“The Gambler” Doubles His Winnings

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Danny Baggish secured his second title of 2022, winning the Magic Darts Derby 7-3 over Stowe Buntz.

Baggish was in excellent form from the get-go, averaging 95.9 for the tournament. He opened with a 5-0 win over James Solek and followed it with a 6-3 win over Keith Way. He then dispatched two of the top ranking Canadians, David Cameron 6-2 in the quarterfinals and his fellow PDC tour card holder, Matt Campbell, 7-5 in the semifinals.

For his part, Stowe Buntz had an impressive day as well. He defeated North American champion, Leonard Gates, 5-1 in the first round, and followed it with a 6-0 victory over Rob Ethington and a 6-1 win over Alex Spellman to reach the semifinals. His semifinal matchup against John Norman Jr would be a back and forth affair, with Buntz prevailing 7-5 to reach his first final.

Statistically, Danny Baggish was in a league of his own, topping the table in average (95.9), 180s (11), and checkout percent (50%), on his way to the title. Matt Campbell converted the highest checkout of the day with a 167 against Baggish in their semifinal match, and David Cameron had the high match average of 100.6 in his opening round against Doug Boehm.

The victory for Baggish also seals his position as the #1 American on the Tour Points List and, thus, his return to the Alexandra Palace for the 2023 PDC/Cazoo World Darts Championship in London this December. The race for the Canada World Championship berth, as well as CDC Continental Cup qualifying (top 16 players) continues with event 11 this afternoon.

 

–Brian Fraser
September 10, 2022

David Cameron Slays the Field to Claim Back-to-Back Titles

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David “Excalibur” Cameron won his second consecutive CDC event this afternoon, hoisting the Magic Darts Masters trophy. He defeated “The Ginga Ninja”, Matt Campbell, 7-2 in the final with two 180s. Indeed, he shot lights-out all day, averaging 94.84 over 46 legs, second only to John Norman Jnr’s 95.18.

Cameron reached his second consecutive final after overcoming a relentless comeback from Leonard “Soldier” Gates (who he dispatched in the Event 5 final) in what can only be described as a legendary semifinal match. The Canadian watched his comfortable 6-2 lead evaporate as Soldier turned up the heat with big trebles and clinical finishing to level the match at 6 and force a decider. The Canadian survived a match dart before stepping to the line with 25 remaining, which he finished S5 D10 to punch his ticket to the final. Prior to the semi, Cameron defeated Danny Lauby (6-1), Steve Warnock (6-2) and Jake Womack (in a match he actually trailed 3-0 and 4-2 before coming back to win in a deciding leg). He was consistently on-form all day, averaging 94.8 for the event, with 49% success on his checkouts.

Matt Campbell’s route to the finals began with a 5-1 victory over Howard Minor and 6-2 victory over Joey Lynaugh. He then dispatched the number eight seed (and 2021’s top-ranked Canadian), John Norman Jr, 6-2 with a 97 average. In the semifinals he opened up a 5-1 lead over Jules Van Dongen, averaging over 100 over that span. Van Dongen’s comeback attempt fell short, and Campbell finished up the 7-3 victory.

The road to the Cazoo World Darts Championship continues as the CDC Tour returns for weekend #3, August 12-14, in Indianapolis.

 

By Brian Fraser

June 26, 2022

Excalibur Continues Magical Run with Win in Boomerang Tours Fiesta

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The 5th Event of the Championship Darts Corporation’s 2022 campaign, the Boomerang Tours Fiesta, featured a marquee final between two of North America’s biggest stars, both of whom have enjoyed major recent successes. Canada’s David Cameron won the World Seniors Darts Masters in May, and American Leonard Gates won the North American championship in New York earlier this month. On this day, it was David Cameron who emerged victorious with a 7-3 victory, averaging 97.1 over the ten legs.

“Soldier” Gates’ had the more difficult trip to the finals, having to get through Kevin Luke (5-4), Steve Warnock (6-4), and Gary Mawson (6-3) to reach the semis where his run almost ended against Event 4 winner, Jake Taylor. Taylor led 6-5 and had match darts to win, but Gates punished those misses, winning the last two legs on the spin to take the match 7-6.

