“To replace Simon, it’s a great honour” - Adam Leek vows to do Australia proud after ending Simon Whitlock’s World Cup run

Adam Leek’s first season as a PDC Tour Card holder has already taken him a long way from home. The Australian newcomer has moved his life to the UK, settled in Milton Keynes and now finds himself preparing for one of the biggest stages of his career so far.

Leek will represent Australia alongside Damon Heta at the 2026 World Cup of Darts, stepping into the place long associated with Simon Whitlock. For a player still adapting to the week-to-week reality of life on the PDC circuit, the call-up has added another major moment to what he admits has been a whirlwind year.

Speaking to Online Darts at a charity golf day, Leek made clear that he is not feeling overawed by the occasion. The chance to wear the Australian shirt is one he intends to embrace fully.

“No, I wouldn’t say I’m nervous,” said Leek. “I’m just going to look forward to it, enjoy it, and it’s a dream come true really. To replace Simon, it’s a great honour and I’m going to do Australia proud.”

Whitlock’s absence gives Leek’s selection extra weight. The former World Cup winner has been one of the defining figures in Australian darts for well over a decade, but Leek says there has been no awkwardness between them.

“Yeah. At the World Series, I caught up with him and he’s such a good guy,” Leek explained. “I got along well with him and I can’t speak highly enough of him.”

Before the World Cup, Leek has already spent time practising with Heta, jokingly referred to by Online Darts as a trip to “Damon’s dungeon”. The pair have started building that partnership ahead of Australia’s campaign.

“Yeah, we caught up last week and that was good fun,” said Leek. “I was there for a few nights and we got some good practice in and had some good laughs. I’m looking forward to playing with Damo.”

The World Cup place is only part of a much bigger life change for Leek. After winning his Tour Card, the Australian has made the move to the UK full-time, with Milton Keynes now his base as he tries to establish himself among the sport’s elite.

That adjustment has been about more than darts. Leek has left Australia, moved out of home and relocated to the other side of the world in pursuit of a career that suddenly looks very real.

“It’s insane. It was the first time I had even left the country, so it’s insane,” he said. “I was still living at home, so obviously I’ve moved out now. It has been a big change for me, but I’m enjoying it. I’m just having fun and whatever happens, happens.”

On the oche, Leek knows the level is different. The step from the Australian scene into the PDC system brings a weekly test against established Tour Card holders, major champions and players with years of experience at that level.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind. It’s definitely different,” he said. “I’m going into a room full of 40 players and they’re the best in the world, so it is a bit of a change. The standard is a lot better, but I don’t see it too much differently. I’m just settling in and the results will come.”

Leek believes that comfort off the board should eventually translate into sharper performances on it. He has already shown enough in patches to suggest there is more to come once the disruption of the move settles down.

“I’ve just been settling in as well. I’ve moved my whole life over, so it hasn’t been easy,” he said. “It’s just about getting everything in order and I think my game is going to go up as I settle in and get used to it.”

Leek’s Q-School success did not come completely out of nowhere in his own mind. He arrived in the UK believing he could win a Tour Card, even if the practical reality of what came next was still uncertain. “I expected to get it, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I got it,” he said. “It was one of those where I was going to give it a crack and if it happened, it happened. If it didn’t, it didn’t.”

That belief was strong enough that Leek had already warned people back home that he might not be returning quickly. “Before I left, I said to everyone, ‘I might not be back for a while.’ I had the full belief that I was going to go over there and do it, I just wasn’t sure how it was going to work out.”

The early months have also brought support from inside the PDC circuit. Leek named Chris Dobey, Ross Smith and Nathan Aspinall among the players he has spent time around since joining the tour. “Chris Dobey, Ross Smith, Nathan, those boys,” he said. “I sit on their table, so yeah, they’re good lads.”

Leek’s rise also comes at a moment when Australian darts appears to be gathering momentum again. With the Premier League heading to Australia and more attention on the domestic game, he believes the pathway may start to open for more players from back home.

“They’ve got the right people involved now,” said Leek. “I think in the next five to 10 years, you’re going to see quite a few more come over and commit to the tour. I truly believe there are so many good players back home.”

The challenge, as Leek knows from experience, is the scale of the commitment. Relocating from Australia to the UK is not a simple career move, especially for players with families or financial responsibilities.

“If they’ve got a young family, it makes it hard,” he said. “You have to bring your whole family over here and it costs a lot of money. It depends. You really need someone with no ties who can come over here. I think that’s the player you’d be looking for.”

There is more to come beyond the World Cup too. Leek confirmed he will be involved in the World Series events in Australia and New Zealand, giving him the chance to return home after an extraordinary start to life as a PDC professional. “Yep. I’ll be playing Australia and New Zealand, so I’ll get back home for a month and then come back for potentially the World Series Finals,” he said.

Asked what it was like to receive that call, Leek summed up the speed of everything in one line. “It was insane. I couldn’t believe it. It’s just been a whirlwind.”

For now, Leek is trying to take each step as it comes. A Tour Card, a UK move, a World Cup debut and World Series invites have all arrived in quick succession. His answer to all of it is simple. “I’m loving it. Absolutely loving it,” he said. “I’m just taking it in my stride. That’s all I can do.”

For a player still at the start of his PDC career, the next few weeks now offer Leek the chance to turn that whirlwind into something even bigger.