Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen have all decided against travelling to Australia and New Zealand for this year's World Series double-header, paving the way for Ross Smith to make his Oceanic World Series debut and Gian van Veen to make his Down Under debut. The reigning European Champion, van Veen, was runner-up in the World Championship final in January and also reached the World Cup final with the Netherlands last weekend. Smith, who won his maiden European Tour title in May and has claimed two ProTour titles this year, will join van Veen in the field.
The New Zealand Darts Masters will take place in Auckland on August 14-15, followed by the Australian Darts Masters in Wollongong on August 21-22. The eight PDC representatives for both events are: Gian van Veen (Netherlands), Jonny Clayton (Wales), James Wade (England), Josh Rock (Northern Ireland), Gerwyn Price (Wales), Stephen Bunting (England), Ross Smith (England), and Damon Heta (Australia). Clayton will compete in Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 2022. Wade, who played in Copenhagen, also keeps his spot in the elite line-up ahead of New York next week.
Van Gerwen leads the World Series Order of Merit but will not travel. The reason for the absence of van Gerwen, Littler and Humphries is unknown, but it is presumed that with both tournaments being post the World Matchplay and towards a busy time of the year, it could be for pre-booked holidays. In the Oceanic representatives, Simon Whitlock and Adam Leek are in automatically, with the other spots to be filled in the coming weeks via the ADA and DPNZ circuits.
