Joe Hunt Reclaims Challenge Tour Top Spot With Event 22 Win

It was a big day for Joe Hunt Challenge Tour followers, with Robin Park Leisure Centre in Wigan hosting two title deciders on Saturday.

Joe Hunt beat Callum Francis 5-3 to win Event 22, his fourth Challenge Tour title of the year, according to the PDC official report.

The win sends him straight back to the top of the 2026 rankings.

Earlier in the day, Archie Self had already claimed the first piece of silverware on offer.

He beat Tommy Morris 5-1 in the Event 21 final to pick up his second Challenge Tour title of the year, a scoreline that left no doubt about the better player on the day.

Event	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Detail
Event 21	Archie Self	Tommy Morris	5-1	Second Challenge Tour title of 2026
Event 22	Joe Hunt	Callum Francis	5-3	Fourth title of 2026, reclaims top spot

A total of 167 players entered across the two events at Robin Park, with a £3,000 top prize and a heap of ranking points on offer in each.

Numbers like that are typical of a Challenge Tour weekend, and they explain why so many players treat every event as must win rather than optional.

The result matters well beyond Saturday’s silverware in this year’s Joe Hunt Challenge Tour campaign.

Hunt and Derek Coulson have both now confirmed their places at the 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship, with the top three on the final rankings booking a trip to Alexandra Palace. The top two also collect PDC Tour Cards for 2027/28, a route into the 2027 PDC calendar that every player in Wigan was chasing.

For anyone new to the circuit, the Challenge Tour exists to give players outside the main PDC structure a pathway to the biggest stages in the sport.

A single strong weekend can move a player several places up the table, which is exactly what happened for Hunt on Saturday.

Coulson did not need to win in Wigan to secure his own place at Alexandra Palace; his position in the table before the weekend was already strong enough, and Hunt’s victory simply confirmed the top three around him.

Archie Self dominates Event 21 field

Event 21 opened the day’s action, and Self worked his way through a 167-player field before meeting Tommy Morris in the final. It was already his second Challenge Tour final of the year, and he made the most of it.

Self was in outstanding scoring form throughout the match, finishing with a 104.49 average against Morris in the final.

That kind of number puts a match beyond doubt on the Challenge Tour, where fine margins usually separate players at this level. Morris simply had no reply, and the gap between the two players showed in the result long before the final leg was thrown.

Self closed it out 5-1 to move to two Challenge Tour titles in 2026. Two titles from a single season is a strong return on a circuit with 167 players fighting for places in almost every event, and it puts Self’s name firmly among the players to watch as the rankings settle.

It was a statement win on a day when the field was packed with players chasing ranking points. Self’s victory puts him firmly back into the conversation for a Tour Card and a World Championship place as the season builds towards its climax.

With the top three securing a trip to Alexandra Palace and the top two also landing a Tour Card, every ranking point picked up in Wigan carries real weight for the players still chasing those places.

Joe Hunt surges to Event 22 title

Event 22 followed later in the day and produced a far tighter contest than the one before it. Joe Hunt met Callum Francis in the final, and the 5-3 scoreline points to a match with real spells of resistance from the runner-up.

Hunt eventually got over the line to claim his fourth Challenge Tour title of 2026. It is his best return of the season on the circuit, and it lands at exactly the moment it matters most, with qualification places about to be settled for good.

Four titles in a single Challenge Tour season is a rare achievement, and it explains why Hunt jumps straight back to the top of the rankings rather than simply climbing a place or two.

The win also locks in Hunt’s place at the 2026/27 Paddy Power World Darts Championship, joining Derek Coulson among the players already through to Alexandra Palace on current standings.

Both men now know their Challenge Tour season has delivered its biggest possible prize, whatever happens in the events still to come.

Players still chasing a Tour Card or a World Championship spot will have taken note of exactly what Hunt’s win means for the rest of the field.

With the top two on the final rankings guaranteed a Tour Card for 2027/28, every remaining event now carries added weight for the players just outside that mark.

The World Grand Prix’s double-start format offers a glimpse of the stage now within reach for those still fighting for a place among the leading names.

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