Jim Long’s Madison Square Garden double-header now carries a cleaner, harder edge: one afternoon run can put him back on the Alexandra Palace stage and into the Grand Slam conversation.
The PDC has confirmed that Friday’s bet365 North American Championship will be played at the Infosys Theater at MSG, with eight regional players fighting for qualification places at the World Darts Championship and Grand Slam of Darts.
Long opens against Brayden Hall, while Leonard Gates faces Fred Krueger, Adam Sevada meets Alex Spellman and David Cameron takes on Gary Mawson. The semi-final path is already locked: Long or Hall will meet Gates or Krueger, with Sevada, Spellman, Cameron or Mawson waiting from the opposite half.
Why Long’s Route Matters
Long arrives with fresh leverage after stunning Josh Rock 6-4 in the US Darts Masters, a result that changed the tone of his New York week and set up a meeting with Luke Littler. That win, covered by NineDartNews here, also gives the Canadian sharper match rhythm before the afternoon bracket begins.
The MSG listing places the North American Championship in the Friday afternoon session, before the US Darts Masters reaches its quarter-final, semi-final and final conclusion later that evening.
For Long, Gates and Spellman, this is not a side event. It is the cleanest North American route into darts’ biggest winter stages, compressed into one short, brutal race at the Garden.
