Salate Storms to Event #1 Title as 2026 CDLC Tour Opens in Panama City

Jesus Salate made the perfect start to the 2026 Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour on Friday, dropping just two legs from the quarterfinals onward as he powered to the Event #1 title in Panama City, Panama.

The top seed from Argentina led the 71-player field with an 83.13 tournament average across six matches and finished the day in emphatic style, whitewashing Trinidad’s Joshua Balfour 6-0 in the final to claim the opening title of the new CDLC season.

Salate’s dominant march through the closing rounds began with a 6-1 quarterfinal win over Artur Valle, before he brushed aside fourth-seeded Guillermo Soto by the same scoreline in the semifinals. Soto had earlier produced one of the day’s most convincing last-eight performances, eliminating fifth seed Roberto Wentz 6-0.

On the opposite side of the draw, Balfour produced the comeback of the day — and one of the most remarkable escapes in recent CDLC play — in his semifinal clash with fellow Trinidadian James Walkin. Trailing 5-0, Balfour survived 13 match darts from Walkin before completing a stunning 6-5 turnaround to reach the final.

Balfour had already ended the run of Victor Guillin in the quarterfinals, defeating the Argentinian 6-2 and denying Guillin the chance to keep pace with Salate at the top of the early points race. Guillin, Salate’s Team Argentina partner at last year’s World Cup of Darts, entered the weekend as one of the key names to watch, but was stopped short of the semifinals by Balfour’s strong run through the bottom half of the bracket.

Walkin also impressed on the day, defeating third seed Norman Madhoo 6-2 in the quarterfinals before narrowly missing out on a place in the final. He finished level with Salate atop the 180 count, with both players firing in four maximums across the tournament.

Second seed Sudesh Fitzgerald was another notable casualty, falling in the Last 16 as the opening event delivered early movement in the race for CDLC ranking points.

For Salate, however, Event #1 was a statement performance. The top seed controlled the business end of the bracket, led the field statistically, and closed the tournament with a clean-sheet victory in the final to take the first title of the 2026 campaign.

The CDLC Tour continues Saturday from Panama City with the region’s World Cup of Darts Qualifier at 3:00 PM local time, followed by Events #2 and #3 of the Tour on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Quarterfinals

Jesus Salate (1) def. Artur Valle, 6-1
Guillermo Soto (4) def. Roberto Wentz (5), 6-0
Joshua Balfour def. Victor Guillin, 6-2
James Walkin def. Norman Madhoo (3), 6-2

Semifinals

Jesus Salate def. Guillermo Soto, 6-1
Joshua Balfour def. James Walkin, 6-5

Final

Jesus Salate def. Joshua Balfour, 6-0