NZ Darts Masters: Luke Littler triumphs in front of record Auckland crowd

Luke Littler celebrates winning the New Zealand Darts Masters. Photo / Photosport

A dominant display by Luke Littler saw him claim the New Zealand Darts Masters title, beating defending champion and fellow Brit Luke Humphries in front of a record crowd in Auckland.

The 18-year-old world champion averaged 115, the highest average ever in a World Series event final, to cruise past Humphries 8-4 in the final, with around 10,000 fans attending across the two days, including more than 5500 on Saturday.

It completes a Downunder double for Littler, who also won the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong a week earlier.

In the battle of the two best players in the world, Littler never seemed troubled in the decider, hitting seven 180s and nailing 50% of his attempts at doubles.

“I saved the best for last,” Littler told the Herald. “I needed to do that against Luke [Humphries].

“It’s good to come over here and achieve something. It’s a long way not to win, so I’m happy to go home with both titles.”

Littler beat Belgian Mike de Decker, in a repeat of last week’s final, and Gerwyn Price of Wales en route to the decider. His toughest challenge actually came the day prior in the opening round against Kiwi Mark Cleaver, where he won 6-4.

In that match against Cleaver, Littler failed to hit a single 180, ending a streak of more than 222 matches in which he had struck at least one maximum.

It was the first time the event had been staged at Spark Arena. When the World Series first came to New Zealand in 2015, it was held at Trusts Arena in Henderson, before relocating to Hamilton in 2019.

The new venue earned the players’ approval, with Littler comparing it to a Premier League venue in the UK.

Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) chief executive Matt Porter hinted the event would return to Spark Arena in 2026.

Porter labelled the tournament a success, citing the growth of darts in New Zealand since the World Series was first played here.

“It’s the first time we’ve had a crowd this big in New Zealand,” he told the Herald.

“The atmosphere was brilliant. You must give it time to develop, you have to build it and that’s what we’ve done.”

For the New Zealand players, it was another tough outing, with all six losing in the first round.

Jonny Tata came closest to an upset before falling 6-4 to Price.

Despite that, Porter believes the upper echelon of darts has grown locally.

“It’s difficult to judge people on one night,” Porter said.

“New Zealand is a strong darts country. Even though there were no winners, there were some strong performances.

“To ask them to go head-to-head with the best players in the world, who do this weekly, is a big ask.”

For his troubles, Littler collected $68,000, capping off a memorable month in which he also won the prestigious World Matchplay title.

On top of that, Littler’s face was lit up on the Sky Tower after the final dart was thrown, although he has no plans to jump off it any time soon, unlike several of his fellow arrowsmiths this week.

“I’d get on any rollercoaster, but when it comes to jumping off buildings, no chance,” Littler said.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.