Matt Campbell won the North American Darts Championship for the first time in his career Saturday night in New York. He won 6-4 over Stowe Buntz in the final.
Campbell produced a trio of strong performances to get through the eight-player field of top North American talent. The tournament was witnessed by as many as 2,000 fans at the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
In winning the North American Darts Championship, Campbell took revenge for his defeat in last year's final against Jeff Smith. Earlier in the tournament, "Ginja Ninja" most personally took care of the defending champion's elimination by defeating him 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Campbell again faced a compatriot. In the last four, he beat David Cameron 6-4. After that, he also defeated Buntz, giving him the top prize of $10,000.
Campbell, however, grabs two other rewards. Namely, the winner of the North American Darts Championship also receives an invitation to the Grand Slam of Darts and the PDC World Darts Championship, but players who have had their Tour Card for more than one year are excluded from these rewards. Campbell is currently in his third Tour Card year, and thus will not receive a spot to play the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship. These spots will be distributed by other means through the CDC circuit later this year.
The 34-year-old Campbell also competed at the US Darts Masters the day before. In that tournament he was unable to make a breakthrough, as he lost 6-0 to Luke Littler in the first round.
Results North American Darts Championship 2024
Quarterfinals
Matt Campbell 6-4 Jeff Smith
David Cameron 6-5 Alex Spellman
Adam Sevada 6-3 Danny Lauby
Stowe Buntz 6-3 Jules van Dongen
Semi-final
Matt Campbell 6-4 David Cameron
Stowe Buntz 6-2 Adam Sevada
Finale
Matt Campbell 6-4 Stowe Buntz