WOLVERHAMPTON, UK — A Portsmouth man is currently in the United Kingdom, representing both Hampton Roads and the United States in a professional dart competition. Meet Stowe Buntz.
The Mr. Vegas Grand Slam of Darts Tournament is happening until November 19th in Wolverhampton, UK, and Buntz is in one of the final rounds to bring home the championship. He is the first-ever American player to make it to the Quarter-finals of the competition.
Sadly, Buntz fell short just one win away from the semi-finals, losing 16-8 against Stephen Bunting on Saturday. He wrote on his fan page, "What a great experience! The bullet was on it... The #NeonNightmare will be back!"
"To be honest with you, just qualifying was a dream come true, and then when I saw the bracket draw, I was like, oh, man, let me go ahead and book me an early flight," said Buntz.
He was the only American left in the tournament. He told our crew that it was not easy making it this far.
"I managed to make it out of what was deemed the group of death, I managed to win the group of death, that I was the 10 million percent underdog in," Buntz said. "I'm going to put my best foot forward and try to win. You know we could go play tic tac toe, and I'm going to try to win everyone."
For Buntz, what started out as a hobby 21 "or so" years ago now remains such, even while competing overseas.
"It's more of a hobby that I'm just good at. It's not something that I'm looking to make a profession or a living out of. I work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. It'll be 25 years this coming April," he smiled.
When asked if there was anything else Buntz wanted to say, he thanked his family: his wife, four children, and parents. Then he thanked Portsmouth and the dart community for making his life "fun."
You can continue to follow his journey through his Facebook page.