Campbell Retains North American Championship

Matt Campbell created history as the first player to retain the bet365 North American Darts Championship title, defeating Jim Long 6-3 in an all-Canadian final.

Campbell had claimed the top domestic honour 12 months ago in The Theater at Madison Square Garden, and scooped the $10,000 top prize in style.

Campbell posted the first ton-plus average in the event’s history of 103.98 in his dominant 6-1 quarter-final win over Jason Brandon.

He then averaged almost 97 and finished six doubles from 11 attempts in a semi-final win over Stowe Buntz, where he dropped just two legs.

The 35-year-old came from a leg down to lead 3-1 in the final, and while Long twice cut the gap to one leg, it was the world number 53 who posted a brace of double top checkouts to close out victory.

“It’s awesome,” said Campbell. “I was pretty happy but the final was a bit rough, playing a good buddy.

“That match was tough because I think Jim was waiting for me to get going and I was waiting for Jim to get going, but such is life.

“Every game is different and every day is different, but today I won the darts tournament.”

Campbell’s success means he became the North American Championship’s first back-to-back winner, but he modestly added: “I don’t classify myself as the best North American player – there’s tons of great players that don’t have the chances to come and do this.

“It’s so expensive to travel across this big continent, so I’ll never say I’m the top North American until everybody gets that same fighting chance as I did.”

Long was a 6-4 winner over Adam Sevada in his opening tie on Saturday, and then finished a 132 finish of bull-bull-double 16 in his 6-1 semi-final romp against Danny Lauby.

However, he was unable to go all the way as Campbell proved more clinical in the final – although the run will boost his confidence following a solid first six months as a PDC Tour Card Holder.

“I feel terrible to be honest,” said Long. “I just couldn’t get it going – maybe I was trying too hard.

“Matt and I are great buddies. We played together like for years before he got his Tour Card and we practiced together – that was just a hard final to play.”

Buntz booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-0 whitewash of Jules van Dongen, who continues to struggle against a nerve issue in his throwing arm.

Lauby was the other quarter-final winner, reeling off five straight legs to defeat Leonard Gates 6-1.

With Campbell being ranked inside the world’s top 64, he was unable to claim a place in the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts by virtue of the success.

The qualifying place in the World Darts Championship will now go to the top-ranked non-qualified player on the final 2025 CDC ProTour Order of Merit, while the 2025 CDC Continental Cup winner will compete in the Grand Slam of Darts.