Back-to-Back for Buntz
Stowe Buntz continued his winning ways in Toronto on Saturday, standing atop the field as the Hitkor Heritage Tournament Champion one day after securing his maiden CDC Title. Buntz defeated Alex Spellman in the finals for the second consecutive day, this time breaking Spellman’s throw in the last leg decider to capture the title 7-6. Both players are earning valuable points in the race to the Ally Pally with berths in the PDC PaddyPower World Darts Championship to be awarded at the conclusion of the 2023 CDC Tour.
Buntz was in even finer form on Saturday, starting his campaign with a 5-1 victory over Justin Fawcett before dismantling Gary Mawson 6-2. He was uncontested in the quarterfinals and semifinals, defeating top-seed Jacob Taylor 6-1 and 4th seed Leonard Gates 7-2, respectively, to set up the rematch with Spellman.
Spellman also never faced a match dart on his road to the final. He defeated Ross Snook 5-2, Joey Lynaugh 6-3, and Larry Butler 6-4 to reach the semis. Once there, Spellman made short work of the 7th seed, Danny Lauby, winning 7-2 and averaging nearly 89.
It was a second consecutive early exit for Chuck Puleo, who was again retired in the last-32. It was also the second consecutive date with no Canadians in the final – a rarity on the CDC Tour this year. If there were a “Man of the Match” award, it would have gone to Jules Van Dongen who fired a blistering 116.34 average against Jeremiah Millar in a 5-1 win. For his part, Millar averaged almost 95 in the losing effort – the second straight weekend he bowed out to a CDC record-setting average by The Dutch Dragon.
Van Dongen led the field in average on the day, with a 104.72 average across his two matches. He also set the pace for checkouts, converting 50% of his attempts with Stowe Buntz right behind with a 45% success rate. Leonard Gates and Doug Boehm each connected on 8x 180s, while Van Dongen had the high out with a 158.
Finals
Stowe Buntz (8) 7-6 Alex Spellman (3)
Semifinals
Stowe Buntz (8) 7-2 Leonard Gates (4)
Alex Spellman (3) 7-2 Danny Lauby (7)
Quarterfinals
Stowe Buntz (8) 6-1 Jacob Taylor (1)
Leonard Gates (4) 6-4 Jim Long (5)
Danny Lauby (7) 6-2 David Cameron (2)
Alex Spellman (3) 6-4 Larry Butler (6)
Article by Brian Fraser
August 12, 2023