After a mid-summer break the darts world gathers Down Under over the next two weekends for the final two World Series of Darts qualifiers.
Next week attention is turned to New South Wales for the Australian Masters, but first up it's the New Zealand Masters from the Spark Arena in Auckland.
It's the usual format with eight PDC stars, all ranked in the world's top 20, taking on the cream of the Antipodes over two days.
Big names are missing, among them world No.1 and reigning champion Luke Littler plus the man he beat in last year's final, Luke Humphries.
Michael van Gerwen is also an absentee but with the Dutchman sitting atop the rankings his place is assured at the grand finale, the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam next month.
Gian van Veen, the world No.2, is the top seed, with Gerwyn Price, James Wade and Stephen Bunting the other three seeds.
New Zealand Darts Masters Tips Summary
Best Bet - James Wade to win New Zealand Masters each-way @ 15/2
Alternative Bet - Ross Smith to win New Zealand Masters each-way @ 8/1
Alternative Bet - H Puha to beat J Clayton @ 3/1
New Zealand Darts Masters Prediction
Best Bet: James Wade to win New Zealand Masters each-way @ 15/2
James Wade, the 11-time major winner, is often considered one of the elder statesmen of the game, yet his powers show no sign of fading.
In fact, Wade is still only 44 - it's just that it is 22 long years since he joined the PDC and has now become an ever-present on the darts scene.
Only three men - Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen and now Luke Littler - have won more majors than Wade, who is probably playing as well now as when he won the first of those, the World Matchplay in 2007.
One of Wade's 11 major wins was the 2019 World Series of Darts Finals yet, oddly, he has never won any of the Masters series which act as qualifiers for the World Series.
He has reached three finals - at Perth in 2015, Shanghai a year later and New South Wales in 2022 - but lost all three.
This season he has played in two Masters events, the Nordic Masters and US Masters, and lost to Luke Littler on each occasion.
Littler isn't in Auckland, however, so Wade - like everyone else for that matter - is bound to fancy his chances.
Wade, who opens up against New Zealand's Kayden Milne, is looking to build on more good form including his run to the UK Open final and the quarters at the Matchplay.
He has also reached a pair of European Tour quarters this summer as well as a Players Championship semi having won PC1 back in February.
Alternative Bet: Ross Smith to win New Zealand Masters each-way @ 8/1
Wade is in the top half of the draw in Auckland where the other PDC big-hitters are Gian van Veen, Jonny Clayton and Josh Rock.
In the bottom half, the highest-ranked players are Gerwyn Price, Damon Heta, Stephen Bunting and Ross Smith.
Price is the shortest price of that lot - he's 11/4 to win the title - but it's anyone's guess what mood the Welshman will be in.
If you want to back inconsistency at bigger odds then how about Smith at 8/1.
Smith is a three-time winner on tour this year and is fresh off a run to the last eight at Blackpool in the Matchplay.
The 2022 European champion begins against Adam Leek who he should have far too much scoring power for.
Alternative Bet: H Puha to beat J Clayton @ 3/1
Upsets in Masters events are rare but Haupai Puha is no mug and if he has a good day and Jonny Clayton has an off one - which he can - then 3/1 looks very reasonable.
Hopes, as Puha is known, has won a couple of Masters matches over the years, the first of which was 6-2 against Clayton at the Queensland Masters in 2022.
He's a former World Cup quarter-finalist, a prodigious winner Down Under and as a New Zealander will have the crowd right behind him.
Key New Zealand Darts Masters Stats
- The New Zealand Darts Masters is the fifth of six events in the World Series which act as a qualifier for the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam from September 17-20
- This is the sixth running of the New Zealand Masters with the five previous events producing five different winners - Michael Van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Luke Humphries and Luke Littler
- Littler's success in 2025 was the only time the NZ Masters has been staged at the Spark Arena in Auckland, also the venue for this year's tournament
- Michael van Gerwen heads the current World Series rankings after the first four events having won the Bahrain Masters and Nordic Masters and finishing runner-up in Saudi Arabia
- Gian van Veen, runner-up to Van Gerwen in the season-opening Bahrain Masters, is the only finalist from the first four World Series events in 2026 to be toeing the oche in Auckland
- The World Series has been running in its current format since 2015; over that time Van Gerwen has won 24 titles, 16 more than anyone else
Read more darts betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
