Jesus Salate has carried his excellent form from last season's Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour into the new year, winning two of the first three tournaments in Panama. The Argentine immediately laid a solid platform in the race to qualify for the World Darts Championship, dropping only four legs across five matches en route to the final of the first event.
In the opening tournament, Salate benefited from the absence of his main rival Rashad Sweeting, who couldn't arrive in time due to a cancelled flight. In the final, he faced surprise package Joshua Balfour from Trinidad & Tobago, but cruised to a 6-0 win with two 14-darters and a 100 checkout among his highlights. The second tournament also went Salate's way, though he faced a tricky spell in round two when he trailed 4-3 against Chile's Alex Gutierrez before turning it around and sealing the match with a 17-darter. He then posted comfortable victories over Luis Ramirez-Merlano, Artur Valle, and James Walklin before defeating fellow countryman Victor Guillin 6-1 in the final, averaging 97. Guillin avoided a whitewash with a fine 136 checkout.
A hat-trick proved out of reach. After four more wins, Salate fell in the semi-finals of the third event to Guyana's Norman Madhoo, who prevailed 6-4. Madhoo carried that momentum into the final against Dean Persad to claim his fourth CDLC Tour title, winning 6-1.
The CDLC Tour is the qualifying circuit for players from Central America and the Caribbean. Just like last year, six tournaments are on the schedule, but the new format features two weekends with three tournaments apiece, whereas the season was previously split across three weekends with two events each.
