The key update is this: Daniel Klose has won Event 20 on the PDC Challenge Tour, while Derek Coulson leaves Milton Keynes still top of the Order of Merit. The weekend is now complete: five events, five winners, and a Tour Card race that has tightened up again.
It is not the flashiest story on the circuit, especially after the New Zealand Darts Masters final. But for our editorial team, it deserves proper coverage: the Challenge Tour is a gateway back to or into the professional circuit, and the final four events will directly shape the 2027-2028 Tour Cards and places at the next PDC World Championship.
Coulson upsets Kosters to reclaim top spot
In Event 16, Coulson secured his second title of the year by beating Stef Kosters 5-4 in the final. What makes his run particularly interesting is the way it unfolded: the 58-year-old Welshman had to come back from 4-1 down in the deciding match, having already survived a final leg against Kevin Burness in the quarter-finals.
Prior to that, Coulson had kicked off his day with a 5-0 win over Daryl Hunt, winning three legs in 13, 14 and 15 darts. He then saw off Jack Aldridge, Matt Gallett and Ashley Coleman, before defeating Patrik Williams in the last 16, despite Williams having just posted the day’s highest average, over 105, against Ultan McDyer.
The semi-final was a more one-sided affair: a 5-0 victory over Archie Self. In the final, Kosters looked to be in control, but Coulson turned the match around. This title puts him back at the top of the Challenge Tour’s Order of Merit, with £12,800 according to the rankings updated by DartsNews.
Davies strikes back in Event 17
The rest of the tournament saw another Welsh success. Having been knocked out in the semi-finals of Event 16, David Davies bounced back a few hours later by winning Event 17. His final against Dan Hands was a much more one-sided affair: a 5-1 victory, with an average of 102.9, and the last five legs completed in just 72 darts.
Davies’s run through the draw was not without its hiccups, however. He began with a 5-4 win over Ewan Jones, before defeating Maikel Verberk and Scott Waites. Another last-leg thriller against Carl Wilson forced him to stay composed before he stepped up his game against Joseph Heywood and then Patrik Williams.
This victory does not yet put him back in the qualification zone, but it does bring him back into contention. DartsNews now ranks him 18th in the Order of Merit, with £4,100. Put another way: he’ll still need a strong finish to the weekend, but the door is no longer closed.
Why today’s result matters for the future
The 2026 Challenge Tour is for players who do not hold a PDC Tour Card but who have competed in the Qualifying Schools. This rule makes every weekend important: the top two in the final standings secure a two-year Tour Card, whilst the top three also earn a place at the PDC World Championship via the Challenge Tour.
After Friday, the situation is clear. Coulson has put himself in a strong position, but his lead remains fragile: Joe Hunt is reported to be on £12,750, just £50 behind him. The margin is tiny at this stage, especially with two more tournaments scheduled for Saturday in Milton Keynes.
| Event | Winner |
| Challenge Tour 16 | Derek Coulson beats Stef Kosters 5-4 |
| Challenge Tour 17 | David Davies beats Dan Hands 5-1 |
| Challenge Tour 18 | Archie Self beats Daniel Klose 5-4 |
| Challenge Tour 19 | Dylan Slevin beats Tommy Morris 5-1 |
| Challenge Tour 20 | Daniel Klose beats Tommy Morris 5-1 |
| Venue | Arena MK, Milton Keynes |
| Ranking points at stake | Top 2: Tour Card, top 3: PDC World Championship |
Update: Self and Slevin respond on Saturday
The following day changed the shape of the weekend. Archie Self, just 16 years old, won Event 18 to claim his first Winmau Challenge Tour title. This was not just a line on a results sheet: the English teenager beat Connor Arberry with a 98.62 average, then saw off Scott Waites, Derek Coulson, Harry Ward, John Henderson and Alan Norris before the final.
The most telling passage came in his quarter-final against John Henderson. Self won 5-1 with a 101.55 average, then beat Alan Norris 5-2 before turning around the final against Daniel Klose. From 3-1 down, he came back to win 5-4 in a deciding leg. For a player of that age, that is more than just a good day.
Event 19 then went the way of Dylan Slevin. The 23-year-old Irishman beat Tommy Morris 5-1 in the final, averaging 97.78 and winning four consecutive legs in 16, 11, 15 and 17 darts. Before that, he whitewashed Steve Beaton 5-0 in the semi-finals, after earlier wins over Gilbert van der Meijden, David Evans, Ben Stanton, Joe Hunt and Owen Maiden.
In the rankings, Self has climbed to 12th and Slevin to 26th. Coulson remains top ahead of Joe Hunt and Morris, keeping the race alive before Sunday's Event 20. Put simply: the Welsh Friday set up the weekend, but Saturday added two more stories worth tracking.
Sunday: Klose wins Event 20 as Coulson stays in control
The final day brought the Milton Keynes block to a meaningful close. Daniel Klose, already a finalist in Event 18 against Archie Self, went one better this time by winning Event 20 with a 5-1 victory over Tommy Morris in the final. DartsNews lists Klose at a 96.07 average, with Morris on 93.78.
Klose’s run gives his weekend a different weight: a quarter-final win over Ricardo Ulrich, a 5-4 semi-final against Scott Waites, then a far cleaner final. The title lifts him to third on the Order of Merit with £10,800. He remains behind Derek Coulson, still top on £15,150, and Joe Hunt, second on £13,050.
Coulson did not win on Sunday, but he protected his position. His quarter-final against James Howard Hughes, won 5-1 with a 110.44 average, says plenty about his level across the weekend. A semi-final win over Geoffrey Murray also means he leaves Milton Keynes with a clearer cushion than he had after Saturday.
The race stays live before Wigan
After 20 of the 24 events, the picture is clearer without being settled. Coulson has built a real gap, Hunt remains in touch, and Klose has moved into the places that matter. The top two in the final standings earn PDC Tour Cards, while the top three also qualify for the PDC World Championship.
The next Challenge Tour weekend in Wigan at the end of September now carries sharper pressure. This is where the race gets serious: only four events remain, and an early exit can cost far more than just one bad Sunday.
Sources: official PDC report on Events 16-17, PDC report on Self and Slevin and PDC Event 20 live page, with results and updated standings from DartsNews.
