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

Buntz Claims Maiden CDC Title in Toronto

American sharp shooter, Stowe Buntz, has secured his first Championship Darts Circuit title, winning the Cosmo Fit Flight Challenge. The event was number 7 of 12 of the 2023 tour, and the first in Canada. The 11th seeded Buntz, defeated the 4th seed – and reigning Continental Cup champion – Alex Spellman, 7-4, to grab the trophy. After holding his throw to pull ahead 5-4 in the finals, Buntz earned a critical break of throw in the tenth leg and followed it up with a 16-dart hold to close out the match.

The Virginia man started his day with a tight 5-4 victory over Jason Watt before overcoming a 2-0 deficit against Jeremiah Millar – winning six straight legs enroute to a 6-2 victory. After dispatching the 14th-seeded Doug Boehm, 6-3 in the quarters, Stowe faced the second seed, David Cameron, in an eventful semifinal that saw him grab a 5-3 lead only to suffer back-to-back breaks of throw as Cameron ran off three unanswered to pull within a win of the final. Unfortunately for the Canadian man, he ran into double trouble in a leg he should have won easily and then dropped the decider as Buntz produced a 14-darter, checking 78 in two and booking his spot in the final.

Spellman’s road to the final was less rocky, as he cruised to a 5-2 victory against Marlo Yanson before whitewashing 13-seed Steve Warnock 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. A back-and-forth affair with Jim Long resulted in a 6-4 victory for the American who then brushed aside top-seeded Jacob Taylor 7-1 in the semifinals, winning seven on the spin after dropping the first leg.

Overall, Jules Van Dongen had the highest average on the day with 92.36, narrowly edging out fellow Americans Doug Boehm and Alex Spellman. Spellman and Boehm also led the way, along with David Cameron, all of whom notched seven 180s. The Canadian duo of Jake MacMillan and Justin Fawcett each reeled in a big fish 170 finish.

Finals

Stowe Buntz (11)  7-4  Alex Spellman (4)

Semifinals
Alex Spellman (4)  7-1  Jacob Taylor (1)
Stowe Buntz (11)  7-6  David Cameron (2)

Quarterfinals

Jacob Taylor (1)  6-1  Gary Mawson (8)
Alex Spellman (4)  6-4  Jim Long (5)
David Cameron (2)  6-0  Danny Lauby (7)
Stowe Buntz (11)  6-3  Doug Boehm (14)

The Championship Darts Circuit continues on Saturday, August 12, with the Hitkor Heritage Tournament. Coverage begins at 12:00 Eastern, from Toronto, Ontario.

Article by Brian Fraser
August 11, 2023

CDLC Kicks Off Inagural Tour in Costa Rica

Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean (CDLC) – the regional affiliate of Championship Darts Corporation – kicks off its inaugural season in San Jose, Costa Rica this weekend with two Tour events that represent the first steps on the road to the PDC PaddyPower World Darts Championship for players in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

The action begins at 2:00 PM local time on Saturday with players from across the region toeing the oche at the Radisson Hotel San Jose. Among the field will be Norman Madhoo and Sudesh Fitzgerald who partnered as Team Guyana for the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt this past June, earning their berth via a one-off qualifying event held by the CDLC in May. Tour event #2 will be staged on Sunday at the same time and rounds-out the first Professional Darts Corporation-sanctioned Tour weekend in the history of the region. CDLC action then moves to Chile with two additional events to be held at the Hotel Torremayor in Santiago on October 14-15, marking the first time the PDC has had a sanctioned event in South America outside of Brazil.

At the conclusion of the final event in Chile, the player on top of the points standings will qualify for the World Darts Championship to be held at the Alexandra Palace, London in December. Live match scoring for all CDLC-tour events can be found on DartConnect, the official scoring app of CDC and CDLC.

