Salate Books World Championship Return After Deciding-Leg Drama

Jesus Salate secured his return to the World Darts Championship in dramatic fashion on Saturday, edging Rashad Sweeting 6-5 to claim the Event Five title on the 2026 Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour.

The Argentinian’s second consecutive title in Nassau means he can no longer be caught at the top of the 2026 CDLC rankings, confirming his place at Alexandra Palace in December. Salate had already put himself in pole position with victory in Friday’s Event Four, and he doubled up in style 24 hours later, surviving a superb final against Sweeting to put the race for top spot beyond doubt.

The final was a rematch of Friday’s showpiece, but this time Sweeting pushed Salate all the way in a high-quality contest that fittingly went to a deciding leg. The Bahamian produced one of the moments of the weekend in leg nine, completing the 170 checkout — the big fish — to keep his title hopes alive. The Argentinian responded by winning the tenth leg, before sealing the title in spectacular fashion with a 118 finish in the deciding leg with Sweeting sitting on 66.

Salate averaged 93.68 in the final, with Sweeting also impressing at 87.20, as the pair again underlined their status as two of the leading forces on the CDLC circuit.

Earlier in the day, Salate opened the final stages with a 6-2 quarterfinal win over eighth seed Dean Persad, before defeating Sudesh Fitzgerald by the same scoreline in the semifinals. Fitzgerald’s run to the last four demonstrated that Friday’s improved performance was no one-off, with the Guyanese star appearing to have rediscovered his form after a difficult opening weekend in Panama.

Sweeting, meanwhile, whitewashed Jamaica’s Vasseon Roye 6-0 in the quarterfinals before defeating James Walkin 6-3 in the semifinals, immediately after which play had to be halted for approximately one hour due to a power failure at the venue ahead of the second semifinal.

Trinidad and Tobago continued to impress, with three players reaching the quarterfinals or better. Joshua Balfour, James Walkin and Dean Persad all featured in the last eight, further underlining the country’s growing depth on the CDLC Tour.

It was also a day for the favorites, with seven of the eight seeds reaching the quarterfinal stage. The only absentee was Bahamian seventh seed Robin Albury, who fell in the Last 32 to Roye.

Salate led the field statistically with an 83.48 average on the day, while he and Sweeting shared the 180 lead with five maximums apiece.

The 2026 CDLC Tour concludes Sunday in Nassau with Event Six beginning at 11:00 AM. The top eight players on the 2026 Tour Points ranking will receive berths in the PDC/Winmau World Masters in January, along with complimentary entry to PDC Q-School. Salate, by virtue of finishing first, will also receive an exemption through to the second stage of Q-School.

Results

Quarterfinals
Jesus Salate (1) 6-2 Dean Persad (8)
Sudesh Fitzgerald (4) 6-4 Joshua Balfour (5)
Rashad Sweeting (2) 6-0 Vasseon Roye
Norman Madhoo (3) 3-6 James Walkin (6)

Semifinals
Jesus Salate 6-2 Sudesh Fitzgerald
Rashad Sweeting 6-3 James Walkin

Final
Jesus Salate 6-5 Rashad Sweeting