February saw the Finals of the England Darts Youth Online Grand Prix take place, with Russian standout Ksenia Klochek taking top honours in the Girls’ competition.
Klochek, runner-up in the WDF Virtual Cup last year, had a real fight on her hands in the Girls’ competition but narrowly edged out County Durham’s Lauren Stokoe to lift the title.
The Russian won the opening two qualifiers but didn’t play in all of them, meaning that Stokoe, who won the last two qualifiers and participated in all four, was top seed.
After topping her group, Stokoe booked her place in the final with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Eleanor Cairns, while Klochek went one better, whitewashing Amy Evans with a 75.15 average.
The final was a nip-and-tuck affair, featuring numerous breaks of throw. Stokoe, the youngest ever player to play Senior County darts in the UK, broke Klochek in the opening leg of the match but the Russian immediately fought back, racing into a 3-1 lead. Stokoe drew herself level at 3-3 and despite keeping within touching distance for the rest of the match, it was Klochek who triumphed, taking out 40 with her third dart in hand to edge it 6-5.
A total prize fund of £2,000 was paid out for the Grand Prix Finals, which were a resounding success for the England Darts Organisation and are testament to the work of the whole team.
Andrew Sinclair - Inside the WDF - Twitter @insidetheWDF
Photo: Ksenia Klochek at the Romanian Festival of Darts (Photo: Romanian Festival of Darts)
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