Preview final day Australian Darts Masters 2025: Humphries, Littler, Rock, Price and other top players battle for title Down Under on Saturday

As expected, the PDC top players did not make a misstep in the first round of the Australian Darts Masters on Friday. That means the eight players representing the PDC will battle for the title at this World Series tournament on Saturday, Aug. 9, during the final day. Due to the time difference between Australia and the Netherlands, the finals session starts at 11:00 a.m. Dutch time. The quarter-finals will start before the semi-finals and final.

The WIN Entertainment Centre is hosting a darts tournament in Wollongong for the fourth time. In 2022 and 2023 it was still under the name New South Wales Darts Masters, but since last year the World Series tournament has been known by its current name. Then the title went to Gerwyn Price after he convincingly defeated Luke Littler 8-1 in the final.
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A duel between two players who easily made it through the first round in Wollongong. The match between Stephen Bunting and his opponent Brody Klinge was not the most exciting, as the match was won 6-1 by Bunting. However, with Klinge, 'The Bullet' did encounter the player who achieved the highest average (95.10) of the eight Oceanic players.

Josh Rock managed to make quite an impression on his debut at the World Series. Rocky, who earlier this year won the World Cup of Darts with compatriot Daryl Gurney and also reached the semifinals of the World Matchplay, defeated darts veteran Simon Whitlock 6-1. Rock averaged 108.16 and recorded a 75 percent finishing percentage.

While Rock made his debut on the World Series circuit, Bunting participated in all World Series tournaments this season. Three times he reached the final, two of which the darter from St. Helens won. Both in Bahrain and Gliwice, Bunting took home the trophy.

Bunting enters his quarterfinal knowing that he has never lost to Rock in an official match. The four previous duels between them were all won by the Englishman. The last time, though, was at the Grand Slam of Darts in 2024.

Luke Littler was the only PDC player forced to play a deciding leg on Friday. 'The Nuke' fell behind 0-2 and 3-4 against Haupai Puha and was forced to play the leg-decider against the darts, but Littler still managed to win the match 6-5 in the end, preventing a premature elimination at the Australian Darts Masters.

The contrast with his upcoming opponent Damon Heta could hardly be greater, as 'The Heat' just put down the only whitewash of the first round. He defeated James Bailey 6-0. Moreover, his average of 109.98 was the highest of any player in the first round. Heta opened the match with two 12-darters and then also managed to throw a 117 finish, an 11-darter and a 104 check-out.

Last year, Littler already came close to winning the World Series title in Wollongong. He reached the final then, but was defeated 8-1 by Gerwyn Price. Heta does already have a World Series title under his belt on Australian soil. He became the surprise winner of the Brisbane Darts Masters in 2019, which marked his absolute breakthrough at the time.

It will be the seventh time Littler and Heta have faced each other. Heta managed to win the first showdown in March 2024, following a 10-8 win over Littler at the UK Open. However, the five subsequent showdowns were all victories for the current world champion.

Gerwyn Price had every reason to be pleased with his opening match at the Australian Darts Masters on Friday, but after his 6-3 win over Joe Comito, the defending champion was remarkably critical in Wollongong. 'The Iceman' threw an average of 100 and had a finishing percentage of 60 percent, yet Price felt afterwards that "everything needs to be better.

The latter certainly applies to Chris Dobey, who forced a duel with the Welshman by beating Tim Pusey 6-4. Hollywood' had a poor performance in 'Down Under', posting a monthly average of 89.49 per turn. Dobey's doubles were also sluggish, as his 24 percent finish percentage showed.

It is the fifth time Dobey has been allowed to compete in a regular World Series tournament, but the Englishman has never managed to get past the last eight. In that regard, Price has a much better record. This season alone, the former rugby player made it past the quarterfinals five times at the World Series. In Poland it even earned him the title, while in Bahrain he lost the final. In Down Under, Price has already achieved success as well, winning the New Zealand Darts Masters in 2022 and the Australian Darts Masters in 2024.

In addition, Price can boast an excellent record against Dobey. No fewer than 21 of the previous 25 duels between them were won by 'The Iceman'. At the last World Cup in January, Price suffered one of his few defeats against Dobey. However, Price managed to beat the Englishman six times since then, although 'Hollywood' still managed to beat Price twice in the Premier League.

In the last quarterfinal, two men face each other who didn't really convince in the first round, although they didn't really need to. World number one won 6-3 over Jonny Tata. An average of 92 was enough for Humphries to get the job done.

Mike de Decker had the dubious honor of throwing the lowest winning average in the first round. The debutant Belgian came to a moyenne of 80.33, but nevertheless triumphed comfortably 6-2 against Brandon Weening. Later, De Decker did come up with an explanation for his mediocre play. According to 'The Real Deal' he had cold hands, which meant he had no grip over his darts.

So it will have to be better for both men if they want to have a real shot at the title at the Australian Darts Masters on Saturday. De Decker has shown in the past that he can beat Humphries on stage. After all, he outlasted Humphries in the final of the World Grand Prix, the title to which he owes his invitations to the dual in Down Under. In the overall head-to-head, however, Humphries is still ahead 11-6.