Whitlock Fired Up For World Series

World Series of Darts

SIMON WHITLOCK is in positive mood ahead of the this weekend's Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB & Burger King, which kicks off August's World Series of Darts treble-header Down Under.

Melbourne and Brisbane Fields Finalised

World Series of Darts

THE fields for the Melbourne Darts Masters and Brisbane Darts Masters have been finalised after Justin Thompson and James Bailey sealed qualification.

O'Donnell and Gardner Book World Series Places

World Series of Darts

RAY O'DONNELL and Barry Gardner secured qualification for the World Series of Darts events in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mathers and Bonser Claim World Series Spots

Betfred World Matchplay

GORDON MATHERS and Mike Bonser secured qualification for next month's World Series of Darts events in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.

Heta Secures Double World Series Qualification

World Series of Darts

AUSTRALIAN ace Damon Heta enjoyed a double success with qualification for the PDC World Series of Darts events in Melbourne and Brisbane next month.

Puha & Cleaver Seal World Series Spots

World Series of Darts

MARK CLEAVER and Haupai Puha have qualified for the World Series of Darts in Brisbane and Melbourne respectively.

Super Smith Seals Shanghai Title

World Series of Darts

MICHAEL SMITH claimed a maiden World Series of Darts title with an 8-2 victory over Rob Cross in the final of the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters.

21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Day One

World Series of Darts

THE 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Day One begins on Friday with the first round.

Shanghai Qualifiers: The Lowdown

BetVictor World Cup of Darts

WITH eight qualifiers confirming their place in the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters, we give the lowdown on the Asian players who will take on the eight PDC representatives.

21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters Draw

World Series of Darts

GARY ANDERSON will begin his quest for back-to-back PDC World Series of Darts titles against Royden Lam at the 21.co.uk Shanghai Darts Masters on Friday.

2024 Australian Darts Masters
Friday August 9
First Round

Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-1 Jeremy Fagg
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Brenton Lloyd
Michael Smith 6-2 Stuart Coburn
Luke Humphries 6-1 Joe Comito
Luke Littler 6-2 Rob Modra
Peter Wright 6-1 Simon Whitlock
Damon Heta 6-0 John Hurring
Rob Cross 6-5 Haupai Puha

Saturday August 10
Quarter Finals
Luke Littler 6-4 Michael Smith
Dimitri Van den Bergh 6-2 Luke Humphries
Peter Wright 6-4 Rob Cross
Gerwyn Price 6-4 Damon Heta

Semi-Finals
Luke Littler 7-6 Dimitri Van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price 7-6 Peter Wright

Final
Gerwyn Price 8-1 Luke Littler

Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Littler v Rob Modra
Michael Smith v Stuart Coburn
(4) Luke Humphries v Joe Comito
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Jeremy Fagg
(2) Rob Cross v Haupai Puha
Peter Wright v Simon Whitlock
(3) Gerwyn Price v Brenton Lloyd
Damon Heta v John Hurring

Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 13 legs
Final - Best of 15 legs

 

Gerwyn Price stormed to his second World Series of Darts title of 2024 with a stunning 8-1 victory against Luke Littler in Saturday's Australian Darts Masters final.

Price – also a winner in June’s Nordic Darts Masters – delivered a stellar display in Wollongong to pocket the £20,000 top prize and deny Littler an eighth title in as many months.

The Welshman produced a blistering barrage to seize control of Saturday’s showpiece, storming 4-0 ahead with a 112 average.

Littler had no answer to Price’s sustained brilliance, and although the Warrington wonderkid opened his account in leg six, Price won the next three legs to cap off a darting demolition Down Under.

“Luke is playing fantastic darts at the moment, and that probably kicked me into gear,” conceded the 2021 World Champion, who averaged 99.42 and converted 53% of his attempts at double.

“I know I need to play well against every player, but especially against this young talent, so I was right up for this game.

“I haven’t been playing well over the last couple of months, but I really wanted to win this one.

“We can all hit nine, ten, 11, 12-darters, but the game is all about confidence, and this will give me the big confidence boost that I needed.”


Price brushed aside Brenton Lloyd in Friday’s first round, before overcoming Australian number one Damon Heta and a resurgent Peter Wright to advance to his third World Series final in as many months.

The 39-year-old recovered from 4-3 adrift to sink birthday boy Heta, and he overturned a 3-0 deficit against Wright, conjuring up a clinical 106 checkout to triumph in a last-leg shoot-out.

Price built on that momentum in the opening exchanges against Littler, reeling off four consecutive legs in 15, 14, 11 and 14 darts to establish control of the contest.

Littller overcame his woes on the outer ring with a 12-darter in leg six, but this failed to spark a stirring fightback, as Price responded with another three-leg burst to take the title.

“Fair play to Gezzy. I couldn’t keep up with him there,” admitted the 17-year-old.

“He didn’t miss much [in the final] and he deserved the win.

“There’s no excuses. I was poor in that final, but hopefully I can carry my form from my first two games into New Zealand.”


Littler was bidding to join Phil Taylor and Gary Anderson in claiming a hat-trick of World Series titles in the same calendar year, winning through high-quality ties against Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh.

The Premier League champion fired in successive 104 averages in the process, following up a 6-4 success against Smith with an epic 7-6 victory against Van den Bergh.

The pair registered 14 maximums between them in a contest littered with quality, but the Belgian paid the price for squandering two match darts in a dramatic decider, succumbing with a 103 average.

Earlier in the day, Van den Bergh also averaged 103 in his quarter-final win over Luke Humphries, defying a brace of ton-plus finishes from the World Champion to run out an emphatic 6-2 winner.

Wright, meanwhile, dumped out last year's winner Rob Cross to advance to his first big stage semi-final in ten months, landing five 180s on his way to a 6-4 win.

Drawboard