Jamie Hughes cannot find Masters form

Tipton's Jamie Hughes could not retain one of his ranking titles as the rebranded Finders Darts Masters went to his pal Glen Durrant in Holland.

Hughes was the defending champion at the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee as the BDO signed off for the year, writes Craig Birch.

But the Black Country thrower was toppled and went out in the group stages, which produced the eight quarter-finals for the knockouts.

A 5-3 loss to resurgent former world champion Andy Fordham proved costly, as even a 5-4 win over Brian Dawson couldn't save him from elimination.

It's at Lakeside where competitive play will resume in January, with Hughes again among the worlds line-up after debuting a year earlier.

'Yozza' lost a second round tie 4-1 in sets to Durrant, who claimed the Finders Masters honours with a 5-2 victory over Martin Adams.

Hughes will need to see off Scotland's Ross Montgomery to emulate that run and meet either Gary Robson or Madars Razma in the next phase.

The 29-year-old has claimed five ranking titles including the Romania Classic Open, Swedish Open and Jersey Classic this year, to go with his double in 2014.

That landed him the old Zuiderduin Masters - with a 5-0 whitewash of Robson in the final - and Antwerp Open accolades, while he was also runner-up in the World Masters.

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