Portsmouth man represents 757, US, in overseas dart competition

Stowe Buntz aims to win big for Portsmouth and the United States by throwing darts overseas.

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.

 "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 is the only American left in the tournament. If he wins, he's winning for Portsmouth and the country. 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. 

Underdog or not, he is in the final few tests to the championship. Buntz needs just four more wins until he secures the title. 

"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 every one," he said. 

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."

Buntz plays at 2 p.m. EST in Wolverhampton on November 16th in the first round of the bracket-style tournament. If he wins the entire tournament, he could make more than $180,000. You can follow his journey through his .