A TREBLE-HEADER World Series of Darts events will be held in Australia and New Zealand in August, with events in Perth and Sydney to be followed by the inaugural Auckland Darts Masters.
The expansion of the PDC's World Series of Darts will see the year's first two events held in Dubai in May and Japan in June, with a further three tournaments now confirmed for August.
The three events to be held in Australia and New Zealand will see eight PDC stars - Michael van Gerwen, Phil Taylor, Gary Anderson, Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright, James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld and Stephen Bunting - 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 action then continues with the Sydney Darts Masters from August 20-22, as Taylor bids to win his third successive title in Sydney at the new host venue, the Qantas Credit Union Arena.
The stars then travel across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand for the country's first worldwide televised event, with the Trusts Arena to stage the Auckland Darts Masters from August 28-30.
"The World Series of Darts has expanded greatly over the past two years and we can't wait to visit New Zealand," said PDC Chief Executive Matthew Porter.
"All three events in August promise to be spectacular tournaments, with Perth and Sydney already established as successful host cities following our previous events there.
"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. 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.
"We want to try and fill the Trusts Arena and make it a fantastic atmosphere on all three nights, and we want everybody to be able to say that they had the chance to see the best darts players in the world."
New Zealand's Warren Parry knocked out then-World Champion van Gerwen on his way to the quarter-finals of the Sydney Darts Masters last summer, while Monty Tuhua also qualified for the Sydney event in 2013.
National Champion Mark McGrath represented New Zealand at the 2015 William Hill World Championship, and Rob Szabo, Craig Caldwell and Warren French are amongst the players to have competed for the country in the PDC World Cup of Darts pairs event previously.
Ticket information for all three events will be confirmed in due course, along with details of qualifying tournaments in Australia and New Zealand and broadcast information.
Perth Darts Masters
August 14-16
Challenge Stadium, Perth
Ticket information will be announced in due course.
Sydney Darts Masters
August 20-22
Qantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney
Ticket information will be announced in due course.
Auckland Darts Masters
August 28-30
Trusts Stadium, Auckland
Tickets are expected to go on sale in April.