Cameron’s run was more straightforward, with comfortable wins against David Fatum, Ryan Vander Weit, and James Solek, to reach the semifinals. He did have a hard fought, back and forth matchup vs Keith Way at that stage, eking out a 7-5 victory to book his place in the final.

Leonard Gates produced the highest average on the day, despite the loss in the finals, shooting a 92.9 over 51 legs. He was one of six players to average in the 90s on the day. David Cameron’s finishing was excellent all day, converting 46% of his checkouts. Jake Taylor’s run to the semifinals included an event high twelve 180s.

Article by Brian Fraser

June 25, 2022

“The Truth” Reigns in Cambridge

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Canadian sharpshooter, Jake “The Truth” Taylor erased a 5-3 deficit and survived a match dart to defeat “The Gambler”, Danny Baggish, 7-6 in the final of Event #4 on the 2022 Championship Darts Circuit in Cambridge, Ontario on Saturday afternoon. With an event average of 83.03, the ‘Cosmo Classic’ (presented by the CDC’s longest-running partner, Cosmo Darts) saw top-quality darts and big finishes throughout from the Tour Card holders in attendance.

The eventual champion began his day with a convincing 5-1 victory over first year cardholder, Michael Nguyen, in the round of 32 before running into a tough test in Canadian Jim Long in the final 16. 5th-seeded Long opened up a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 lead but never managed an opportunity at a match dart as Taylor found his groove and poured on the pressure to win the final 5 legs and seal the victory. The Newfoundland man followed up that shocker with a convincing 6-1 victory over the event’s 4-seed (and newly-minted North American champion), Leonard Gates before seeing off Steve Warnock 7-3 in the semifinals.

Baggish, who was runner-up to Gates in the North American Championship at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden earlier this month, opened his run to the finals against his World Cup of Darts teammate, Jules Van Dongen, whom he dispatched 5-1 with a strong performance. He then took care of the 2021 CDC top Canadian, John Norman Jr, with a 6-1 victory and a 104.06 average. He would go on to defeat Cashmere Ventura 6-4 and then Shaun Narain 7-1 in the semifinals.

PDC Tour Card Holder, Baggish, led the event with a 92.31 average on the day and had the most 180s with ten. Jake Taylor finished second in both categories with an 89.36 average and eight 180s. Jim Long and Jason Watt each finished with a 44% checkout success rate to top the table.

The round-of-32 was NOT kind to the seeded players on the day, with top stars like Matt Campbell, Danny Lauby Jr, Chuck Puleo, Gary Mawson and the Seniors Matchplay champion, David Cameron, all falling before the last-16. They’ll be looking to rebound later on Saturday Event #5 – The Boomerang Tours Fiesta – begins at 4:00 Eastern. Points earned across all 12 Tour events will determine the American and Canadian representatives at the Cazoo World Darts Championship in London, England, in December.

“The Gambler” Goes All-in to Claim Event Three Title

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CDC Event 3 concluded a brilliant weekend in Indianapolis with Danny Baggish sealing a 7-5 victory over Leonard Gates in the Final.

Leonard “Soldier” Gates, playing in his second consecutive final, won his five matches in the run-up by beating Tanner Picard, Bob Miske, Steve Warnock, Robbie Phillips, and John Norman Jr in the SemiFinal.  Leonard collected six 180s and thirty-one 140s in his first five games.

For his part, Danny “The Gambler” Baggish prevailed over Ross Snook, Matt Smooke, David Fatum, Kevin Luke, and Chuck Puleo in his SemiFinal. Danny’s route to the Final saw him collect nine 180s and twenty-five 140s.

David Cameron claimed the highest First Round winning average of 92.06 in a 5-2 victory over American Stowe Buntz, which featured a 161 checkout by the Canadian. Cameron went one better in the second round by checking out 170 in a 5-3 loss to Michael Esquibel.

