The 2023 New South Wales Darts Masters reaches its climax in Wollongong on Saturday as the eight remaining hopefuls battle to be crowned champion.
Seven of the eight PDC stars safely progressed through the opening round at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday, while Simon Whitlock delight his home crowd by edging out Nathan Aspinall in a dramatic decider.
The Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and final will take place in one bumper session on Saturday in what is the last regular World Series event of the campaign before next month’s Finals.
Whitlock held off a late rally from Aspinall and survived a match dart on his way to dispatching the World Matchplay champion, and the veteran Aussie now comes up against multiple World Series event winner – Dimitri van den Bergh.
The Wizard has been a regular on the World Series circuit over the past decade, with his sole appearance in a final coming at the 2014 Singapore Masters – where he was denied glory by Michael van Gerwen.
The former World Cup of Darts winner has dropped to 39th in the PDC Order of Merit but enjoyed a resurgent run to a ProTour final back in February and will look to raise the roof once again by continuing his charge here.
Van den Bergh atoned for last week’s shock First Round defeat in Hamilton by whitewashing qualifier Dave Marland, but the Belgian will be determined to improve on his match average of 82.8 if he is to challenge for further silverware.
Gerwyn Price resumes his quest for a fourth World Series title with a show-down against Aussie number one Damon Heta.
Price averaged 98.8 in a 6-2 victory over Harley Kemp on Friday and is eyeing a place in a third World Series final of the year, having finished runner-up in January’s Nordic Masters and Bahrain Masters.
Heta produced the most emphatic performance of the opening round as he whitewashed fellow countryman Joe Comito with a 106 average, and the recent World Matchplay quarter-finalist will be keen to pick up from where he left off.
Arguably the pick of the Quarter-Final ties sees world number one Michael Smith face four-time World Series event winner Peter Wright.
Smith claimed the Bahrain Masters crown little over a week after becoming World Champion, and ‘Bully Boy’ has also added a European Tour and Players Championship title this term.
Wright, meanwhile, bounced back from last week’s shock early exit to Jonny Tata in New Zealand by reeling off six consecutive legs from 2-0 down to defeat Darren Penhall 6-2.
The two-time World Champion lost three of his four meetings with Smith during this year’s Premier League, but did prevail when the pair met in the Semi-Finals of the Nordic Masters, as well as on the European Tour in April.
Rob Cross resumes his bid for back-to-back World Series titles with a tie against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert.
Cross ended a five-year wait for World Series silverware by claiming the New Zealand Masters crown last week, recovering from 5-2 down to edge out Aspinall 8-7 in the final.
The 2018 World Champion began his campaign here with a comfortable 6-2 win over John Hurring, averaging 98 in the process.
Dutch number two Noppert marked his first appearance in Australia with a 6-3 defeat of Brenton Lloyd and now meets ‘Voltage’ for the first time in a televised event since the 2018 European Championship.
The action gets under way from 10am BST, with Quarter-Final matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs, Semi-Finals best of 13 and the final best of 15.
WATCH THE NEW SOUTH WALES DARTS MASTERS STREAMED LIVE HERE
18+ | T&Cs Apply* | Geo Restrictions may apply | Gamble Aware
New South Wales Darts Masters 2023 Day Two Schedule
All times BST (local time +9 hours)
Saturday August 12
10am-2pm
Quarter-Finals
Gerwyn Price v Damon Heta
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Simon Whitlock
Michael Smith v Peter Wright
Rob Cross v Danny Noppert
Semi-Finals
Price/Heta v Van den Bergh/Whitlock
Smith/Wright v Cross/Noppert
Final
Latest Darts Free Bet Offers (18+)
Sky Bet New Customer offer: Get £30 in Free Bets when you place any first bet
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
*New customers only. First single or E/W bet only. 5p minimum stake. 3x £10 Bet Tokens. Free Bet Stakes not included in returns. Free Bets exclude virtuals and are non-withdrawable. Eligibility restrictions and further T&Cs apply. GambleAware.org
CopyBet New Customer offer: Bet £10 and Get £40 in Free Bets
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
18+ only. New customers only. For verified UK clients only. The qualifying bet should start at £10 and have 1.5 or greater odds. Following the qualifying bet, you will receive 4 free bets that can be used one after another. Each free bet lasts for 7 days. Single bet only. Pre-Match or Live. No Cash-Out. Max payout – £500.
Boylesports New Customer offer: Bet £10 and Get £20 in Free Bets
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply
Bet UK sign-up offer: Bet £10 and get £30 in Free Bets
CLICK HERE TO CLAIM THIS OFFER
T&Cs apply. New customers, Deposit & Place a Bet within 7 days, and settle a £10 minimum bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or greater, to be credited with 3x £10 free bets: 1 x £10 Horse racing, 1 x £10 Free Bet Builder and 1 x £10 Football. Stake not returned. Opt-in required. 18+ GambleAware.org