The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) has announced that three World Series of Darts events will take place in Australia and New Zealand in August, including a new event in Auckland.
The expansion of the PDC's World Series of Darts will feature the year's first two events being held in Dubai in May and Japan in June before further tournaments in Perth and Sydney in Australia and then the inaugural Auckland Darts Masters in New Zealand in August.
In Australia and New Zealand, eight PDC stars – Michael van Gerwen (pictured), Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld and Stephen Bunting – will be joined by eight qualifiers for the first round of each tournament.
The second staging of the Perth Darts Masters, which was won by Taylor last year, will kick off the treble-header at the Challenge Stadium from August 14-16. The Sydney Darts Masters will run from August 20-22 at a new host venue, the Qantas Credit Union Arena. The Trusts Arena will then stage the Auckland Darts Masters from August 28-30.
“There's a passion for darts in New Zealand, including great television ratings for our events on Sky New Zealand, and also a base of talent,” PDC chief executive Matthew Porter said. “New Zealanders have represented their country in our World Championship and World Cup for a number of years now and there's a strong association at DartPlayers New Zealand. We know that it's a strong darting nation, and it's a logical fit for us to expand the World Series of Darts into.”
