Reigning World Champion Luke Littler completed a Down Under double, defeating namesake Humphries 8–4 to claim the 2025 New Zealand Masters title in scintillating fashion – even by his meteoric standards.
After seeing off the plucky Kiwi chucker Mark Cleaver on opening night – a match where Littler failed, for the first time in 222 competitive games, to hit a maximum – all eyes were on whether the 18-year old could go full London Bus mode and have two titles arrive in quick succession.
Of course he could!
Just a week after his Australian accolade, The Nuke was at it again, adding another trophy to his already bulging collection. This time, he averaged a blistering 115 to overcome the defending champion, leaving the continent firmly unbeaten in his wake.
Night two in Auckland – and with all the PDC big guns in action, the Kiwi crowd were treated to a proper slobberknocker of a curtain-raiser as Chris Dobey edged Stephen Bunting, both cracking averages well north of the ton mark.
An hour or so later, Littler simply cruised past an under-par Mike De Decker, who clearly left his shooting boots back home. Not in Belgium – just at the hotel.
Then, in a one-sided affair that left the treble twenty crying for mercy, the Warrington wonderkid blew Gerwyn Price out of the water 7–2. The Iceman was very good – but The Nuke was better. Limiting the Welsh maestro to just four double attempts is no small feat; it’s a performance worthy of a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, on the other half of the draw, Humphries was putting on his own power-scoring clinic, landing seven maximums to see off Dobey and set up a much-anticipated Luke Derby finale.
But there was no denying the teenager his back-to-back wins on Australasian soil. His darts assaulted the red bit with ruthless precision, leaving it pleading for mercy. Humphries’ stats were world-class – but Littler’s? We’re still not convinced he’s from this planet.
An 8–4 victory showcased scoring that was literally out of this world and finishing equally as clinical. Almost impossible to beat when he’s in this sort of form – and so it proved once again.
With the 2025 World Series of Darts tour done and dusted, the attention turns to Amsterdam in October for the Finals.
Quarter-Finals
Stephen Bunting 3-6 Chris Dobey
Luke Humphries 6-2 Damon Heta
Gerwyn Price 6-5 Josh Rock
Luke Littler 6-2 Mike De Decker
Semi-Finals
Chris Dobey 4-7 Luke Humphries
Gerwyn Price 2-7 Luke Littler
Final
Luke Humphries 4-8 Luke Littler
—–Ends—–
Images: PDC/Photosport
