Millar Hoists First CDC Trophy

Jeremiah Millar completed an impressive maiden Magic Darts Championship Darts Circuit victory on Saturday evening in Chicago. The Michigan-based player, originally from the same area of Ontario as Jim Long, showed moments of consistency and high-quality performances.

In an impressive field, Jeremiah produced a number of high-quality displays en route to victory. Kicking off the event, Millar made light work of Jayson Barlow in a 5-0 victory with an average of 88.4 to move on to the last 32 where he produced his finest display of the day in another whitewash – this time of Chicago-based Nick Georgeson – averaging 100.2 over the five legs.

In his final three matches en route to the title, Millar was faced with the task of taking on three multiple-time CDC tour champions. In the Quarter-finals, USA World Cup star and current 2019 Tour Points leader, Darin Young, fell 6-1 to the eventual champion. Young failed to convert a dart at tops to claim leg one and never seemed to find his groove and Millar’s 92.9 average proved too tough to overcome for the Pennsylvania ace.

​Both the Semi-Finals and the final had serious implications for the Canadian spot in the World Darts Championship. Millar – who holds dual citizenship and has elected to play as an American on the CDC Tour – came up against 2019 World Championship participant Jim Long, who entered the day trailing fellow countryman Matt Campbell by seven points for the 2020 Canadian berth at the Ally Pally. Both players had been in top form up until this match and the stress may have taken a toll as scoring and finishing proved challenging for both competitors. In the end, Millar managed to close out a 6-3 victory with a 102 checkout in the last leg to regain some momentum heading into the final against the aforementioned Matt Campbell.

Campbell, who was competing in his fourth CDC final and his third in 2019, quickly found himself down 2-1 to the Michigan man before taking advantage of some missed doubles to claim the fourth leg and level the match. At that point, the scoring and finishing improved for both players until the most crucial point in the match – the deciding leg – where it was Campbell’s turn to struggle on the doubles. Indeed, Jeremiah survived four match darts before burying the double 12 to claim the 6-5 victory and his first CDC crown.

After the victory, Millar spoke to the CDC’s Peter Citera:

“I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of years now, I’m committed, I’ve made every stop and I’ve been waiting for this… I got in an accident – got rear-ended – on the highway on the way to Chicago and I was going to go back home but one of my friends convinced me to be here, and am I happy I am!”

As mentioned above, battled his way past three former CDC winners en route to the trophy, which delighted the Canadian:
“The darts felt really good today”, said Millar, “Early on, I was producing high averages and at that point, the darts felt great. I kind of petered out in the Semi-Finals and the Final, but sometimes you’ve got to grind out those wins… I’ve proved to myself that I do belong here and I’m looking forward to the next one.”

CDC Main Event Seven

Quarter-Finals
Jeremiah Millar 6-1 Darin Young
Jim Long 6-3 Gary Mawson
Matt Campbell 6-3 Jeff Smith
Joseph Huffman 6-3 Leonard Gates

Semi-Finals
Jeremiah Millar 6-3 Jim Long
Matt Campbell 6-2 Joseph Huffman

Final
Jeremiah Millar 6-5 Matt Campbell