Atkinson Closes In On Jackson After Bristol Bonanza

Adam Atkinson certainly had a weekend to remember at the final two Championship Tours in the Amateur Darts Circuit after winning event 7 before proceeding to win the Plate Knockout tournament on Sunday, moving on to 1157 points in the rankings and closing the gap on number one Matt Jackson.

The Poolie beat Championship Tour 5 winner Adam Smith-Neale 6-1 in the Final, and the winning average is just an indication of how much quality the ADC has to offer, especially within the Championship Tours due to the level of professionalism in the setup and organisation.

The ADC Number 2 averaged 103.43 in a Final that included five maximums, with three coming in favour of the man from Hartlepool. A ton-plus checkout to break the throw in the fourth leg was one of several things that Atkinson did right across the action at the Thornbury Conference Centre, with a 112-finish breaking throw for a 4-0 lead. 

The 27-year-old beat the likes of Mike Norton in the Quarter Finals, with the former Plate winner knocking out the Championship Tour leader Lee Budgen in the Last 16. He also recorded a victory against the ADC Number 15 Kevin Garcia, clinching a last leg decider 5-4 in Bristol. 

An early exit to Michael Warburton on Sunday in Championship Tour 8, was followed up by his second tournament victory of the weekend after Atkinson entered the Plate Tournament with the need for ranking points pressing in his quest for the ADC Number 1 spot. 

A win against former World Championship Finalist Mark Dudbridge 3-1 with an average of 88 ensured that the ADC No. 2 left Bristol with a total of 257 ranking points going under 150 points away from ADC Number 1.

ADC Winmau Championship Tour 7 Results:

Quarter Finals: 

Adam Atkinson 5-3 Mike Norton

Kevin Garcia 5-3 Keelan Kay

James Richardson 5-2 Alex Long

Adam Smith-Neale 5-1 Jimmy Bristow 

Semi Finals: 

Adam Atkinson 5-4 Kevin Garcia 

Adam Smith-Neale 5-4 James Richardson

Final:

Adam Atkinson 6-1 Adam Smith-Neale 

ADC Rankings:

1. Matt Jackson: 1301pts

2. Adam Atkinson: 1157pts

3. Steve Brown: 914pts

4. Tony Wood: 743pts

5. Adam Warner: 628pts

6. Geoff Murray: 599pts

7. Lloyd Pennell: 575pts

8. Phil Borthwick: 545pts

9. Lee Budgen: 527pts

10. Graham Hall: 484pts

11. Paul Nesbitt: 469pts

12. David Williams: 449pts

13. Kevin McDine: 447pts

14. Adam Smith-Neale: 407pts

15. Kevin Garcia: 396pts

16. Raymond Marshall: 391pts