Mark Cleaver claimed back-to-back titles as the 2025 DartPlayers New Zealand ProTour season began in Wellington last weekend.
Cleaver defeated Jaymie Hilton-Jones in both finals to enjoy the perfect start to the new season, winning 18 consecutive matches across the weekend.
The 57-year-old eased through the round-robin phase in Saturday’s Event One with four straight victories, before whitewashing Hipirini Tewhakaara to book his place in the last 16.
Following a 4-2 victory against Zacarno King, Cleaver then recorded deciding-leg wins over Scott Menzies and Ben Robb, defying a late fightback from New Zealand’s World Cup star Robb to triumph with a 90 average.
This set up a showdown against Hilton-Jones in the Event One showpiece, and after storming into a six-leg lead, Cleaver closed out an emphatic 7-2 success to seal his fifth DPNZ ProTour title.
Cleaver continued his winning run in Sunday’s Event Two, completing a clean sweep in the round-robin phase before breezing into the semi-finals.
The former World Series of Darts qualifier defeated Menzies 4-1 in the last 16, which was bookended by whitewash wins against Connor Grindlay and Jamie Roberts.
Cleaver then defied a 93 average to celebrate another semi-final victory against Robb – aided by 136 and 89 checkouts – before sealing back-to-back titles with a hard-fought 7-5 win over Hilton-Jones.
As a result, Cleaver boasts a sizeable lead at the top of the DPNZ ProTour Order of Merit ahead of next month’s double-header, with Events 3-4 taking place in Christchurch on March 22-23.