Fresh off his impressive double title success at the opening 2026 ADA Tour weekend in Western Australia, Brody Klinge wasted absolutely no time in returning to the winner’s circle, securing the second weekend’s curtain raiser in Canberra with yet another authoritative and commanding darts performance.
The Melbourne thrower swiftly completed a remarkable seasonal hat trick, claiming the honours in event five courtesy of a composed and emphatic 6-2 triumph over Darren Penhall. For much of the tournament Klinge appeared serenely untroubled, gliding through the early rounds with the kind of assured composure and clinical efficiency that has rapidly become his trademark.
It was not until the semi-final stage that the Australian star encountered any genuine resistance, stubbing out Jeremy Fagg in a tense and dramatic last leg decider. Having successfully navigated that stern examination, the Victorian (a reference to his state origin – not age) then eased past the English born Penhall in the final, adding a third piece of silverware to what is already becoming a flourishing seasonal collection.
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For a time it looked as though fellow Australian Raymond Smith, who had also departed Mandurah with a brace of titles to his name, would be the man colliding with Klinge in the showpiece showdown. However, Darren Penhall intervened in rather spectacular fashion, eliminating The Guru in the semi-finals before eventually falling short against the red-hot Melbourne Ace in the main event.
Yet players of Raymond Smith’s pedigree are rarely subdued for long. On Saturday the experienced Brisbane arrow smith bounced back emphatically to capture the first of two scheduled tournaments, continuing what was rapidly evolving into the dominant Klinge-Smith narrative of the season. In something of a role reversal from the previous event, Smith overcame the man responsible for eliminating Klinge in the semi-finals, James Bailey, to secure his own third ADA Tour title of the year.
The journey to the trophy, however, was far from straightforward. Smith survived a pair of nervy deciding leg encounters, first overcoming Jamie Rundle in the quarter finals before squeezing past Darren Penhall in the last four. Once through to the final, the Brisbane thrower produced a composed and clinical display to defeat Bailey, adding yet another accolade to his steadily expanding résumé.
Event number seven then delivered a welcome twist to the unfolding weekend narrative. For the first time across the Canberra programme, the silverware did not end up in the possession of either Brody Klinge or Raymond Smith. Instead, the man who had been persistently knocking on the door throughout the event, Darren Penhall, finally forced it open.
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To make the moment even sweeter, the adopted Australian originally from Cornwall defeated none other than Raymond Smith in the final, bringing a halt to what was rapidly becoming a two-man monopoly. The closest anyone came to unnerving the 53-year-old St Austell native was Robbie King, who managed to claim three legs in their last sixteen encounter.
From that point onward Penhall gathered irresistible momentum, surging past both Tim Pusey and Matt Dorotich before ensuring that a fresh name would be inscribed upon the 2026 ADA Tour roll of honour.
Finally, and just to restore a sense of balance to the darting universe – or at least the equilibrium Down Under – both Brody Klinge and Raymond Smith reached the final in Canberra’s concluding event of the quadruple. Heading home with the distinction of claiming exactly half of this season’s ADA titles was Klinge, following a well fought Sunday showdown with his compatriot.
Curiously, the format switched to set play for the final and, after the contest was locked at one set apiece, it was Victoria that ultimately edged the entertaining encounter to defeat the man from Queensland. Eight tournaments into the season and the scoreboard reads rather intriguingly: four victories for Melbourne, three for Brisbane, and one belonging to a Cornishman whose origin will not appear on any map of Australia – yet the talented Darren Penhall has certainly made his presence felt.
2026 ADA TOUR (WEEKEND TWO)
EVENT FIVE
Canberra, Australia (Fri 13th March)
Quarter Finals
Raymond Smith 6-1 Darcy Crane
Darren Penhall 6-5 James Bailey
Brody Klinge 6-1 Joe Comito
Jeremy Fagg 6-3 Puna Ben
Semi-Finals
Darren Penhall 6-4 Raymond Smith
Brody Klinge 6-5 Jeremy Fagg
Final
Brody Klinge 6-2 Darren Penhall
2026 ADA TOUR – EVENT SIX
Canberra, Australia (Sat 14th March)
Quarter Finals
Brody Klinge 6-1 Darcy Crane
James Bailey 6-0 David Burke
Raymond Smith 6-5 Jamie Rundle
Darren Penhall 6-4 Tim Pusey
Semi-Finals
James Bailey 6-3 Brody Klinge
Raymond Smith 6-5 Darren Penhall
Final
Raymond Smith 6-4 James Bailey
2026 ADA TOUR – EVENT SEVEN
Canberra, Australia (Sat 14th March)
Quarter Finals
Raymond Smith 6-3 Jamie Rundle
Michael Bajowski 6-3 James Bailey
Matt Dorotich 6-4 Harley Kemp
Darren Penhall 6-2 Tim Pusey
Semi-Finals
Raymond Smith 6-1 Michael Bajowski
Darren Penhall 6-1 Matt Dorotich
Final
Darren Penhall 6-4 Raymond Smith
2026 ADA TOUR – EVENT EIGHT (Set Play)
Canberra, Australia (Sun 15th March)
Quarter Finals
Raymond Smith 2-0 Jamie Rundle
Mal Cuming 2-1 Michael Bajowski
Brody Klinge 2-1 Harley Kemp
Jeremy Fagg 2-0 Darren Penhall
Semi-Finals
Raymond Smith 2-1 Mal Cuming
Brody Klinge 2-1 Jeremy Fagg
Final
Brody Klinge 2-1 Raymond Smith
—–Ends—–
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