David Fatum, who made his return to the Tour this weekend after a two-year hiatus, acquitted himself well by beating Jim Widmayer in the first round and Event 1 Champion Matt Campbell in the second.  “The Scorpion” trusted his 19 shooting in the last leg decider against the Ninja, throwing 133, 95, 133 in consecutive visits and finishing 40 to conclude a 17-dart break against the PDC player. But the Arizona ace ran into the Baggish buzzsaw in round 3, being on the receiving end of a 96.5 average from the Florida phenom.

Joey Lynaugh continued to make serious waves on the CDC Tour by reaching the Quarterfinal on Sunday, following his last-16 finish in Event One and semifinal loss in Event Two. The youngster collected the scalps of Jason Brandon, Joe Cheney and Ryan Vander Weit before succumbing to John Norman Junior in the quarters.

The Gates/Baggish Final saw the two hottest players of the day face off.  Before the last game of the day, Baggish’s First 9 Darts Average of 101.16 was topped only by Gates’ 101.80.   Baggish was able to keep that standard through the final, while Gates served up a mere First 9 of 93.  Danny gained control of the match by taking the second leg on Leonard’s throw.   He made it 3-0 with a 15-dart hold before Soldier took a leg with a cool 16-darter on his own throw.  The game continued high quality, with each player trading holds in 6 visits or less, aside from a couple of legs in the middle when Baggish experienced some setup/finishing problems and Soldier was able to take them both.  In the end, The Gambler was able to right the ship and won the last two legs to clinch a 7-5 victory.

The races for the Continental Cup and World Championship berths are well and truly on!

Gates Claims 6th CDC Title in Indy Nightcap

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On Saturday, for the first time since the inception of the Championship Darts Circuit, there were two Main Events staged in one day. Main Event #2 – The Indianapolis 501 – saw two five-time CDC champions, Leonard Gates and Chuck Puleo, square off in another highly-charged Final. When the dust settled, it was Gates who would be hoisting the trophy for the sixth time after a 7-5 victory.

With darts in the air slightly later than anticipated, the First round saw five 5-0 whitewashes, courtesy of Doug Boehm, John Norman Jr, John Steinhofer, Jim Long and Jason Brandon. In other action, Alex Spellman averaged over 100 in a 5-2 defeat of past CDC Champion, Kevin Luke. Evolution Tour star Joey Lynaugh showed his stuff in a tough battle with Larry Butler, averaging over 90 and edging The Eagle in a last leg decider.

As the event progressed to the second round, Canada’s Steve Warnock cruised home in a true “statement win,” shocking the room with a 5-0 shellacking of event #1 champion, Matt Campbell.   Warnock won the first three legs in 18, 12 and 16 darts, which proved to be too big a hill for his fellow Canadian to climb. In other action, Danny Baggish – fresh off his runner-up performance – rained on Alex Spellman’s parade with a tight 5-4 victory that included a “Big Fish” 170 checkout in the seventh leg.

The Last 16 saw plenty of fireworks, with 5 of the 8 victors averaging over 90 as the format stretched to best of 11. Leonard “Soldier” Gates came out flying, winning each of the first three legs in 13 darts to put his opponent, New York’s Ryan Vander Weit in an early hole. Despite quality darts from Vander Weit – who threw three 180s in the match, finished a 126 and averaged 99— Gates and his nine 140s were not to be denied as he took the match 6-3.

In the quarterfinals, Joey Lynaugh continued to show the form that had people talking on last week’s PDC Development Tour, closing the door on Danny Baggish’s hopes of a return trip to the final with a clutch 15-darter in a last leg decider and averaging almost 94 for the match. In another sudden-death thriller that pitted two PDC World Championship qualifiers against one another, John Norman Jr took out Danny Lauby with an 18-dart hold of throw in a match that saw each player break the other twice.

In the semis, Chuck Puleo derailed Lynaugh’s bid for darting glory 7-3 to book his place in the final. The other semifinal match was much more tense, with Gates in a true dogfight with John Norman. The match went the distance as both players poured-in the trebles. Over the 13 legs, Gates had 35 trips to the oche with scores over 100 while Norman managed 26. The final leg started strong, with both players on a finish after 9 darts before the nerves set in a bit. Both players failed to find a treble in the subsequent round and Norman then missed D-16 for the match , opening the door for Gates to pin tops for the win.

