Mawson Strikes Gold in Oakbrook to End CDC Title Drought

Gary Mawson returned to the CDC winner’s circle on Saturday, defeating Adam Sevada 7-3 to claim the Winmau Darts Challenge title in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.

Mawson’s victory marked his first CDC Tour title since Event Four of the 2024 season — which also came at the same venue — and ended a run of near misses after he reached two finals in 2025 without lifting a title. The seventh seed rounded off his triumph in style, taking out a spectacular 161 checkout to seal the crown against top seed Sevada.

Mawson’s title run gathered momentum in the latter stages, beginning with a 6-3 quarterfinal win over Fred Krueger, who continued his impressive run of form with another deep showing. Krueger’s path had been difficult from the jump, with a Last-128 clash against Canadian star Brayden Hall, but the 2026 CDC Indianapolis 501 champion’s consistency won the day.

Mawson then survived a semifinal thriller against third seed David Cameron, edging through 7-6 to book his place in the showpiece. Cameron had earlier produced one of the day’s standout moments, reeling in the big fish with a 170 checkout in his quarterfinal win over Charlie Harrison.

Sevada, meanwhile, came through the top half of the draw, defeating eighth seed Nick Linberg 6-4 in the quarterfinals before whitewashing BJ Pollock 7-0 in the semifinals.

Linberg produced a memorable moment of his own in the second leg of his quarterfinal against Sevada, busting 180 before returning two turns later to take out 120, with Sevada waiting on 20.

Pollock – who has been one of the year’s breakout players – produced a semifinal run that included a 6-4 quarterfinal win over Kevin Luke, who made a long-anticipated return to the CDC Tour by reaching the last eight in his first Tour event since 2022.

Alex Spellman led the field statistically with an 87.36 average for the event, while Sevada topped the 180 count with ten maximums.

For Mawson, though, the day belonged to a familiar venue, a long-awaited return to the winner’s circle, and a 161 finish that provided a fitting exclamation point to his Oakbrook triumph.

Results

Quarterfinals
Adam Sevada (1) 6-4 Nick Linberg (8)
BJ Pollock 6-4 Kevin Luke
Fred Krueger 3-6 Gary Mawson (7)
David Cameron (3) 6-3 Charlie Harrison

Semifinals
Adam Sevada 7-0 BJ Pollock
Gary Mawson 7-6 David Cameron

Final
Adam Sevada 3-7 Gary Mawson