After last week's Australian Darts Masters, the PDC circuit has traveled on to Hamilton, New Zealand, for the fourth edition of the New Zealand Darts Masters.
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This tournament was first held in 2019 at the Claudelands Arena in Hamilton. After a two-year absence, it returned to the calendar again in 2022.
History
The New Zealand Darts Masters had its debut in 2019. Peter Wright, Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross, Daryl Gurney, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld made the trip to New Zealand. In the end, it turned out to be a Dutch final between 'MvG' & 'Barney', where Van Gerwen was ultimately far too strong, winning 8-1.
In 2020 and 2021, the PDC decided to scrap the tournament, but returned a year later in 2022. This time Dimitri van den Bergh, Joe Cullen, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith and Fallon Sherrock were the PDC Tour Card Holders allowed to participate. It came down to another final between compatriots. Gerwyn Price took on Jonny Clayton and managed to beat his good friend 8-4 for the title.
Last year again saw a number of new names in New Zealand. Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Michael Smith, Damon Heta, Dimitri van den Bergh and Nathan Aspinall had to fight out who was the best. You might have guessed it, but it turned out to be another final between two compatriots, this time between two Englishmen. Rob Cross was ultimately the stronger of the two, beating Nathan Aspinall 8-7.
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Roll of Honour
| Year | Date | Location | Winner | Result | Runner-up | Prize money winner |
| 2019 | Aug. 23-24 | Claudeland Arena, Hamilton | Michael van Gerwen | 8-1 | Raymond van Barneveld | £20.000 |
| 2022 | Aug. 26-27 | Globox Arena, Hamilton | Gerwyn Price | 8-4 | Jonny Clayton | £20.000 |
| 2023 | Aug. 4-5 | Globox Arena, Hamilton | Rob Cross | 8-7 | Nathan Aspinall | £20.000 |
| 2024 | Aug. 16-17 | Globox Arena, Hamilton | ... | ... | ... | £20.000 |
Field
As with every World Series tournament, the field of participants consists of eight PDC top players and eight players from the region where the tournament is being played. Michael van Gerwen, like last weekend in Australia, will still be absent due to his recent surgery on his teeth.
Last week's winner Gerwyn Price also returns this time around, along with runner-up Luke Littler. In addition, we will see defending champion Rob Cross, Luke Humphries, Michael Smith, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh and Damon Heta on stage.
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From Oceania, Simon Whitlock, Haupai Puha and Ben Robb will be the best-known names participating. Also participating in the competition will be Jonny Tata, Mark Cleaver, Kayden Milne, Jeremy Fagg and Daniel Snookes.
Favorites
After his victory in Wollongong last week, Gerwyn Price is one of the top favorites for the title this weekend as far as we are concerned. He played very strong both days, and managed to impress especially in the final against Luke Littler. Besides Price, we consider Luke Humphries another top favorite. Last week, he surprisingly lost to Van den Bergh and seemed out of place. However, with his talent, he is always someone to be reckoned with, especially when things start to pick up for the current world champion.
Luke Littler is also someone to always be reckoned with. However, the youngster looked a bit tired in the final last week, possibly due to the long travel, so it remains to be seen how he will fare here in Hamilton. Michael Smith played very well at the Australian Darts Masters but was unlucky that Littler managed to throw even better. If he can maintain his level from last week, he is a serious contender for the title.
As outsiders, we currently consider Rob Cross and Peter Wright. Cross is the defending champion in Hamilton, so he knows what it's like to win here. It all seemed to fall just short last week, but 'Voltage' in good form is always a dangerous customer. And then Peter Wright. It all seemed to finally fall into place again in Wollongong. His game looked tight and he came up just 1 leg short against Price to reach the final. If 'Snakebite' decides not to change darts this time, which always remains the big question prior to a tournament, he could also aim high in New Zealand.
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*** Gerwyn Price, Luke Humphries
** Luke Littler, Michael Smith
* Rob Cross, Peter Wright
Format
First round: Best of 11 legs
Quarterfinals: Best of 11 legs
Semifinals: Best of 13 legs
Final: Best of 15 legs
TV and live stream
The New Zealand Darts Masters will be broadcast on ITV4 and PDC TV. On Friday, August 16, at 8:00 a.m., the first round will kick off. In this round, the eight PDC top players will take on eight players from Oceania. Playing on behalf of the PDC are Luke Humphries, Michael Smith, Luke Littler, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh and Damon Heta. It will be shown on delay on ITV at 5pm and 6pm respectively.
Prize money distribution
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The prize pool for this event includes a total of 60,000 pounds. However, the prize money won does not count toward the PDC Order of Merit or other money rankings.
All participants are guaranteed £1,250 in prize money. This amount could eventually rise to a sum of £20,000 in prize money for the winner.
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 New Zealand Darts Masters
Friday, Aug. 16 (from 8 a.m.)
First round
Peter Wright v Daniel Snookes
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Mark Cleaver
Michael Smith v Jeremy Fagg
Luke Humphries v Kayden Milne
Gerwyn Price v Ben Robb
Rob Cross v Haupai Puha
Luke Littler v Jonny Tata
Damon Heta v Simon Whitlock
Saturday, Aug. 17 (from 8 a.m.)
Quarterfinal
Semifinals
Final
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Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- And why should he listen to you?Deduce635807-11-2026
- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
