Paddy Power World Championship – Day One

Updated: December 15, 2023

After such an brilliant start to Stowe Buntz’s PDC career at the Grand Slam of Darts, hopes were high for repeat performance at the Ally Pally. Sadly, it wasn’t to be, and he slipped to a disappointing defeat at the hands of Dutchman Kevin Doets.

After kicking off the tournament with a first-shot 180, Doets took the first leg as Buntz sat on 16. A 15-darter made it 2-0 before Buntz got on the board by checking out a relatively uncommon 27. Doets clearly wasn’t rattled, and completed the set in only 12 darts (3 x 140, 81). Stowe then missed three at 16, and was soon a leg down in the second. A maximum 180 – and a nice 87 finish – went toward a nice 14-darter to make it 1-1, but five missed darts at tops cost the American the third leg. He didn’t get a dart at an out in the fourth.

The first four legs of Set Five went with the darts, which meant that Doets was serving for the match. 14 darts later, he had clinched the match.

Those two legs where he missed darts really hurt Buntz, and the final score wasn’t a true reflection of the high-quality battle the pair had enjoyed. Stowe will be back…

Meanwhile, Doets stuck around to take on reigning World Champ Michael Smith in the last match of the night. He played great, posting nine 180’s on his way to an average just under three figures, but it wasn’t enough, and Smith advanced by a scoe of 3-2.

Remember, Jules van Dongen is in action tomorrow afternoon.

Full details from the PDC website here