First East Asian World Series event in nine years takes shape as PDC eyes 10,000-seat Hong Kong arena

Hong Kong has emerged as the proposed destination for the World Series of Darts’ first East Asian stop since 2018, with PDC officials touring the 10,000-seat Kai Tak Arena ahead of a possible August 2027 event.

Organisers said the visiting representatives were “very keen to host an event”, according to the South China Morning Post. Financial backing must still be secured before the proposed Hong Kong Masters can be added to the PDC calendar.

The early plan would place eight players from the world’s top ten against eight leading Asian throwers. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are among the prominent PDC names who could feature, while Hong Kong is expected to receive two places in the 16-player field.

Friday 27 August has been earmarked for the first round, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final following on Saturday. Hong Kong would become the seventh stop on the proposed 2027 World Series schedule after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, New York, Norway, New Zealand and Australia.

The Kai Tak Arena forms part of the vast Kai Tak Sports Park in Kowloon, which officially opened in March 2025 on the former Kai Tak Airport site. The 10,000-capacity indoor venue sits alongside the complex’s 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium.

Retractable seating allows the Grand Hall to be adapted for different sports and entertainment events, while its pillar-free design provides unobstructed views from around the arena.

Kai Tak staged the World Snooker Grand Prix shortly after opening in March 2025 and welcomed the tournament back in February 2026. International volleyball, basketball and tennis have also been held inside the arena.

Hong Kong already had a track record of attracting large crowds for indoor cue sport before the new complex opened. Approximately 9,000 spectators attended the 2022 Hong Kong Masters snooker final, in which Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Marco Fu.

The World Series began in 2013 with the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters before expanding into East and Southeast Asia. Singapore joined the schedule in 2014, with Japan following one year later and Shanghai hosting the first of three consecutive tournaments in 2016.

Michael Smith defeated Rob Cross to win the final Shanghai Darts Masters in 2018. The PDC has since established World Series events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but has not returned its invitation circuit to East Asia.

The proposed Hong Kong field would retain the established World Series format of invited PDC names facing regional representatives. No individual player has yet been formally announced.

Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee are the leading candidates for the two anticipated Hong Kong places. The pair combined to take their country into the World Cup of Darts quarter-finals in 2025, defeating Bahrain and Switzerland before Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton ended their run.

Both have also appeared at the World Darts Championship. Leung recovered from two sets down to stun Gian van Veen on his Alexandra Palace debut in December 2023, while Lee defeated Chris Landman to reach the second round one year later.

The PDC Asian Tour has expanded considerably since beginning with 12 tournaments in 2018. It returned from its pandemic-enforced absence with 24 events in 2023, while the 2026 campaign consists of 28 tournaments worth $15,000 each and a separate Asian Championship carrying $110,000 in prize money.

Ten Asian representatives qualified for the expanded 2025/26 World Championship. Nitin Kumar became the first Indian to win a match at the tournament, Motomu Sakai marked his debut with victory and Singapore’s Paul Lim extended his record as the oldest match winner in World Championship history.

The proposed dates of 27 and 28 August 2027 remain provisional. The PDC has not yet added Hong Kong to its official calendar, with confirmation dependent on organisers securing the funding required to stage the event.