Lauby Back in the CDC Winner’s Circle

Danny Lauby overcame a furious comeback attempt by the top-seeded Jacob Taylor to capture the Cosmo Darts Classic Title – his fifth CDC Tour crown – on Sunday in Chicago. The win capped off a strong weekend for the Indiana man fresh off a successful stint of competition in the UK. After losing the finals in Event 4, and falling in the semifinals in Event 5, Danny was not to be denied in the final event of the weekend.

Danny was the ninth seed on the day and began his road to the finals with comfortable wins over Michael Nguyen 5-2 and Dave Fatum 6-2. He would fall behind 2-0 in his quarterfinal match against Doug Boehm, but then responded with 6 legs on the trot to take the match 6-2. He continued his win streak against David Cameron in the semifinals by winning the first 4 legs en route to a 7-2 scoreline that is certainly not reflective of the quality of this hotly-contested match.

Taylor – as he had been doing all weekend – opened up with a whitewash, this time 5-0 against John Liggett. He continued with a 6-3 victory over Gino Florian, and then won a back and forth affair against Chuck Puleo, 6-5, taking the last leg decider with a 13-darter. Taylor exploded into the semifinals against Stowe Buntz, opening up a 4-0 lead, and despite some double troubles, sealed a 7-4 victory and a spot in the finals.

Despite his quarterfinal defeat to David Cameron, Jules Van Dongen led the pack with a 90.72 average during Event #6, while runner-up Jacob Taylor pounded in 12 180s. American sharpshooter, Chuck Puleo, converted 44% of his checkouts to lead the way, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Jacob Taylor in the quarterfinals.

Final

Danny Lauby (10)  7-5  Jacob Taylor (1)

Semifinals

Jacob Taylor (1)  7-4  Stowe Buntz (13)
Danny Lauby (10)  7-2  David Cameron (3)

Quarterfinals

Jacob Taylor (1)  6-5  Chuck Puleo (8)
Stowe Buntz (13)  6-2  Jim Long (5)
Danny Lauby (10)  6-2  Doug Boehm (15)
David Cameron (3)  6-4  Jules Van Dongen (11)

The road to the Continental Cup continues with events #4-6, to be held August 11-13 in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

 

Article by Brian Fraser

July 16, 2023

Windy City Magic for Spellman

The 2022 Continental Cup champion, Alex Spellman, put on a brilliant display in Event #5 on the 2023 Championship Darts Circuit – the Winmau 180 Extravaganza – defeating David Cameron 7-4 in the final with a 99.84 average and five 180s. Alex came out of the gate blazing, opening up a 6-1 lead that included a 10-dart opener followed by six perfect darts to start leg 2 (in which he pinned tops to finish in 13 darts). He then fired in a 15-darter in the third leg to leave Cameron reeling and searching for answers. The Canadian man attempted a firey comeback – earning 3 straight wins on the spin from 6-1 down – but in the end the deficit was just too large to overcome as the North Carolina man finished 79 to claim the victory with Cameron all the way back on 237.

Cameron’s road to the finals began with a 5-2 victory over Brian Fenlon followed by a 6-2 victory over Steve Warnock. He earned his spot in the semifinals after winning a last leg decider against Larry Butler, then absolutely smothered Leonard Gates 7-2 in a match where one of the most prolific scorers on the CDC circuit – and the reigning World Seniors Darts Masters champion – had no answers.

For his part, Spellman also cruised to the finals virtually unscathed. After dispatching an out-of-sorts Jason Watt 5-0, he outclassed Dave Fatum 6-3 with a 96.42 average. He then took out Jim Long with an even better 99.32 average to reach the semifinals. He continued his strong play in the semifinals against Event #4 finalist, Danny Lauby, earning his spot in the finals with a 7-2 victory.

The second event of the day proved to be a redemption of sorts for the seeded players, with seven of the top nine making it into the quarterfinals. However, Main Event #4 winner, Jules Van Dongen, saw his attempt at back-to-back titles end at the first hurdle with a shocking loss in the last 32.