The final gave dart fans everything they could ask for with both players averaging well North of 95. Puleo banged-in four 180s to Gates’ two but Gates had the 11-8 advantage in turns of 140+.  After Chuck sank a 122 finish for a 12-dart hold in leg three, the Texan answered with a 13-darter of his own in the fourth and then managed a crucial break of throw in the fifth – pinning 28 with his 14th dart to strand the Arizona man on 45 and claim the only break of the match on his way to the 7-5 victory.

Campbell Out Of This World in Galaxy Grand Prix

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Championship Darts Corporation kicked-off the 2022 season Saturday in Indianapolis, Indiana. With COVID restrictions a thing of the past, Americans and Canadians did battle face-to face for the first time since 2019 on a combined Tour as designed. 14 Canadians made the trip across the border to join 49 Americans for the Galaxy Grand Prix – sponsored by Galaxy Barrel Design – with the “Ginga Ninja,” Matt Campbell, taking the title over fellow Tour Card holder, Danny Baggish.

Canadian Jim Long posted the highest First Round average of 95.23 with a 5-1 victory over John Steinhofer in a best of 9 format. Darin “Big Daddy” Young landed the first 180 of the tournament almost immediately in the first leg of his matchup with Louis Vessels.

Doug Boehm triumphed 5-3 over Shawn Brenneman in what was arguably the most nailbiting first-rounder, with 5 breaks of throw between the two.  Boehm grabbed control of the match in the 5th leg with a 13-darter, followed by a 12-darter in leg 6, seeing out the next two legs despite Brenneman hitting his first 180 in leg 7.

Newly-minted US Darts Masters qualifiers, Danny Lauby Jr and Doug Boehm, fell in the second round to Jeff Springer and Joey Lynaugh, respectively.  Fellow US Masters player David Cameron tossed a 93.66 average to glide into the Last 16 with a win over Jason Brandon.

The Last 16 saw an even split of 8 Canadians and 8 Americans vying for spots in the Quarterfinals.

American Jeff Springer continued his run against 3-Time World Champion John Part, despite Darth Maple executing a beautiful 11-dart break of throw in the third leg. Springer stole the darts in the fourth leg and checked out 105 in the fifth to keep the advantage.   The two traded holds until the end, where Springer came out on top, 6-3.

In other notable last-16 matches, Canadian John Norman Jr bowed out 6-4 to a charging Alex Spellman in a match that saw no leg go more than 19 darts, Larry “The Eagle” Butler fell to New Brunswick’s Keith Way 6-4 and “Captain America,” Jim Widmayer, saw-off Canada’s Kiley Edmunds 6-1 with a 93.51 average.

The Quarterfinal Round saw Jeff Springer in continued top form in defeating Alex Spellman 6-3, logging a 158 checkout along the way and sealing the match with an 11-darter. Meanwhile, Danny Baggish ended Widmayer’s bid for glory with a 6-1 win and Newfoundland phenom, Jacob Taylor, ground out a victory over Chuck Puleo, despite averaging under 80 and managing only one 180 in ten legs.

The Semifinal lineup guaranteed that both countries would be represented in the final, with Baggish going up against Springer and a Taylor-Campbell matchup in the other half of the draw.

Taylor shook-off his subpar performance with eleven 140s and averaging almost 94, but it wasn’t enough to put away Campbell, who claimed the 7-5 victory with steady play and a 14-dart break of throw to advance to his finals tie with Danny Baggish.

Baggish started slow in the all-USA semifinal and Springer bounded out to a 2-0 lead before “The Gambler” went all-in with 134, 140, 100 to set up a 14-dart break and get back into the game. After a thrilling 13-dart hold of throw, the two were back on equal terms before Springer hit back with a 17-dart hold of his own to pull ahead once again. However, that would be the last leg the Washington man would win on the day as Baggish took control with successive finishes of 13, 14 and 12 darts and cruised into the final with a 7-3 victory.

