Challenge Tour Order of Merit update: Labanauskas leads, Mervyn King passes up golden opportunity & inactive Beau Greaves continues to slide

Mervyn King passed up a golden opportunity to close the gap at the top of the Challenge Tour Order of Merit on Friday, suffering two early exits in Leicester as Darius Labanauskas maintained his position at the summit.

The English veteran, sitting fourth on £6,650, went out in the first round of both Challenge Tour 16 and 17, leaving him empty-handed. With his main rivals also enduring mixed fortunes, King’s failure to cash in felt particularly costly.

Labanauskas remains the frontrunner despite a modest day himself, falling in the last 32 and last 16 across the two tournaments. The Lithuanian leads the way on £9,200 in prize money, extending his cushion slightly ahead of Switzerland’s Stefan Bellmont (£8,150), who also faltered with back-to-back opening-round defeats against Tommy Lishman and King.

Ted Evetts retains third spot on £6,825, but like those around him, he struggled to add to his tally – collecting just £75 from a last 64 run at Challenge Tour 16 before bowing out in the first round of Event 17.

Jack Tweddell’s run to the final at Challenge Tour 17 has propelled him into the top five on £5,900, edging ahead of Beau Greaves. The 20-year-old, who won two of the opening five events of the season, has since played only five of the last 12 tournaments and was absent again on Friday, leaving her on £5,875.

Carl Sneyd holds seventh place on £4,450, followed by Dutchman Danny van Trijp on £4,150. Graham Hall (£3,900) and Jamai van den Herik (£3,850) complete the current top 10.

Elsewhere, Friday’s tournament winners remain outside the top bracket. Joe Hunt, champion at Challenge Tour 16, now sits twelfth with £3,750, while Challenge Tour 17 winner Lee Cocks climbed to nineteenth with £2,775.

The Leicester weekend continues with two more events on Saturday before concluding with the twentieth Challenge Tour tournament on Sunday. The final weekend of the season follows on 25–26 October.

With 24 events in total, the Challenge Tour offers players who fell short at Q-School the chance to compete for major rewards. Alongside reserve places at Players Championship events, the three best players in the final standings will earn a World Darts Championship spot.

Since Labanauskas is virtually assured of Ally Pally qualification through the Pro Tour, the provisional Challenge Tour places currently belong to Bellmont, Evetts and King – though the latter will know Friday was a day of squandered opportunity.