The PDC first came to New Zealand back in 2015, a year after the origination of the Dart Players New Zealand (DPNZ) Tour. At the time, it was titled the Auckland Darts Masters, where the inaugural event was won by Adrian Lewis.
The likes of Gary Anderson, and Michael van Gerwen also picked up titles in the New Zealand capital under its original name with the biggest shock coming in 2017, when oceanic qualifier and World #28 Kyle Anderson won the title!
He beat reigning champion Gary Anderson in the first round, averaging 102.91, before beating Whitlock, Wade and Cadby to win the title, marking the only time in World Series history that both finalists were regional representatives.
INTERESTED IN GLOBAL DARTS? Checkout DartsWorld’s Dedicated Area
In 2019, the PDC packed up the Auckland Masters and moved it to Hamilton, renaming the event to the New Zealand Darts Masters. Michael van Gerwen retained his title before Covid-19 saw the events in the following two years.
Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross and Luke Humphries picked up the next three titles in Hamilton before the event returned to Auckland in 2025, where Luke Littler claimed the crown with record breaking performances on the final day.
In claiming the 2025 crown, Luke Littler produced two of the highest averages ever seen in the New Zealand Masters, averaging 108.81 in his Semi-Final win over Gerwyn Price, before putting in a record breaking 115.02 average in the Final!
This broke the record that Gary Anderson had previously held for nine years, his 111.37 average in 2016, followed by Chris Dobey’s 110.36 in 2025 and Nathan Aspinall’s 110.22 in 2023.
With the likes of Littler, Humphries and van Gerwen giving this one a swerve, there are some new names this year. Gian van Veen will be making his New Zealand Darts Masters debut, while both Ross Smith and Adam Leek will be making the first ever appearance on a World Series of Darts stage.
Surprisingly, this will also be a first New Zealand Masters appearance for Raymond Smith, who’s only previous appearance in the World Series of Darts came eight years ago in the 2018 Australian Darts Masters!
Simon Whitlock will be making his record extending nineth appearance at the New Zealand Masters, followed by a seventh appearance for Damon Heta and Ben Robb.
This weekend will mark the first time a Kiwi player has appearance at the New Zealand Masters more times then Warren Parry, who’s six appearances from 2016-2023 had previously never been beaten. Ben Robb has been at every iteration of the event since 2018, and Haupai Puha has missed only one, lifting his total to six.
Mark Cleaver will be making his fifth appearance, having debuted in the inaugural event in 2015, while Jonny Tata and Kayden Milne will be returning for a fourth time. While there will be no debutants from New Zealand this year, it goes to show the strength of the top players is long lasting.
It will be a second appearance for Josh Rock and Jonny Clayton, with the Welshman returning for the first time since 2022. Stephen Bunting will be making his third appearance, with his first two coming ten years apart, while Gerwyn Price and James Wade will return for a fifth year.
The event will get underway from 8am BST on Friday with first round action, while the Quarter-Finals down to the Final will be played at the same time on Saturday. The draw can be expected on Wednesday.
DARTS PLAYER MERCHANDISE AND COLLECTABLES AT OUR DARTSWORLD STORE!
Images: PDC
