New Zealand Darts Masters 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Luke Littler BEATS Mark Cleaver, Humphries THROUGH
Teenage sensation Luke Littler is eyeing the Oceanic double after the Nuke won the Australian Darts Masters last weekend.
The world champion got off to a great start in Auckland, beating Mark Cleaver 6-4 and will face Mike De Decker in Saturday's quarter-finals.
World No1 and 2024 champion Luke Humphries began his title defence with a 6-3 win over Haupai Puha.
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
Today, 07:55 By Connor Greaves
Doubles for dough
The 2025 New Zealand Darts Masters total prize pot has increased by a whopping £40,000, meaning there is £100,000 up for grabs.
Last year, there was £60,000 available in prize money, with the winner taking home £20,000.
However, the 2025 edition winner will be scooping up £30,000 for his troubles.
Here is the full breakdown:
Today, 07:45 By Connor Greaves
Luk-ing good
Luke Littler has been in superb form of late - even for his standards.
The Nuke won his last NINE matches and has claimed the World Matchplay and Australian Darts Masters titles in the process.
And it would be an almighty shock if the world champion failed to extend his winning run this morning as he faces Cleaver, who has lost his last four.
Today, 07:30 By Connor Greaves
Early risers
You may be wondering why we're about to see some of the world's best take to the oche this early in the morning.
Well, it's actually almost 7pm in Auckland, where the event is being held.
ITV4's broadcast will be on a delay, with their coverage starting at 7pm BST.
You can live stream the action as it happens in Auckland on ITVX or PDCTV, if you have a subscription.
Alternatively, you can stay right here for all the latest from Auckland.
Today, 07:15 By Connor Greaves
Order of play
First Round (all times BST)
Best of 11 legs
Mike De Decker v Gordon Mathers - 8.10am
Josh Rock v John Hurring - 8.40am
Gerwyn Price v Jonny Tata - 9.10am
Damon Heta v Dean Reyland - 9.40am
Stephen Bunting v Ben Robb - 10.10am
Luke Humphries v Haupai Puha - 10.40am
Luke Littler v Mark Cleaver - 11.10am
Chris Dobey v Simon Whitlock - 11.40am
Today, 06:59 By Connor Greaves
Good morning and welcome to SunSport's live blog of the New Zealand Darts Masters!
Luke Littler will feature in Auckland as he looks to claim the Oceanic double after last week's triumph in Australia.
The Nuke gets his tournament underway against Aussie Mark Cleaver at around 11am this morning.
Littler has been in fine form of late and hasn't tasted defeat since the start of June, when he lost in the semi-finals of the Poland Darts Masters to Stephen Bunting.
World No1 and defending champion Luke Humphries also features in Auckland as he begins his title defence against Haupai Puha.
The next two days in New Zealand promise to be thrilling and SunSport will bring you all the action right here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Dragons carnage as THREE players are rubbed out with head injuries in 30 minutes of chaos
The Warriors are breathing easier after regaining their place in the NRL 's top four with a thrilling 14-10 comeback victory over a luckless and brave St George Illawarra outfit in Auckland. Andrew Webster's men recovered from a 10-point first-half deficit to snap an alarming three-game losing streak after the Dragons lost three forwards before the break in freakish scenes at Go Media Stadium. The Dragons activated 18th man Tyrell Sloan after back-rowers Hamish Stewart and Jack De Belin were injured. Both suffered category-one concussions from a head clash while tackling Warriors enforcer James Fisher-Harris. Then interchange forward Hame Sele also failed a HIA following a 29th-minute head knock. Despite the setbacks, the Dragons enjoyed a 10-0 lead following an early try-scoring double from powerhouse centre Mathew Feagai. Watch all the highlights as the Warriors take on the Dragons in Round 24! 🎥 — NRL (@NRL) August 15, 2025 A four-pointer six minutes before the break to Chanel Harris-Tavita, after a skilful sideline offload from Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, put the Warriors back in the contest. St George Illawarra overcame their reduced one-forward rotation to hold the Warriors at bay for much of the second half before the home team finally drew level at 10-10 with a 62nd-minute try to centre Adam Pompey. Pompey's second soon after, when the Dragons' short-side defence fell for a clever dummy-half dummy from Taine Tuaupiki, gave the Warriors the lead for the first time with six minutes remaining. 'Far from perfect. That's pretty clear,' said coach Webster. 'But an amazing amount of effort and scramble and working hard for each other and finding a way. 'When you're not playing the best football, I don't think your first win (after a losing streak) is going to be a 20-point victory. It's going to be a win. 