63-year-old former UK Open finalist seals Madison Square Garden spot alongside Luke Littler and Luke Humphries after CDC thriller

Gary Mawson will step onto one of darts’ biggest global stages later this month after the 63-year-old sealed his place at the 2026 US Darts Masters with a dramatic deciding-leg win over CDC Tour leader Adam Sevada.

The American remains best known to many long-time darts fans for his remarkable run to the 2008 UK Open final, where he beat two-time defending champion Raymond van Barneveld before falling to James Wade in Bolton. Now, more than 18 years later, Mawson has earned another major PDC spotlight by booking his spot at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, where Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are among the stars set to headline the World Series event.

Mawson came through the second US Darts Masters Qualifier in Philadelphia, beating Sevada 5-4 in the final after a tense finish. He had led 4-1, only for the early-season CDC pace-setter to fight back and force a deciding leg.

With the match and a Madison Square Garden place on the line, Mawson pinned a 97 checkout to complete the job and secure one of the biggest opportunities of his late-career run.

Mawson’s route to qualification had already included one significant escape before the final. In the quarter-finals, he survived multiple match darts against Jeff Smith before edging through a last-leg decider, despite Smith averaging eight points more.

From there, Mawson took control against Stowe Buntz, beating the former Continental Cup winner 5-1 in the semi-finals to set up the final against Sevada.

That made the final even more significant. Sevada had already been one of the dominant names of the 2026 CDC season, winning the opening two events of the campaign and sitting at the top of the circuit’s standings. Mawson’s win denied the early-season pace-setter another title, but Sevada’s weekend still ended with a Madison Square Garden reward of his own.

Following Events Three and Four on the CDC ProTour, Sevada confirmed his place at the US Darts Masters as the highest-ranked American on the CDC circuit, while 23-year-old Brayden Hall qualified as the top-performing Canadian.

Away from the US Darts Masters qualifying picture, Leonard Gates and Danny Young split the CDC ProTour titles on offer in Philadelphia.

Gates claimed Event Three, defeating John Part 7-3 in the final to collect his 14th career CDC ProTour title and his first of the 2026 season. Young then delivered the breakthrough result of the weekend in Event Four, beating Ronald Sargent 7-6 to claim his maiden CDC ProTour crown.

Young’s run also included victories over Gates and two-time Continental Cup winner Alex Spellman, giving him one of the standout CDC results of his career.

For Mawson, Sevada and Hall, however, the Philadelphia weekend ended with the same destination attached. All three are now set for the US Darts Masters, which will take place at Madison Square Garden on June 25 and 26.