Atkinson Joins ‘The Action’ Atop the ADC Rankings
Adam Atkinson
Matt Jackson has seen his 54-point lead at the top of the ADC Rankings vanish, over the weekend, after second-positioned Adam Atkinson joined him at the head of the table.
Atkinson won the Winmau Sky Lounge Ranking Series Event 4 on Saturday, earning 64 points for his victory after beating Shaun Matthews 5-1 in the Final.
The tournament in Washington saw a huge match in the rankings as inform Lloyd Pennell who had won his last two tournaments in a row, played Atkinson in the Last 16 for a spot in the Quarter Finals. The man from Lincoln came up short losing 4-1 to the player now joint top of the ADC Rankings, with the Northeast thrower averaging 92.52 and checking out a 14 darter in leg 3, before a 123 checkout to seal the win.
Number 1 Jackson played across two tournaments over the weekend accumulating 10 points over two days of action, earning two points for reaching the Last 16 in the Southport Jubilee Grand Slam as he lost to The Cobbler Lee Shewan who played Wayne Warren at Lakeside back in April. The 38-year-old went all the way to the Semi-Finals in the Liverpool Open KO held at Riley’s in Merseyside.
Englishman Jackson included victories over the likes of John Speed, whitewashing him in the opening round of the tournament, before a 5-3 win over Luke Littler who averaged 101.20 in defeat higher than any average in New York across the weekend’s US Darts Masters in the PDC. The man from Gloucestershire averaged 94.86 and included a 151 checkout in the fourth leg to level at 2-2.
His run would come to an end at the hands of Adam Warner in the Semi-Finals, who is now sixth in the ADC Rankings with 356 points after reaching the Final to earn a guaranteed 16 points. Callum Goffin would go on to win the tournament, beating Warner from Sheffield 7-5 in the Final checking out 81 to seal the title and the 32 ranking points.
John Brown struck a blow in Bristol on Thursday winning the Bar501 Kingswood Round Robin after beating Ricky Palmer 4-2 in the Final. ADC chairman Steve Brown, The Bomber, also played and will be happy his son got over the line, after losing out to Palmer in the Semi-Finals with both averaging above 80 in the contest.
Geoff Murray drops to seventh but earns another 16 points after this weekend’s action after reaching the Semi-Finals in Washington, losing a last-leg decider to Adam Atkinson who averaged above 90 in reaching the Final.
Another 22 points separate the Englishman from 6th placed Adam Warner who rose two places from 8th after winning in Atherton on Thursday for the Botanical Gardens, Atherton June Bank Holiday Slamp.
The Sheffield thrower earned 64 points for beating Callum Goffin in the Final on Thursday, despite his opponent averaging 8 points more than him. A 96 checkout in the deciding last leg clinched victory for Warner, who would go on to lose to Goffin in another Final two days later.
The weekend’s action has certainly made the race for number one in the ADC a lot more tense with both Matt Jackson and Adam Atkinson now looking to kick on.
Can The Action regain the top spot, or will Atkinson – the ADC Championship Tour 1 winner – take a solo lead after trailing to his compatriot for so long?
ADC Rankings:
Matt Jackson: 594pts
Adam Atkinson: 594pts
Lloyd Pennell: 464pts
Graham Hall: 384pts
Tony Wood: 380pts
Adam Warner: 356pts
Geoff Murray: 334pts
Lee Budgen: 288pts
Steve Brown: 270pts
Tony Newell: 256pts
Kevin McDine: 247pts
Paul Nesbitt: 226pts
Kevin Garcia: 224pts
Tom Lonsdale: 212pts
Phil Borthwick: 209pts
Ryan Anderson: 205pts
—–ENDS—–
Words: Harry Masterson
Darts World Magazine