His summer season started with the Greater Vancouver Open, followed by the Rodeo City Open in Calgary. Then came the nationals and Canadian Open in Quebec, the Calgary Open and Abbotsford Summerfest.
Vernon’s Dalton Desmarais is serious about playing pro darts wherever he can find a little money on the line.
The 24-year-old is a third-year plumber apprentice with hopes of one day working for himself while travelling abroad for richer pro tournaments.
Desmarais has enjoyed some major summer success in doubles and singles, finding some glory at the nationals and the world-class Canadian Open in Drummondville.
“I did fairly well over there (nationals). Top-64 mixed, top-four men’s doubles (with Shane Wadden of Smithers) and top-eight men’s singles. I missed out on my world masters invitation by one game in the quarterfinals, losing to Jim Long from Ontario 3-2. My partner Carl Jesson (of Kelowna) and I lost in the final of the Canadian Open doubles to a team from Quebec: Martin Tremblay and Paul Bolduc. I also placed top-32 in the Canadian Open.”
Since Quebec, Desmarais placed top-four in men’s singles in Abbotsford Summerfest and finished top-four in the men’s singles and top-eight in the national-ranked Calgary Open.
“All the fundraising done by fellow friends/dart community and various other sponsors has helped me along the way. They all came together and raised a massive $5,500 for me to compete and travel. I’m going to continue to try and chase whatever points I can this year to see where I can end up in the national/provincial rankings. It would have been so much more difficult without the help of friends/sponsors and I am extremely grateful.”
Desmarais is so popular in the Vernon Pubmasters League and around the ANAF, where he often hits the practice board with his wife, Kala, that a bunch of local players got together and hosted a Dixie Dart fundraiser at ANAF. His parents then hosted a thank-you barbeque for all the volunteers who backed Dalton.
“We’re pretty proud of our little dart community,” said league statistician Sherri Morrell. “Dalton played in three major tournaments over the course of 10 days in Quebec and came home with some medals and great memories. He totally blew us away with how well he performed Lucky for us, there were people at the tournaments who went live on Facebook while videoing some of the matches so we actually got to watch him play.”
Related: Desmarais finds the target
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