Leonard Gates (born November 26, 1970) is an American professional
darts
Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard.
Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...
player who competes in the
Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He is the current
PDC North American champion and
2023 WSDT Champion of Champions winner. He is also a former baseball player, playing for
Abilene Prairie Dogs
The Abilene Prairie Dogs were an independent professional baseball team based in Abilene, Texas. They were members of the Texas–Louisiana League from 1995 to 1999, and returned in the North American League in 2012.
Team history
Texas–Lou ...
,
Massachusetts Mad Dogs
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
Catskill Cougars and
Nashua Pride
The Nashua Pride was a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed ...
.
Career
Gates started to play in
WDF in 2007, winning numerous American darts tournaments, including exhibition ones. His first appearance in major
BDO tournament was in
2017 World Masters, where he lost in the last 272 to
Paul Coughlin.
In 2022, Gates qualified as a seed for the
2022 WDF World Darts Championship
The 2022 Lakeside WDF World Championship was the first World Championship organised by the World Darts Federation. The tournament was held at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey, which hosted the now-defunct BDO World Darts Champio ...
, but he lost in the second round to
Steve Hine
Stephen "Steve" Hine (born 20 April 1969 from Coventry) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation events. He works as a baker and consequently he is nicknamed The Muffin Man. He is well known for bringing muff ...
of England.
In June, Gates took part in the
2022 US Darts Masters
The 2022 bet365 US Darts Masters was the fourth staging of the tournament by the Professional Darts Corporation. It was the first event in the 2022 World Series of Darts. The tournament featured 16 players (8 PDC representatives, and 8 North Americ ...
, where he was one of the eight North American qualifiers. He defeated
Fallon Sherrock
Fallon Sherrock (born 2 July 1994) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Born in Milton Keynes, Sherrock reached the final of the 2015 BDO Women's Worl ...
6–2 in the first round before losing to
Peter Wright 3–8 in the quarter-finals. At the same time, he played in the
2022 PDC North American Championship
The 2022 bet365 North American Championship was the fourth edition of the tournament organized by the Professional Darts Corporation for North American players. The tournament took place at the Hulu Theater, New York City, United States on 4 Jun ...
, where he went on to defeat
Jules van Dongen and
David Cameron, before beating
Danny Baggish
Daniel "Danny" Baggish (born 19 August 1983) is a Guamanian–born American professional darts player. He had a PDC tour card from 2021 to 2022, after being the only American player to win one at Q-School in 2021. He is a sponsored by Target ...
in the final and securing his first PDC title, which meant he qualified for the
2023 PDC World Darts Championship
The 2022/23 PDC World Darts Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2022/23 Cazoo World Darts Championship) is the upcoming 30th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Dar ...
and
2022 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2022 Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts, was the sixteenth staging of the Grand Slam of Darts, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place at the Aldersley Leisure Village, Aldersley, Wolverhampton, 12–20 November 2022.
Ger ...
as well.
In September, Gates took a part in the
2022 World Series of Darts Finals
The 2022 Jack's World Series of Darts Finals was the eighth staging of the World Series of Darts Finals tournament, organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The tournament took place at the AFAS Live, Amsterdam, Netherlands, from 16–18 S ...
, where he reached the second round, defeating
Devon Petersen
Devon Petersen (born 4 June 1986) is a South African professional darts player and a pundit for Sky Sports. He has qualified for the PDC World Championship on seven occasions with his best result coming in 2014, 2019 and 2021 when he reached th ...
6–4 in the first round and then, however, losing to
James Wade 4–6 in the next one.
Also apart from steeltip darts, Gates plays in darts tournaments of the World Soft Darts Association (WSDA) as well, being the one of the most popular soft-tip contenders.
In 2023, Gates and
Jules van Dongen represented the United States on the
World Cup of Darts
The PDC World Cup of Darts is a team darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, and was one of the three new tournaments introduced into the PDC calendar in 2010. It is broadcast live by Sky Sports.[Steve Hine
Stephen "Steve" Hine (born 20 April 1969 from Coventry) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation events. He works as a baker and consequently he is nicknamed The Muffin Man. He is well known for bringing muff ...]
0–3)
PDC
* 2023: Second round (lost to
Stephen Bunting
Stephen Bunting (born 9 April 1985) is an English professional darts player who competes in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). Nicknamed The Bullet, Bunting won the 2014 BDO World Darts Championship and is a twice former Wor ...
1–3)
WSDT
* 2023: Semi-finals (lost to
Richie Howson
Richard Howson (born 19 December 1965) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) events.
Career
In 2011, he played in British Darts Organisation (BDO) tournament World Masters where he beat Scott Mitc ...
1–3)
References
External links
*
Leonard Gates player profile at Darts Orakel*
1970 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Houston
Baseball players from Houston
American darts players
Abilene Prairie Dogs players
Massachusetts Mad Dogs players
Catskill Cougars players
Nashua Pride players
{{Darts-bio-stub