Salate Storms Past Guillin to Complete Panama Double

Jesus Salate continued his dominant start to the 2026 Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour on Saturday, defeating 2025 World Cup of Darts teammate Victor Guillin 6-1 in the Event #2 final in Panama City.

The top seed backed up his Event #1 title with another commanding run through the 75-player field, dropping just three legs from the quarterfinals through the final before claiming a second straight title of the weekend.

The victory also extends Salate’s remarkable CDLC winning streak to four consecutive titles dating back to 2025, further strengthening his position at the top of the early-season race.

Salate opened the final stages with a 6-0 whitewash of eighth seed Artur Valle before producing a 6-2 semifinal win over James Walkin, who had advanced to the last four with a 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Jonathan Quiros. His toughest test came earlier in the day, when Costa Rica’s Alex Gutierrez pushed the eventual champion to a deciding leg in the Last 32 before Salate survived to keep his title bid alive.

On the other side of the draw, Guillin delivered a strong knockout run of his own. After surviving a last-leg decider against Rashad Sweeting in the Last 16, the Argentine defeated Trinidad’s Dean Persad 6-1 in the quarterfinals and then ended Guillermo Soto’s run with a 6-3 semifinal win.

The final brought together two familiar faces, with Salate and Guillin having represented Argentina together at the 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts. The duo famously thrilled the crowd at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle last year by winning their group on debut and advancing to the knockout round, but it was Salate who controlled Saturday’s all-Argentine final, running out a 6-1 winner to complete another dominant title charge.

It was a difficult day for the seeded players overall, with only three of the top eight reaching the quarterfinals. Sweeting, one of the players expected to contend deep into the event, struggled to find top form before falling to Guillin in the Last 16.

Soto, meanwhile, continued his strong start to the 2026 campaign by reaching a second consecutive semifinal. The Costa Rican has rediscovered the form that proved elusive toward the end of last season and has quickly established himself as one of the most consistent performers of the opening weekend.

Trinidad’s Dean Persad also enjoyed a breakthrough day, reaching his first CDLC quarterfinal before bowing out to Guillin.

Salate led the statistical charts as well as the results sheet, finishing the day with a tournament-best 82.08 average and a field-leading seven 180s. Guyana’s Norman Madhoo posted the second-highest average of the event at 77.82, while Walkin and Brazil’s Anderson Viera De Sousa each fired in five maximums.

Guillin produced the highest checkout of the day, taking out 136 during his run to the final.

Weekend 1 of the 2026 CDLC Tour concludes Sunday with Event #3 in Panama City, beginning at 1:00 PM local time / 2:00 PM US Eastern.

Results

Quarterfinals
Jesus Salate (1) 6-0 Artur Valle (8)
James Walkin 6-3 Jonathan Quiros
Victor Guillin 6-1 Dean Persad
Guillermo Soto (6) 6-3 Joshua Balfour

Semifinals
Jesus Salate 6-2 James Walkin
Victor Guillin 6-3 Guillermo Soto

Final
Jesus Salate 6-1 Victor Guillin