Jonny Tata triumphs in night one of ANZ Premier League as Simon Whitlock fails to progress past quarter-finals

Jonny Tata fended off the competition to win the first night of the Dabble Darts ANZ Premier League, defeating Raymond Smith 5-3 to come out on top in night one.

The newly formatted event is bound to give a huge boost to Oceanic darts, as the best players from the region traverse around Australia and New Zealand, competing in seven events to try and place themselves as high in the final standings as possible. Similar to the traditional Premier League played in Europe with the best darters in the world, there is a final night in which the top four in the league phase will qualify for. The winner of the event gets a hefty $30,000 and a place in the World Darts Championships.

Tata was one of the final competitors to confirm his place in the event, pinning a nine-darter on the way to finishing the DPNZ Pro Tour as the number one ranked player, winning five of the last seven events. Joined by fellow countryman Ben Robb in Melbourne, Tata was a force to be reckoned with. In the World Series of Darts events, he would give a good account of himself, losing 6-3 to Luke Humphries and 6-4 to Gerwyn Price. In Amsterdam for the Finals, he found himself 4-2 ahead of Ross Smith but was pegged back by Smudger.

He kicked off proceedings with a ruthless 5-0 victory over James Bailey before being entangled in a much closer affair against Joe Comito. Tata found himself 4-2 ahead before the Aussie forced a last-leg decider. JT kept his cool and won the match with a 15-darter.

He would face Smith in the final, who previously ousted Tim Pusey (5-3) and Brody Klinge (5-2) to set up a highly anticipated final showdown. Smith forced himself ahead early on but swiftly lost three consecutive legs to fall behind. Tata was able to control the rest of the match, keeping that advantage throughout to close off a successful opening night to the ANZ Premier League, averaging 96.03 to win the night.

Simon Whitlock is by far the most notable name in this lineup. The former World Championship finalist has had a decorated career, climbing as high as three in the world at one point, along with triumphing in two major finals, the European Championships back in 2012 and more recently World Cup delight with Damon Heta.

However, as the years have rolled on, The Wizard's form on the oche has slowly left him. He lost his tour card last year and was unable to retrieve it at Q-School. He will be going into this Premier League campaign hoping for a change of fortunes, but it did not get off to a great start, losing 5-4 to Comito.

Whitlock was left on 40 with a 4-3 lead, but was pegged back by his Aussie opponent, who won the remaining two legs to march him on. Whitlock will get more opportunities to prove himself, with the next event coming at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on 11th October, with Whitlock facing Klinge in his opening tie.