The mouthwatering final did indeed live up to its billing and was everything one would expect from two PDC Tour Card holders. Campbell averaged 98.5 and Baggish 96.8 in a tungsten shootout that would have wowed audiences on any stage. The proceedings opened with a 12-dart break-of-throw from Campbell, sealed with a tournament-topping 160 finish (matched only by Gary Mawson in Round 1). Baggish broke back immediately with a 15-darter of his own, and the race was on. Both players were exceptional in cover shots throughout the match, firing-in consistent 134s and 137s.

Campbell would go up 4-1 before Baggish put up clinical 13 and 14-dart finishes to close within one. Following three straight holds of throw, the Florida man failed to finish 85, allowing the Canadian a look at 25 – which he finished off in two for a 13-dart break to seal the 7-4 win and hoist the trophy.

CDC and NAWDA Announce Partnership

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Three-Year Agreement Provides Opportunity for Top Women to Join Sport’s Elite in US, Canada

(Chicago, Illinois and Nashville, Tennessee – March 14, 2022) Championship Darts Corporation, owner of the Championship Darts Circuit – North America’s professional darts tour – and the North America Women’s Dart Association, the premier organization showcasing top-level talent in the ladies’ game, today announce the formation of a three-year strategic partnership that will provide two women players the opportunity to join the ranks of professional darts players on the “CDC Tour.”

Beginning in 2022, the winner and runner-up in the NAWDA Championship (to be held in conjunction with the Music City Classic in Nashville in August this year) will receive their CDC Tour Cards for the following calendar year, allowing them to enter the otherwise-closed professional events and play against the continent’s best. Championship Darts Corporation will also sponsor entry fees into two of the CDC Tour events for each player. Further, the two NAWDA-qualified players will be able to take additional sponsorship dollars earned via NAWDA play and apply it to either:
• Assist in covering costs for the following year’s Women’s Series events run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in Europe; or
• Cover entry fees to the remainder of the CDC Tour events for the year in which their Tour Card is valid (not to exceed 10 additional events, for a total of 12 paid event entries between CDC and NAWDA sponsorship).

“We’re excited to partner with Rita (Wilkinson) and Amy (Fahey) at NAWDA to provide top women players the opportunity to play alongside the best on the continent,” said Peter Citera, CEO of Championship Darts Corporation, “darts is a sport where the biological differences between men and women are largely irrelevant. Look, for example, at the success Fallon Sherrock has enjoyed in the most elite events put on by our partners at the PDC. There is no reason that talented women with the drive and determination to succeed in our game shouldn’t have the opportunity to compete and prove themselves against all comers.”

In addition to providing the Tour Cards and sponsorship, CDC stands ready to advise and assist the NAWDA leadership team on an as-needed basis in event planning and any potential future expansion of the organization.
“Given the talent our women darters possess, I believe they will have no problem competing with the men of the CDC,” said Rita Wilkinson, Administrator of the NAWDA. I’m so excited for NAWDA to partner with the CDC to provide equal opportunities for North American women darters they would not otherwise have. This organization started off being an avenue for women to compete in the PDC World Championship qualifiers in hopes to advance to the Alexandra Palace stage in England. The women will still have that opportunity if they choose but, given the international travel challenges at the moment, providing them an added opportunity stateside is more than we could have hoped for!”

‘The Silencer’ wins the Continental Cup

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 Canada’s Jeff Smith used his big-game experience to overcome a strong field and win the 2021 Championship Darts Circuit Continental Cup. Smith defeated Jacob Taylor 8-6 in the finals. An early break in leg four, followed by another hold of throw, opened up a 4-1 lead for Smith. The pair then traded legs on throw, putting Smith on the cusp up 7-4. Taylor followed with a hold, and then his first break of throw, to pull within one, but Jeff Smith would go on to win the fourteenth leg and win his first Continental Cup championship. 

