By Canadian Press

Canada’s Matt Campbell advances at Paddy Power World Darts Championship.

Dec 17, 2023 | 12:09 PM

LONDON — Canadian Matt (The Ginga Ninja) Campbell defeated Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines on Sunday in first-round play at the 2.5-million-pound ($4.25 million) Paddy Power World Darts Championship.

It was the first win at the world championship in five tries for the 34-year-old from Hamilton, who sealed the 3-2 victory with a 128 checkout.

It did not come easy. Campbell missed five match darts up two sets to none with Ilagan rallying to win the third and fourth sets.

Campbell, who is ranked 57th in the world while the Filipino is unranked, will face 13th seed James Wade of England in the second round. Sunday’s win assured the Canadian of a paycheque of at least 15,000 pounds ($25,455).

David (Excalibur) Cameron, the other Canadian in the 96-person field, was beaten 3-1 Saturday by England’s Jamie (Yozza) Hughes in first-round play. Hughes won 3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0 to register his first victory at the world championship in five tries.

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Cameron, a 54-year-old from Fall River, N.S., made it to the second round last year.

The tournament, which runs through Jan. 3 at Alexandra Palace, has a first prize of 500,000 pounds ($848,575). Cameron collected 7,500 pounds ($12,730) as a first-round loser.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2023

The Canadian Press