Iceman to Face The Heat in Queensland Opener

AUSTRALIAN World Cup winners Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock will open the PalmerBet Queensland Darts Masters against Gerwyn Price and James Wade respectively on Friday, with the draw for Townsville’s World Series of Darts event now available.

The Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre will host the biggest names in darts on August 12-13 for the Queensland Darts Masters, as eight top PDC stars face off against eight Oceanic representatives.

Friday’s first round will be headlined by the clash between world number one Gerwyn Price and top-ranked Australian Heta – who won 2019, Brisbane Darts Masters, in the World Series’ last visit to Queensland.

Whitlock, meanwhile, has drawn Premier League star Wade in another tasty first-round tie, and Brisbane’s Gordon Mathers – who has spent the past 18 months based in the UK competing as a PDC Tour Card Holder – will meet Women’s World Matchplay winner Fallon Sherrock.

Top seed Dimitri Van den Bergh opens his bid to win a third World Series title of the year – having been victorious in Copenhagen and Amsterdam – against Perth-based New Zealander Koha Kokiri.

Premier League and World Matchplay champion Michael van Gerwen has drawn 20-year-old World Series debutant Bailey Marsh, who is also set to compete in the Winmau World Youth Championship later in 2022.

Reigning World Series of Darts Finals champion Jonny Clayton will play top New Zealander Haupai Puha, while Masters champion Joe Cullen takes on Australian qualifier Dave Marland.

Friday’s first round will be followed in Townsville by the decisive final stages on Saturday, featuring the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.

Tickets for the PalmerBet Queensland Darts Masters are available through ticketek.com.au.

Following the Townsville event, the action heads to Wollongong for the PalmerBet New South Wales Darts Masters on August 19-20 and then crosses the Tasman Sea for the TAB New Zealand Darts Masters in Hamilton on August 26-27.

Coverage will be live on Fox Sports in Australia, as well as through the PDC’s global broadcast partners.

Live coverage through PDCTV is available for all subscribers worldwide outside of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (coverage exclusively via DAZN). A PDCTV Summer Pass option is available for £15 which includes all three World Series of Darts events during August.

ITV4 broadcasts in the UK will be from 1900 BST on Friday and 1630 BST on Saturday.