At the 2024 World Darts Championship, a whopping 27 different countries were represented.
And the expanded format of the World Cup of Darts in the summer saw that global reach extended to 40 nations.
With three places at the World Championship ringfenced for qualifiers from North America, it’s with great optimism that two Americans and a Canadian will head across the Atlantic for another big stage appearance in December…
Neon Nightmare
Leading the way for the North American contingent will be Stowe Buntz, who finds himself at +30000 in the World Darts betting.
Of course, there are dozens of players listed at shorter darts odds – not least the +250 favorite to defend his world crown, Luke Humphries, but Buntz knows he has what it takes to beat former world champions on the big stage.
The 45-year-old made his PDC major debut at the 2023 Grand Slam of Darts, where he announced himself in the sport with an outstanding 5-1 group stage win over former world champ Peter Wright, averaging 102.28 in the process.
The thrower from Portsmouth, Virginia then beat another former world champion in Stephen Bunting to clinch his place in the knockout phase of the competition.
Due to the vagaries of the Grand Slam format, Buntz and Bunting would meet again in the quarter-finals… this time, it was The Bullet would have his revenge in a 16-8 triumph.
The Neon Nightmare’s debut at the World Championship last year did not go according to plan, but Buntz will get another crack at the Alexandra Palace in December.
Opening the Floodgates
The darting career of Leonard Gates has been a curious thing.
The bulk of the American’s success has come since turning 50, including qualification for the 2023 edition of the PDC World Championships. He defeated Geert Nentjes in the first round, before losing to Bunting in the second.
But it’s on the World Seniors tour where the 53-year-old has had his most success, incredibly winning three of the tour’s four majors in 2023, before losing narrowly in the final of the World Seniors Matchplay in October.
🏆Gates Opens against Richardson!
🇺🇸With the draw now confirmed for the Matchplay, the last 16 will see @soulger11 open his title defence against James Richardson!
⚡️Phil Taylor has been handed a tough first round tie against reigning World Champion, John Henderson!
You can… pic.twitter.com/gCmhIIDQ5I
— World Seniors Darts (@SeniorsDarts) August 5, 2024
Buntz and Gates will be joined in London by the veteran Canadian, Jim Long.
He’s qualified for the World Championship after finishing as the top Canadian in the season-long CDC standings, and that will mark a return to the tournament after qualifying in 2019, too.
The 56-year-old rolled back the years at the World Seniors Championship in February, making it through to the semi-finals for arguably one of the highlights of his career to date.
Even though they will be amongst the underdogs, the three North Americans have shown that they’ve got what it takes to cause an upset or two on the World Championship stage.
