It was a day to remember for Andy Boulton as he won back to back Challenge Tours on Saturday. These victories saw X Factor take his tally of Challenge Tour victories to four after claiming two in 2023.

In the first of the days events Boulton come out on top only dropping 11 legs on his way to the title. After averaging over 90 in his first two matches of the day dispatching Patrick Lynskety and Jeroen Mioch he slipped back into the 80’s in his victories over Harry Lane, Michael Hurtz and Patrick Bulen in the last 16.

But he found his X Factor from the quarter-final onwards as he averaged 95.13 in defeating Thomas Lovely, 90.25 Shane McGuirk before really turning it on in the final averaging 101.55 as he brushed aside Danny Jansen without dropping a leg.

 

He made life a bit more difficult for himself in Challenge Tour 9 having to come through two last leg deciders. He needed a ninth and final leg to get past Kevin Burness in the semi-final and Jamie Atkins in the final.

Prior to the latter rounds he managed to win his first six matches only dropping 12 legs. His performances echoed that of Challenge Tour 8 with his average between the 80’s and 90’s. Unlike his first victory his best average came in the last 16 when he averaged 96.16 in defeating Connor Scutt 5-3. His average dropped to 84 and 89 in the semi-final and final but was still enough to see him get crowned champion for a second time in the space of a few hours.

Today’s victories see Boulton climb to second place in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit £375 behind Danny Jansen who leads the way. The top two at the end of the year get a place in the World Championships and earn a tour card.

These performances will have pleased Boulton after exiting the UK Open in the First Round at the start of the month.

The Challenge Tour returns for one final tournament in Hildesheim on Sunday afternoon.

CT8 Results

Last 16
Oskar Lukasiak 5|3 Franz Roetzch
Grant Brown 5|1 Tytus Kanik
Danny Jansen 5|4 David Evans
Patrick Peters 5|1 Kai Gotthardt
James Parkin 5|3 Michael Flynn
Shane McGuirk 5|3 Bjorn Beauprez
Andy Boulton 5|3 Patrick Bulen
Thomas Lovely 5|3 Kevin Burness

Quarter-final
Grant Brown 5|2 Oskar Lukasiak
Danny Jansen 5|3 Patrick Peters
Shane McGuirk 5|1 James Parkin
Andy Boulton 5|0 Thomas Lovely

Semi-final
Danny Jansen 5|0 Grant Brown
Andy Boulton 5|2 Shane McGuirk

Final
Andy Boulton 5|0 Danny Jansen

CT9 Results

Last 16
John Henderson 5|3 Stefaan Henderyck
Jamie Atkins 5|1 Fallon Sherrock
Stefan Bellmont 5|1 Lee Cocks
Kai Gotthardt 5|3 Bradley Brooks
Scott Mitchell 5|3 Dennie Olde Kalter
Kevin Burness 5|2 Arjan Konterman
Andy Boulton 5|3 Connor Scutt
Jesus Noguera 5|4 Vitezslav Sedlak

Quarter-final
Jamie Atkins 5|4 John Henderson
Kai Gotthardt 5|0 Stefan Bellmont
Kevin Burness 5|2 Scott Mitchell
Andy Boulton 5|1 Jesus Noguera

Semi-final
Jamie Atkins 5|3 Kai Gotthardt
Andy Boulton 5|4 Kevin Burness

Final
Andy Boulton 5|4 Jamie Atkins