Rileys' UK Open qualifiers meet each other!
An unknown darter from Smethwick is heading to the PDC's UK Open and will meet a true counterpart when the finals take place next month.
Matthew Tedstone netted one of two wildcard spots available from Rileys Sports Bar in Wolverhampton - and will now take on the other qualifier!
The 128-man UK Open will take place at the Butlins holiday resort in Minehead from March 6-8 with the ITV4 television cameras on hand, writes Craig Birch.
There were two places available through Rileys, on Broad Street in the city centre, with Stuart White taking the first spot earlier this month.
They were one of only two to be granted multiple qualifiers, the other from the company's flagship darting arena at London Victoria.
And Tedstone and White, with both having come through a three-figure qualifying field, will now meet in the preliminary round at the 'FA Cup of Darts.'
Saturday's Black Country event attracted 102 players, with PDPA members holding Challenge Tour only status also eligible to compete.
Four boards whittled down the contestants and produced the semi-finalists of Tedstone, John Morris, ex-PDC pro Andy Brown and Ben Green.
Tedstone prevailed from his board after a close-run affair with Shropshire county player Andy Roberts, eventually triumphing 4-3 in the last leg.
Morris experienced no such troubles with local favourite Lol Frazer, whitewashing his experienced adversary 4-0 with a clinical display.
Brown had overcome Martin Greenwood 4-3 but the player looking to be on fire was Green, who beat former BDO star Chris Mason earlier on.
Four 100-plus checkouts led him to a board final with old rivals Ash Khayat, from Wednesfield, as he repeated the 4-0 shut-out from when they played at a UK Open qualifier in Coventry.
Green had to dig deep to see off Brown in the semi-finals but another final leg shootout saw him home 4-3, on what was looking like his day.
Tedstone produced three darts of magic to settle his match with Morris, a clinching 164 checkout seeing him home 4-3 to set up the final.
An exciting decider between two throwers on form saw breaks and ton-plus scores become commonplace, as the game reverted to a first to five format.
A ninth and deciding leg was required before Tedstone finally broke the spirited youngster's resistance on tops, propelling him towards one of the PDC's majors.
The 28-year-old machine operator, who is originally from Birmingham, considered representing the West Midlands his previous biggest achievement in the sport.
