It’s the halfway stage of the 2025 SkyCity New Zealand Darts Masters and, just like last week in Australia, the big guns are still standing tall, leaving their Oceanic challengers in their wake. Clean sweep? Check. Predictable? Perhaps. Entertaining for the purists? Er …. so, so. Some were. Others, not so much.
Simon Whitlock was the only Antipodean to ever claim a lead over one of the PDC boys, pushing Chris Dobey to the edge in a match that was far from a Hollywood blockbuster. But for the Geordie, it’s all about the win – and a 6-4 result was enough.
Last year’s Kiwi champion, Luke Humphries, didn’t exactly hit top gear, but against the national number one, Haupai Puha, he didn’t need to. Puha sadly was unable to show his home fans just what he was capable of, and naturally, that wasn’t enough to trouble Cool Hand. Not a classic, certainly – but the theme of Luke’s post-match chat with compatriot and friend Chris Dobey will be something along the lines of, “we live to fight another day.”
One PDC star on fire this evening was the Iceman. Oxymoron? Perhaps. Gerwyn Price was sublime in getting past Jonny Tata with a performance that was as cold as it was fiery. To be fair, the New Zealand chucker put up respectable stats that deserved respect.
But Gezzy’s stats were better – seven maximums included – and he even wired the double for the magical leg… unintentionally, of course. His 103.60 average could have been even more colossal if he hadn’t missed ten outer ring attempts. Still, impressive nonetheless.
Luke Littler was once again put to the test. Last week it was Puha; this week, another Kiwi, Mark Cleaver, pushed him to the limit. Level at 4-4, Cleaver must have dreamt of ending The Nuke’s tournament early. But the World Champ flicked on the afterburners and reeled off the necessary two legs for victory. A valiant effort from the qualifier, but Littler lives to fight another day and can join in Cool Hand and Dobey’s little chat about that fact.
Top seed Stephen Bunting delivered what you could politely call a professional performance against Ben Robb. Always in control, The Bullet could have unleashed heavier ammunition if needed – but he didn’t. A relatively comfortable 6-3 victory for the Liverpudlian, and a reminder that sometimes you don’t need fireworks when the job gets done efficiently.
Once again, the only Antipodean to taste victory is Damon Heta. It wasn’t great – mid-80s averages from The Heat aren’t what you expect – but when your opponent, Dean Reyland, isn’t returning fire, it’s enough to see you through. The 70s might suit a DJ at a funk-themed disco, but not as an average against someone with the ability of Heta – even an off-song version of the Perth man.
Debutants Josh Rock and Mike De Decker continued their solid start on World Series duty. De Decker opened the show, dispatching Aussie former tour card holder Gordon Mathers 6-1 with relative ease. Rock followed, dropping just a couple of legs in defeating John Hurring, who can be proud of his effort.
That’s everyone mentioned – and, just like seven days ago, no Oceanic representation will make it to the quarter-finals other than Heta. If there were an award for local endeavour, it would probably go to Jonny Tata – but I doubt he’ll find much consolation in that.
Round One – Results
Mike De Decker 6-1 Gordon Mathers
Josh Rock 6-2 John Hurring
Gerywn Price 6-4 Jonny Tata
Damon Heta 6-1 Dean Reyland
Stephen Bunting 6-3 Ben Robb
Luke Humphries 6-3 Haupai Puha
Luke Littler 6-4 Mark Cleaver
Chris Dobey 6-4 Simon Whitlock
Quarter-Final – Line Up
Stephen Bunting v Chris Dobey
Luke Humphries v Damon Heta
Gerwyn Price v Josh Rock
Luke Littler v Mike De Decker
—–ENDs—–
Images: PDC/Photosport
