The PDC’s World Series of Darts Oceanic double-header’s second leg will be held on August 16-17, with 2018 World Champion Cross aiming to defend his title at the GLOBOX Arena.
The 33-year-old managed to beat Nathan Aspinall to win this event last year, followed by adding a fourth World Series of Darts title to his collection with a victory at the US Darts Masters in June.
Despite his recent successes, Cross is anticipating a difficult challenge against local favorite Puha, especially after narrowly winning their last encounter in Wollongong.
“My performances weren’t really there in Wollongong,” admitted Cross, who was also a runner-up at the Nordic Darts Masters and Poland Darts Masters in 2024. “I’ve just got to put that down to a blip, and now I need to make sure I put on a bigger and better performance this week. It will be another tough game against Haupai, but I feel really good, I feel refreshed and I think I’ll be a lot better prepared.”
Puha, who made history in January by becoming the first New Zealander to earn a PDC Tour Card at Qualifying School, is excited about facing Cross in their upcoming match.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” Puha remarked, recalling his World Cup of Darts quarter-finalist achievement in 2019. “This is one of the tournaments at the top of the list for me, playing in front of my home crowd and in front of my family, and hopefully I can produce my A-game. I was lucky not to lose 6-0 against Rob last week, but then I was a bit unlucky not to win in the end, so hopefully I can start a little bit better and build on the finish that I had.”
