MATTHEW EDGAR won his first PDC competition following a narrow 5-4 win over Mark Frost in the fourth PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour event of 2014 in Reading on Sunday.
Edgar, who works a sports coach at a secondary school, defeated Ron Meulenkamp in a tough first round contest before dropping just one leg across his next two matches against Michael Beal and Gaz Cousins.
The 27-year-old from Northamptonshire then defeated German teenager Max Hopp with a 5-3 win at the last 16 stage before overcoming Karl Merchant and Kevin Thomas with nail-biting deciding leg wins to secure a place in the final.
The decider against Mark Frost also went all the way to a final leg, and Edgar held his nerve for a third game running as he triumphed 5-4 to secure the £2,000 first prize and jump up to second in the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
Frost, who reached the quarter-finals of the last Challenge Tour event held a week ago at the Rivermead Centre, eased through his first two matches against Matthew Dennant and Sean Ryan before edging past Trevor Burkhill 5-4 to reach the last 16.
The Stoke player - known to the darting world as "Frosty The Throw Man" - then claimed a whitewash win over Mike Nott before defeating Jamie Robinson in a deciding leg to reach the last four.
Frost defeated Holland’s Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-2 to reach the final, but was denied a first title in a PDC competition after losing to Edgar by the narrowest of margins.
Dutch youngster van Duijvenbode reached the semi-finals for the second time in the weekend - having also reached the last four in the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship on Saturday - while Wales’ 33-year-old Kevin Thomas produced his best effort in a PDC competition to date with a excellent run to the last four, taking away £500 for his efforts.
Ian McFarlane continued his strong performances on the Challenge Tour by reaching the last eight on Sunday, following runs to a semi-final and final in previous competitions in 2014.
Jamie Robinson, the winner of the first Challenge Tour event of the year, produced another strong display by reaching the quarter-finals, while Karl Merchant and Paul Redfern enjoyed excellent days with runs to the quarter-finals, recording the best performances of their careers.
Belgium’s Dimitri Van Den Bergh, who won Saturday’s PDC Unicorn Youth Tour event, fell back to earth with a bump following a first round loss at Challenge Tour level.
PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit leader Alan Tabern, who was victorious last week at the Rivermead Centre, also suffered an opening game defeat this time around as he went down to Canadian youngster Shaun Narain - who was defeated by Van Den Bergh in final of Saturday's Youth Tour event.
PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Event Four
Sunday April 6, Rivermead Centre, Reading
First Round
Shaun Griffiths Bye
Vernon Sheppard 5-0 Alan Tabern Jnr
Richard Ludlow 5-2 Tim Martin
Ian McFarlane 5-2 Sion Thomas
Geoff Heath Bye
Danny Summers 5-3 Luke Woodhouse
Ryan Palmer 5-4 Wayne Thomas
Shaun Littler 5-4 Lee Whitworth
Dan Read Bye
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-2 Ben Songhurst
Rees Hall 5-2 Dimitri Van Den Bergh
Ewan Hyslop 5-3 Dan Dean
Phillip Wathen Bye
Lee Moffat 5-4 Paul Harsant
Doug Thompson 5-4 John Scott
Joe Lacey 5-2 Richie Howson
Scott Mackenzie Bye
Mike Nott 5-1 Martin Homer
Darren Williams 5-1 Robert Fuller