Spellman was truly in a class of his own in this event, leading the way with a 95.08 average across 5 matches. He tallied a tournament-high 12 180s, and converted 46% of his checkouts, which was only bested by his finals opponent, David Cameron, who was successful on 47%.

Finals

Alex Spellman (4)  7-4  David Cameron (3)

Semifinals

Alex Spellman (4)  7-2  Danny Lauby (9)
David Cameron (3)  7-2  Leonard Gates (2)

Quarterfinals

Danny Lauby (9)  6-4  Elliot Milk
Alex Spellman (4)  6-1  Jim Long (5)
Leonard Gates (2)  6-3  Gary Mawson (7)
David Cameron (3)  6-5  Larry Butler (6)

The Cosmo Darts Classic, Event #6 on the the 2023 Championship Darts Circuit, concludes the weekend on Sunday. Coverage begins at 11:00am CT, from Chicago, Illinois.

Article by Brian Fraser
July 15, 2023

Delight for the Dutch Dragon in Chicago

With his recent positive results from Europe in his back pocket, an in-form Dutch Dragon, Jules Van Dongen, stormed into Chicago and won the Boomerang Tours Fiesta – Event #4 on the Championship Darts Circuit – with a 7-4 defeat of Danny Lauby in the finals. Van Dongen came out gunning, winning four of the first five legs in the finals, however Lauby would battle back, getting within one at 5-4. Van Dongen stepped it up another notch, flirting with a 9-darter in the tenth leg. He would wrap that leg up in 11 darts and then clinch his first CDC title in the next with a brilliant 142 finish.

Lauby, the ninth seed, started his campaign with a 5-1 dismantling of Jason Brandon in the last-32 before playing his former PDC World Cup of Darts partner, Chuck Puleo. After falling behind 5-3 with a couple of missed opportunities, the Indiana man found his stride to see off Puleo in a deciding leg thriller. In the quarterfinals, Danny pounced early, opening up a 5-2 lead against David Fatum before losing a bit of steam just as The Scorpion found his sting to roll-off three consecutive legs and tie it at 5. Yet again, however, Danny proved too strong in a last-leg decider, checking 101 and stranding his opponent on tops after 12 darts. He then defeated Jeff Springer 7-4 in a semifinal contest that was a lot closer than the scoreline indicates.

Van Dongen, for his part, was unhindered on his march to the finals. He opened his day with a 5-1 defeat of Jeremiah Millar with a blistering 114.38 average. He followed that with a 98.25 average against his own partner at the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts, Leonard Gates, which culminated in a 5-3 victory. He continued his brilliance with comfortable wins over Doug Boehm (6-2), Keith Way (6-1), and then Jake MacMillan (7-2) in the semifinals to book his tie with Lauby in the final.

It wasn’t to be for the majority of the top-16 seeds, with seven seeded players falling in the last 16, including top seeded Jacob Taylor, third seed David Cameron, as well as Alex Spellman (4), Jim Long (5), Gary Mawson (6), and Chuck Puleo (8). Only ninth seed Danny Lauby and tenth seed Keith Way earned spots in the quarterfinals.

Jeremiah Millar had the highest average on the day with 97.38, however, his 1 match was against Van Dongen, who ended up with the second highest average on the day, with 94.47 across his 6 matches. Canadian Jake MacMillan and American Jeff Springer each notched 14x 180s, while Anthony Cianciolo converted 50% of his check outs, to lead the way.

 

Finals

Jules Van Dongen  7-4  Danny Lauby (9)

Semifinals

Danny Lauby (9)  7-4  Jeff Springer
Jules Van Dongen  7-2  Jake MacMillan

Quarterfinals

Danny Lauby (9)  6-5  David Fatum
Jeff Springer  6-2  Sylvain Bourdeau
Jules Van Dongen  6-1  Keith Way (10)
Jake MacMillan  6-4  Roger Carter

The 2023 Championship Darts Circuit continues in Chicago this afternoon with the second event of a double header, the Winmau 180 Extravaganza.

 

Article by Brian Fraser

July 15, 2023