LONDON — England's Jamie (Yozza) Hughes defeated Canada's David (Excalibur) Cameron 3-1 Saturday in first-round play at the 2.5-million-pound ($4.25 million) Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Hughes won 3-2, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0 to register his first victory at the world championship in five tries.
"There's been a lot of frustration over the years … I'm just so so happy to finally get a win on that stage," Hughes said. "Commiserations to Dave. He's a very very nice man, a very good man. I've known Dave a long time."
The 37-year-old Hughes is ranked 62nd in the world. Cameron is unranked.
There was no repeat of last year's heroics when Cameron won nine of the last 10 legs in a remarkable comeback to defeat England's Ritchie (Madhouse) Edhouse 0-3, 2-3, 3-2, 3-0, 3-1 in first-round play.
The 54-year-old from Fall River, N.S., the reigning world senior darts masters champion at the time, lost to Danny Noppert of the Netherlands in the second round last year.
Hamilton's Matt (The Ginga Ninja) Campbell, the other Canadian in the field, faces Lourence Ilagan of the Philippines on Sunday in first-round play
The 96-player 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.
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2023
The Canadian Press