Wayne Dunn 5-4 Mike Norton
Lee Hunter Bye
Trevor Burkhill 5-2 Jason Wilson
Mark Frost 5-1 Matthew Dennant
Sean Ryan 5-2 Andrew Halls
Jamie Landon Bye
Simon Burt 5-3 Ben Gaiter
Shaun Narain 5-2 Alan Tabern
Ricky Sudale 5-1 Richard Denis
Brett Claydon Bye
Philip Milburn 5-1 Reece Robinson
James Bevan 5-2 Adam Smith-Neale
Jamie Robinson 5-0 Jack Hill
Michael Beal Bye
Matthew Edgar 5-2 Ron Meulenkamp
Gaz Cousins 5-2 Gary Eastwood
Simon Cassidy 5-2 Neville Roberts
Max Hopp Bye
Stuart Bousfield 5-1 Paul Carter
Michael Symes 5-4 John Ferrell
Danny Pinhorne 5-0 Krit Middleton
Barrie Bates Bye
Nathan Derry 5-4 Michael Burgoine
Kurt Parry 5-3 Jamie Gemmell
Mark Jones 5-3 Ryan Harrington
Karl Merchant Bye
Michael Blake 5-1 Sam Hill
Darren Weaver 5-0 John Newland
Matthew Dicken Bye Jake Patchett
Alex Roy Bye
Colin Fowler 5-4 Matt Clark
Nick Fullwell 5-2 Ben Davies
Jonathan Worsley 5-1 Jack Tweddell
Peter Evison Bye
Kevin Thomas 5-4 Daniel Day
Kevin Bambrick 5-3 Mark Forman
Curtis Hammond 5-2 Nigel Birch
Jay Foreman Bye
Aden Kirk 5-3 Brandon Walsh
Tony Richardson 5-1 Oliver Stell
Steve Douglas 5-3 Andy Relf
Damien Sherwood Bye
Paul Redfern 5-4 John Burgess
Jon Jukes 5-1 Steven Lippett
Dave Honey 5-1 Vince Tipple
Second Round
Shaun Griffiths 5-4 Vernon Sheppard
Ian McFarlane 5-2 Richard Ludlow
Danny Summers 5-3 Geoff Heath
Ryan Palmer 5-3 Shaun Littler
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-1 Dan Read
Ewan Hylsop 5-0 Rees Hall
Lee Moffat 5-1 Philip Wathen
Doug Thompson 5-4 Joe Lacey
Mike Nott 5-4 Scott Mackenzie
Wayne Dunn 5-4 Darren Williams
Trevor Burkhill 5-0 Lee Hunter
Mark Frost 5-2 Sean Ryan
Jamie Landon 5-2 Simon Burt
Shaun Narain 5-3 Ricky Sudale
Philip Milburn 5-4 Brett Claydon
Jamie Robinson 5-2 James Bevan
Matthew Edgar 5-1 Michael Beal
Gaz Cousins 5-1 Simon Cassidy
Max Hopp 5-4 Stuart Bousfield
Danny Pinhorne 5-4 Michael Symes
Nathan Derry 5-2 Barrie Bates
Kurt Parry 5-3 Mark Jones
Karl Merchant 5-1 Michael Blake
Darren Weaver 5-1 Matthew Dicken
Alex Roy 5-4 Colin Fowler
Nick Fullwell 5-1 Jonathan Worsley
Kevin Thomas 5-4 Peter Evison
Kevin Bambrick 5-4 Curtis Hammond
Jay Foreman 5-4 Aden Kirk
Steve Douglas 5-3 Tony Richardson
Paul Redfern 5-0 Damien Sherwood
Dave Honey 5-3 Jon Jukes
Losers £50
Third Round
Ian McFarlane 5-3 Shaun Griffiths
Danny Summers 5-3 Ryan Palmer
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-4 Ewan Hyslop
Doug Thompson 5-1 Lee Moffat
Mike Nott 5-4 Wayne Dunn
Mark Frost 5-4 Trevor Burkhill
Jamie Landon 5-4 Shaun Narain
Jamie Robinson 5-3 Philip Milburn
Matthew Edgar 5-0 Gaz Cousins
Max Hopp 5-3 Danny Pinhorne
Nathan Derry 5-2 Kurt Parry
Karl Merchant 5-3 Darren Weaver
Alex Roy 5-4 Nick Fullwell
Kevin Thomas 5-2 Kevin Bambrick
Steve Douglas 5-4 Jay Foreman
Paul Redfern 5-4 Dave Honey
Losers £100
Fourth Round
Ian McFarlane 5-4 Danny Summers
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-1 Doug Thompson
Mark Frost 5-0 Mike Nott
Jamie Robinson 5-4 Jamie Landon
Matthew Edgar 5-3 Max Hopp
Karl Merchant 5-3 Nathan Derry
Kevin Thomas 5-0 Alex Roy
Paul Redfern 5-1 Steve Douglas
Losers £200
Quarter-Finals
Dirk van Duijvenbode 5-3 Ian McFarlane
Mark Frost 5-4 Jamie Robinson
Matthew Edgar 5-4 Karl Merchant
Kevin Thomas 5-2 Paul Redfern
Losers £300
Semi-Finals
Mark Frost 5-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Matthew Edgar 5-4 Kevin Thomas
Losers £500
Final
Matthew Edgar 5-4 Mark Frost
Winner £2,000
Runner-Up £1,000
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