Australian veteran Mal Cuming has secured his return to the PDC World Darts Championship after triumphing at the inaugural Trans-Tasman Championship in Brisbane. The 50-year-old defeated compatriot Raymond Smith 4-2 in the final to claim one of four Oceanic spots for the 2027 Worlds at Alexandra Palace.
The new event, staged from 28-30 August 2026, brought together the top 16 players from both the Australian Darts Association (ADA) ranking and the DartPlayers New Zealand (DPNZ) order of merit, creating a 32-player field with a coveted Worlds berth as the main prize. Cuming arrived match-sharp after featuring at the World Series of Darts in Wollongong shortly beforehand.
His path to the title was not without early drama. In round one, Cuming needed a deciding set to overcome Hunter Eyles, but then found his rhythm with commanding wins over Michael Cassar and Tim Pusey without dropping a set. Against Pusey, he averaged just under 96, winning 3-0 in sets and stringing together eight consecutive legs. He then defeated Harley Kemp 3-1 in the semi-finals to set up a final showdown with Raymond Smith, who had earlier beaten Howard Jones 3-2 in the last four.
In a high-stakes final, Cuming and Smith split the opening two sets before the Australian pulled clear with a blistering run of six straight legs. Smith could not recover, and Cuming sealed a 4-2 victory with an average of 90.20. The win not only made Cuming the first Trans-Tasman Championship titleholder but also secured his place at Alexandra Palace in December, marking his return to the Worlds since his previous appearance in 2023.
The remaining Oceanic spots for the 2027 PDC World Darts Championship will go to the ANZ Premier League champion and the winners of the ADA and DPNZ rankings. If any of those players have already qualified via another route, the spot passes to the highest-ranked player not yet qualified.
