his second close encounter of the day, defeating Martin Atkins (Wigan) in a tense last leg decider, with a stunning 76 checkout rounding off an impressive 15 dart leg, denying Martin a shot at 106.
No rest for Matthew, as he switched over to board 3, facing off against Josh Payne who’s in fine form – this winner of this match will go to the Alexandra Palace! Josh previously dismantled Matt Clark 6-0, before then forcing his way past an impressive Simon Stevenson. An average of around 95 for the day – Matthew will need to find another gear if he wishes to progress… Just one more win needed!
HE’S DONE IT! Matthew Edgar will be at the PDC World Championship this year! An incredible performance, averaging nearly 100 as he brushes aside Josh Payne to reach the PDC World Championship for the third consecutive year! In a must-win day of darts, Matthew Edgar has come through a difficult field of players to book his place at the ‘World’s, ending the day with an emphatic 7-2 win over Josh Payne.
Aaron Beeney
Up first for Aaron is Martin Atkins (Wigan), who currently sits a few places above Aaron in the PDC OoM, ranked 119. Having reached the L32 in this year’s UK Open, Martin will be eager to reach his second televised PDC major event, just as Aaron is.
Unfortunately for Aaron, it’s a first round defeat to a strong Martin Atkins (Wigan). A 6-1 rout sends Aaron home packing, knowing there’s a big year ahead for him, as he looks to cement his place on the PDC Tour. His defeat means we won’t see an all Loxley clash, as Martin progresses to face Matthew Edgar in the next round.
What a day of darts! Commiserations to Aaron Beeney, but congratulations to Matthew Edgar, who will go on to headline the Alexandra Palace next month! After a tough year both on, and off the oche, Matthew has reaped his reward, booking his place in the PDC World Championships! The waiting game is now on to find out who he, and Ryan Searle, will face in their opening games, with the draw being made live on Sky Sports on 3rd of December – just four days away!
The preparation begins now for the pair, with Matthew knowing there is still work to do, if he wishes to retain his PDC Tour Card for the 2021 darts season.
The PDC World Championship begins on the 15th of December, with both Matthew and Ryan playing their opening games between the 15th and 20th!
Author – Joe Reid