The Australian Darts Masters participants list has been revealed as the PDC returns to Wollongong on August 9th and 10th for the first of two events in the Oceanic region.
Eight elite PDC representatives travel to the land down under every August to partake in the World Series of Darts.
The 2024 World Champion Luke Humphries and runners-up Luke Littler headline and are set to make their respective debuts in Australia.
These two events will be the last two events before the World Series of Darts Finals in September, which will take place in Amsterdam.
Michael van Gerwen the big name to withdraw
Michael van Gerwen has chosen to opt out of the events in Australia and New Zealand.
He stated this year on the MMA Hour to Ariel Helwani: “I am not going to Australia and New Zealand this year.”
The Dutchman still resides in his native Netherlands despite the tour predominantly being hosted in the UK; therefore, he explains that the amount of travelling he does around the year is far greater than some of the other professionals on the tour.
“I live in Holland. So all the non-televised tournaments that are in the UK or Germany, for me, it’s the same distance. So I have to fly weekly. August, for me, is a break,” explains the Dutchman.
Due to his withdrawal, recent UK Open champion Dimitri van den Bergh will replace the three-time world champion.
Is the PDC schedule too busy?
Van Gerwen choosing to opt out of events used to be a rarity but it comes as no surprise considering his increased work commitments.
The PDC schedule has become increasingly busy, but downtime for the world’s elite is now a luxury due to the addition of further World Series of Darts tournaments in January after the World Championship.
“If you’re not top eight/top 10 you’d have January off,” answered Smith on the same show. “If you’re in the top 8, playing these type of events there’s no off-season.”
While players can choose to participate in these events due to the invitational criteria, it is hard to turn down due to the financial incentives.
Complete line-up for Australian Darts Masters
PDC players
- Luke Humphries
- Luke Littler
- Rob Cross
- Michael Smith
- Gerwyn Price
- Peter Wright
- Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Damon Heta
Oceanic players
- Simon Whitlock
- Haupai Puha
- Rob Modra
- Brenton Lloyd
- John Hurring
- Stuart Coburn
- Jeremy Fagg
- Joe Comito