Preview Australian Darts Masters 2024: Who will crown themselves champions in Wollongong?

The 2024 Australian Darts Masters will take place for the first time in the PDC this year. The sixth World Series event of the campaign will take place on August 9th and 10th at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, Australia.

Although this is the first edition of the Australian Darts Masters, it is not the first time the PDC has hosted a tournament in Australia. In the past two years, it was also played in Wollongong, then under the name New South Wales Darts Masters.

History in Australia

As mentioned earlier, this is the first edition of the Australian Darts Masters. Nevertheless, the PDC has visited Australia several times in recent years. The first tournament on Australian soil was the Sydney Darts Masters, first held in 2013 and last played in 2016. All four editions were won by Phil "The Power" Taylor. Between 2014 and 2017, the Perth Darts Masters were also held. In the first two editions of this event, Taylor once again proved his class, while in 2016 and 2017, Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson captured the title, respectively.

From 2017 to 2019, it also hosted the Melbourne Darts Masters and the Brisbane Darts Masters. In Melbourne, Phil Taylor (2017), Peter Wright (2018) and Michael van Gerwen (2019) won. In Brisbane, Rob Cross (2018) and Damon Heta (2019) were the eventual winners.

After a two-year absence, the PDC returned to Australia in 2022 with the Queensland Darts Masters, with Michael van Gerwen claiming victory. That same year, the New South Wales Darts Masters was also held for the first time, with Jonny Clayton winning. Last year, all the top players returned to Wollongong for the World Series tournament, where Rob Cross captured the title.

Participant field

As usual, the field of participants at a World Series tournament consists of eight top PDC players and eight players from the region where the tournament is held. Michael van Gerwen will not travel to Australia as he underwent surgery on his jaw after the World Matchplay.

For current world champion Luke Humphries and Premier League winner Luke Littler, this will be their debut Down Under. Also participating will be Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh and Damon Heta.

Simon Whitlock and Haupai Puha are the best-known Oceanic players who will be in attendance. Also making their appearance will be relatively unknown players such as Brenton Lloyd, Rob Modra, Stuart Coburn, Joe Comito, John Hurring and Jeremy Fagg.

Favourites

Although Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are making their debuts in Australia, they are considered among the biggest favourites for the win. Both players are in excellent form this year and are considered serious contenders in almost every tournament. However, they are on the same side of the draw, meaning they could potentially face each other as early as the semifinals.

The main challengers for "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Nuke" are Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price. Both are in good form and also have the advantage of being on the other side of the draw, which seems comparatively easier. Cross recently reached the quarterfinals of the World Matchplay and has been playing strong for months. Price also seems to have been in good form for quite some time, although his results are not really impressive yet and he occasionally has problems with his doubles.

As outsiders for the title, Michael Smith and Damon Heta deserve special attention. 'Bully Boy' is the current world number two and always remains a player to be reckoned with during any tournament. As for Heta, home advantage could possibly play a role. As a local player, the Australian has the chance to surprise his home crowd and perhaps provide a surprise.

*** Luke Humphries, Luke Littler

** Rob Cross, Gerwyn Price

* Michael Smith, Damon Heta

Format

First round: Best of 11 legs

Quarterfinals: Best of 11 legs

Semifinals: Best of 13 legs

Final: Best of 15 legs

TV and Livestream

The World Series tournament will be broadcast live by PDC.tv, with ITV4 showing delayed coverage of the action later in the day.

The Australian Darts Masters consists of two sessions. On Friday, the first round will be played from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. UK time. Here the eight PDC top players will take on the eight local players from Australia and New Zealand. This can be viewed live on PDC.tv, but for ITV4 coverage, you will have to wait until 19:00. The quarter-finals will take place on Saturday morning starting at 10:00 am. Following that, the semifinals and finals will be completed. Around 2:30 p.m. we will then know who is the winner of the Australian Darts Masters. Again this can be viewed live on PDC.tv but for ITV4 it will be a 17:00 start for delayed coverage.

Prize money

The winner of this World Series tournament will go home with a check for 20,000 pounds. The runner-up will receive 10,000 pounds. All sixteen participants are guaranteed £1,250 in prize money anyway.

Prize money does not count toward the PDC Order of Merit, nor does it count toward the World Series of Darts Order of Merit. Instead, players can also earn points for the World Series of Darts rankings.

All participants in a World Series tournament are guaranteed one point for the World Series Order of Merit. This number increases to three points upon reaching the quarterfinals, and then to five points for a semifinal place. The losing finalist receives eight points and the winner receives 12 points.

Playing schedule Australian Darts Masters

Friday, Aug. 9 (from 10 a.m.)

First Round

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jeremy Fagg

Gerwyn Price v Brenton Lloyd

Michael Smith v Stuart Coburn

Luke Humphries v Joe Comito

Luke Littler v Rob Modra

Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock

Damon Heta v John Hurring

Rob Cross v Haupai Puha

Saturday, Aug. 10 (from 10:00 a.m.)

Quarterfinal

Semifinals

Final