LONDON — Canadian Matt (Ginja Ninja) Campbell never trailed but still had to hold off Serbian-Austrian Mensur (The Gentle) Suljovic to win his first-round match Thursday at the Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
The tournament has a purse of 2.5 million pounds ($4,495,510) with 500,000 pounds ($899,100) going to the winner.
Campbell took the opening set 3-2, hitting a double-20 after three misses. Trailing 2-0 in the second set, Suljovic reeled off a 137-checkout to prolong the set and won the next two legs to even the match at one set apiece.
The 35-year-old from Hamilton regained control in the third set with impressive 14-dart, 11-dart and 12-dart finishes in the three legs. He won the set with a 160 checkout of two triple-20s and a double-20.
Suljovic rose to the challenge in the fourth set, winning 3-2 to force a deciding set. Campbell won the finale 3-0, finishing in style with a bull’s-eye to complete an 89 checkout.
Campbell is ranked 55th on the Professional Darts Corporation’s Order of Merit, one place above the 52-year-old Suljovic. The Canadian advances to face 20th seed Ryan (Heavy Metal) Searle of England in the next round, assuring himself of a paycheque of at least 15,000 pounds ($26,985).
Jim (Gentleman) Long, the other Canadian in the 96-player field, was ousted 3-0 in his first-round match Tuesday by England’s James (Hillbilly) Hurrell. The 40-year-old Hurrell, ranked 89th on the PDC Order of Merit, defeated the unranked Long 3-0, 3-1, 3-0.
Long qualified for the world championship this year as the top Canadian on the CDC, North America’s professional tour. The 56-year-old from London, Ont., a retired autoworker, earned 7,500 pounds ($13,490) in his second trip to darts’ biggest stage.
Six years ago, Long upset Northern Ireland’s Mickey (The Clonoe Cyclone) Mansell in the first round before losing to Benito van de Pas, the 30th seed from the Netherlands.
Long is going to Q-School in January in a bid to join Campbell on the PDC tour. If he doesn’t make it, he’ll look to compete on the PDC’s second-tier Challenge Tour.
Campbell, a PDC Tour cardholder, qualified for this year’s tournament through his winnings over the last year.
Campbell defeated Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines in first-round play at last year’s tournament, marking his first win at the world championship in five tries.
Campbell then beat 13th seed James Wade of England in the second round before losing to teenage sensation Luke Littler in the third. Littler, then 16, made it all the way to the final where he lost to England’s (Cool Hand) Luke Humphries.
Campbell returned home between the second and third rounds to celebrate Christmas with his wife and kids in Hamilton.
Campbell started playing darts at age 18, starting with a league run out of a friend’s garage. He then started played at the local Legion.
Canadian John (Darth Maple) Part won the world darts championship in 2002-03, beating English legend Phil (The Power) Taylor to end his run of eight victories. Taylor bounced back to win the next three years before Part, now a well-known TV darts pundit, won again in 2007-08.
Canada is one of 28 nations represented at this year’s world championship, including first-time entrants the Bahamas and Switzerland.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press
