Luke Humphries celebrates with the Sid Waddell Trophy after winning the World Darts Championship final, January 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
World Champion Luke Humphries and teenage superstar Luke Littler will headline a star-studded line-up when the World Series of Darts returns to New Zealand in August.
The PDC's annual trip Down Under will feature the 2024 New Zealand Darts Masters, which will take place in Hamilton on 16-17 August.
The World Series event will see a 16-player field competing over two days of action, with eight PDC superstars locking horns with eight Oceanic representatives, led by New Zealand's new PDC professional Haupai Puha.
World Champion Humphries will make his debut in New Zealand following a sensational 12-month spell that saw him follow up World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals titles by lifting the sport's biggest title in January as he rose to world number one status.
17-year-old Littler, a runner-up to Humphries in a stunning World Championship debut and the current Premier League leader, will also make his first appearance in Hamilton, having already tasted World Series success with victory in January's Bahrain Darts Masters.
Rob Cross will join the duo as he aims to retain his title in August, after beating Nathan Aspinall to triumph in Hamilton 12 months ago.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries during the World Darts Championship final, January 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Former New Zealand Darts Masters champion Gerwyn Price and fellow former World Champions Michael Smith and Peter Wright will also star, as 2024 UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh makes his latest appearance Down Under.
Australian number one Damon Heta completes the list of eight PDC representatives, with the former World Cup winner rewarded for breaking into the world's top ten in 2024.
New Zealand's number one Puha - who secured his PDC Tour Card in January - will headline on home soil, where he will be joined by Australian stalwart Simon Whitlock.
There are six Oceanic representatives still to be confirmed for the New Zealand Darts Masters, although three of those places will be finalised following the conclusion of this weekend's DartPlayers New Zealand ProTour double-header.
