Draft:Owen Bates

Owen Bates (born 12 December 2002) is an English darts player. He is a current PDC tour card holder, having received a tour card for finishing second on the PDC challenge tour order of merit. This also granted Bates qualification for the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship, in which the PDC banned Bates from using his nickname "The Master", garnering significant mainstream media attention.

Career
Bates began playing on the PDC development tour in 2021 but had little success in his first year, not getting further than the last 64 in any tournament. His results improved in the 2022 season as he reached the quarter finals three times, his best result coming when losing the final of event 15 to Keane Barry. In April 2022 he signed a sponsorship deal with manufacturer Loxley Darts. He entered PDC qualifying school in 2023 but failed to win a tour card, this enabled him to play on the PDC challenge tour for the 2023 season. In February 2023 Bates won Series 3, Week 2 of the MODUS Super Series, earning him £5,000 and qualification to champions week, beating Leonard Gates 4-3 in the week final while averaging 100.47. Bates finished the season second on the 2023 challenge tour order of merit after reaching five event finals in total and winning one of them against Wesley Plaisier for his maiden PDC title at Challenge Tour 19 in Milton Keynes on 13th August 2023. This earned him qualifcation to the World Championship and a tour card for two years to compete on the PDC Pro Tour.

In the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship Bates lost 3-2 in sets to Steve Lennon in the first round. In his first season as a tour card holder Bates was eligible to enter in the first round of the 2024 UK Open. He won his first round match against Andy Boulton 6-5 before losing by the same scoreline to Graham Usher in the second round. .

Tournament wins
PDC Challenge Tour 19 2023