The first round, which pitted the top 8 US players vs the top 8 Canadian players, saw 4 players from each country emerge victorious. American players Danny Lauby Jr, Gary Mawson, Adam Sevada, and Leonard Gates, and Canadian players David Cameron, Jeff Smith, Kiley Edmunds, and Jacob Taylor, earned victories to advance. 

Jacob Taylor, who led 4-1 over Jules Van Dongen, fought off a furious comeback to win a last leg decider and move on with a 5-4 score. Gary Mawson, who trailed 3-1 against Jim Long, was able to complete the comeback and win 5-4. Canada’s #1 seed, John Norman Jr, was upset 5-4 by US #8 seed, Adam Sevada, who put in a strong performance in his victory. 

The second round would see victories by all 4 remaining Canadians, which ensured the Continental Cup champion would reside North of the border for the first time. 

Defending champion, and US #1 seed, Danny Lauby Jr, failed in his bid to become the first repeat champion with a hard-fought 6-3 loss to Kiley Edmunds in the quarterfinals. Edmunds jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Lauby reeled off the next three on the spin to close the gap. Missed darts in the eighth leg would cost Lauby, as Edmunds converted his doubles to win the leg, and would win the ninth leg as well to finalize the victory. 

David Cameron put in a brilliant display against 2017 champion Leonard Gates. Cameron opened up by winning three of the first four legs, and after Gates battled back to win the fifth leg, Cameron won the final three on the spin to seal the 6-2 victory. 

Adam Sevada came out gunning for a second consecutive upset, this time against Jeff Smith, and opened up a 4-2 lead. Smith who answered back, winning four of the next five, including a last-leg decider, to end Sevada’s night and advance to the semi-finals. 

Jacob Taylor won the last quarterfinal, against Gary Mawson, in another last-leg decider. Mawson again found himself trailing the match, rattled off three straight to force a winner-take-all leg. Taylor would produce a 15-darter to seal the match, in what would end up being the match of the night. 

The all-Canadian semi-finals didn’t fail to deliver. The first match saw Kiley Edmunds come out running, winning five of the first six legs before Jacob Taylor turned it on. Taylor would erase the deficit with brilliance, winning the final six legs for a 7-5 victory and a spot in the finals. 

The second semi-final, between two competitors who have each appeared at multiple World Championships, saw Jeff Smith defeat David Cameron 7-6 in a streaky contest. Cameron would win the first two legs, before Smith took the next five in a row. Not to be outdone, Cameron would come back to 

win the next four on the spin to move within a victory of a berth in the finals. Jeff Smith dug deep and won the twelfth leg to force a last leg decider, which he also won, to advance to the finals. 

With the victory, Jeff Smith will qualify for the 2022 William Hill World Championship as the CDC Continental Cup champion. His qualifying spot earned via the PDC Pro Tour will revert to the next highest player on the Pro Tour Order of Merit. He has also qualified for the 2022 Professional Darts Corporation US Darts Masters and North American Darts Championship to be held at Madison Square Gardens. 

Championship Darts Circuit players Danny Lauby Jr, John Norman Jr, and Matt Campbell, who all qualified prior to today, will join Jeff Smith at the World Championships in London. 

Top 16 

Danny Lauby Jr 5-1 Ben Garner
Kiley Edmunds 5-3 Seth Steffano
Jacob Taylor 5-4 Jules Van Dongen
Gary Mawson 5-4 Jim Long
Adam Sevada 5-4 John Norman Jr
Jeff Smith 5-2 Chuck Puleo
Leonard Gates 5-1 Shawn Brenneman
David Cameron 5-3 Kevin Luke 

Quarter-finals 

Kiley Edmunds 6-3 Danny Lauby
Jacob Taylor 6-5 Gary Mawson
Jeff Smith 6-5 Adam Sevada
David Cameron 6-2 Leonard Gates 

Semi-finals 

Jacob Taylor 7-5 Kiley Edmunds
Jeff Smith 7-6 David Cameron 

Finals 

Jeff Smith 8-6 Jacob Taylor 

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~ Article by Brian Fraser
November 20, 2021