New Zealand Darts Masters 2026

14 – 15 August 2026 · Spark Arena, Auckland, Neuseeland

Part of: World Series of Darts

The 2026 SkyCity New Zealand Darts Masters took place from 14 to 15 August 2026 at the Spark Arena in Auckland and was the fifth event of the 2026 World Series of Darts. Jonny Clayton won his second World Series title with an 8–4 victory over Gerwyn Price in the final.

The 2026 New Zealand Darts Masters (officially the SkyCity New Zealand Darts Masters for sponsorship reasons) was a professional darts tournament of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), held from 14 to 15 August 2026 at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. It was the sixth staging of the tournament and the fifth event of the 2026 World Series of Darts. Total prize money was £100,000, of which the winner received £30,000. As it is an invitational tournament, the prize money won was not taken into account in the calculation of the PDC World Rankings. 16 players took part: eight representatives nominated by the PDC and eight representatives from Oceania. The PDC announced its eight players on 17 June 2026; the seeding was based on the 2026 World Series ranking after four events and was headed by Gian van Veen, followed by Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting, James Wade, Jonny Clayton, Josh Rock, Ross Smith and Damon Heta. Ross Smith made his debut at a regular World Series of Darts event, while Gian van Veen played Down Under for the first time. Defending champion Luke Littler, who had beaten Luke Humphries 8–4 in the 2025 final, had not entered and so did not defend his title; Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen did not travel to New Zealand either. On the Oceanic side were Tour Card holder Adam Leek and ANZ Premier League champion Simon Whitlock, five qualifiers from Dartplayers New Zealand (Ben Robb, Jonny Tata, Mark Cleaver, Kayden Milne and Haupai Puha) and ADA qualifier Raymond Smith. The draw was announced on 13 August 2026, with the first round played on Friday 14 August. Six of the eight PDC representatives came through. The surprises were provided by the two Australians: Raymond Smith beat third seed Stephen Bunting 6–2, winning the last five legs, posting a three-dart average of 99.81 and finishing the match with a 124 checkout on the bullseye. Adam Leek turned a deficit around against Ross Smith and won 6–5 in the deciding leg after the Englishman had missed six match darts in total. Top seed Gian van Veen won 6–1 against Jonny Tata on his first appearance Down Under, and second seed Gerwyn Price was just as comfortable in a 6–1 win over Mark Cleaver. Damon Heta (6–4 against Ben Robb) and Jonny Clayton (6–5 against Haupai Puha) each came from behind, James Wade won 6–0 against Kayden Milne and Josh Rock beat Simon Whitlock 6–4. Saturday 15 August brought the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. In the quarter-finals Jonny Clayton knocked out top seed Gian van Veen 6–3, James Wade won 6–4 against Josh Rock, Gerwyn Price saw off Damon Heta 6–2 and Raymond Smith won the all-Australian tie against Adam Leek 6–3. In the semi-finals Clayton beat James Wade 7–2 with an average of 98.93, and Price won 7–2 against Raymond Smith. In the final Jonny Clayton secured his second World Series of Darts title with an 8–4 win over Gerwyn Price, after the 2022 New South Wales Darts Masters, and gained revenge for his defeat in the 2022 final, which Price had won by the same score. Clayton opened the final with a 158 checkout to lead 3–0 – the highest checkout of the tournament – and sealed victory in the twelfth leg with a 124 finish on the bullseye. Price posted the slightly higher average with 95.49 to Clayton's 94.96. The tournament was first held in 2019 and initially took place in Hamilton before moving to Auckland. The record winners are Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries, Luke Littler and Jonny Clayton with one title each. A week after the New Zealand Darts Masters the World Series continues in Australia, before concluding in September with the Finals in Amsterdam.