The upcoming second leg of the PDC’s World Series of Darts Oceanic double-header is set to take place at the GLOBOX Arena in Hamilton on August 16-17, where a star-studded 16-player field will compete, with reigning champion Cross headlining the event.
In a rematch of their first-round clash at the Australian Darts Masters, Cross is scheduled to face off against New Zealand’s number one Puha to start his title defense. Cross emerged victorious in their previous encounter, despite a strong fightback from Puha, and the 2018 World Champion will be aiming for a similar outcome in Hamilton to add to his US Darts Masters win earlier this year.
The winner of the Cross vs. Puha match will advance to face either Heta or Whitlock in the quarter-finals, following their pairing in the first round of the tournament. Another exciting match-up to watch will be between Gerwyn Price and Puha’s World Cup partner Ben Robb, as they aim to secure a spot in the later stages of the competition.
Top seed Luke Littler will kick off his campaign against New Zealand’s Jonny Tata, who caused an upset by defeating Peter Wright in Hamilton last year. World Champion Luke Humphries faces 2022 quarter-finalist Kayden Milne in his opening match, with the winner set to meet the victor of the clash between Michael Smith and Jeremy Fagg in the subsequent round.
Additional matches to keep an eye on include two-time World Champion Wright taking on televised debutant Daniel Snookes, and UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh facing off against Mark Cleaver, a two-time winner on the DartPlayers New Zealand circuit in 2024.
The action is set to kick off on Friday at 1900 local time (0800 BST) at the GLOBOX Arena, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final taking place on Saturday, August 17th. Fans can catch all the action live on Sky Sport in New Zealand, Fox Sports in Australia, DAZN in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and on PDCTV in other global territories. The 2024 New Zealand Darts Masters promises to be an exhilarating event for darts fans around the world.