'That's what we come up with tonight.' Friday night's victory vaulted the Warriors above Penrith into fourth spot on the ladder after the New Zealanders' season threatened to unravel. The injury-hit Warriors could have slumped to as low as seventh by the end of the round. Instead, they extinguished the Dragons' slim finals hopes. St George Illawarra, though, were still claiming a moral victory. 'We spoke at halftime about it could be one of the greatest wins if we can steal it,' skipper Damien Cook said. 'But even not getting the result is still a massive win for us as a club and the team. 'Just the resilience and character that we showed for each other, it's a massive, massive step in a good direction for us. 'We still had a great result. We lost some players early but we rallied together and, while we didn't get the result tonight, we're not going to let the result take away from a massive achievement that we had.' Coming off back-to-back wins over finals-bound Cronulla and Canberra, the Dragons had the chance to steal the match at the death and claim another major scalp but weren't able to cash in on a Sloan line break.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Grand Slam Track 'struggling' to pay $13M owed to athletes
August 15 - Grand Slam Track has not received expected funds and has been unable to pay the athletes who are due money from the fledgling organization, founder Michael Johnson said Friday. In a lengthy message posted to social media, Johnson said he is "devastated" that Grand Slam Track does not have the means to pay the competitors who took part in three track meets earlier this year. Front Office Sports reported last month that Grand Slam Track owes the athletes about $13 million in a combination of prize money and appearance fees for the events. "It is incredibly difficult to live with the reality that you've built something bigger than yourself while simultaneously feeling like you've let down the very people you set out to help. However, I have to own that," began the statement that Johnson, a sprinter who won four gold medals over three successive Olympics (1992-2000), posted to X. "And yes, the cruelest paradox in all of this is we promised that athletes would be fairly and quickly compensated. Yet, here we are struggling with our ability to compensate them. "We were devastated when we learned we would not receive the funding committed to us. We worked tirelessly alongside our investors and board to find a quick solution to the problem." In starting Grand Slam Track, Johnson wanted to see to it that track athletes received attention between Olympic Games and were paid well -- up to $100,000 for a first-place finish. At the time it was formed, the group said it had $30 million in committed money. Three events were held this year -- in Kingston, Jamaica, Miami and Philadelphia -- with a fourth set for Los Angels canceled. Johnson said he understands that athletes as well as people who worked at meets, such as vendors, are frustrated. "I know this damages trust. I know this makes some wonder if our vision can survive. That is why we are not just addressing the immediate problem; we are putting systems and partnerships in place to make sure it never happens again," he said. Johnson, 57, said future events are on hold until the debts are paid but he remains hopeful. "Despite the challenges of the past few months, I remain confident about the future of Grand Slam Track," Johnson said. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Luke Littler's sensational '222-game streak' comes to an end at New Zealand Darts Masters as teenager bids for more success
Darts star Luke Littler saw a sensational 222-game streak come to and end in the early hours of Friday morning - despite winning his first round match at the New Zealand Darts Masters. Fresh from winning the Australian version of the tournament last week, Littler is heavy favourite to lift the crown in Nerw Zealand on Saturday, having qualified for the quarter-finals after beating Mark Cleaver. Eight top players from the PDC are pitched against some of the biggest stars from the area, and all of the PDC men came through their first round draws to set up a mammoth Saturday in their bids to become champion. Littler will take on Mike De Decker in the last-eight, but will be looking to start another streak after one came to an end in his match against Cleaver. The 18-year-old is known as one of the most brutal 180 hitters in the game, and had, according to Polish outlet Laczy Nas Dart, hit a 180 in his last 222 matches - but failed to do so against Cleaver. His average was also below his usual standards, standing at 95.6, but he progressed with relative ease. He hit 140 or more on eight separate occasions during the best of 11 game, with 100 or more arriving 14 times. Littler appeared to be in a comfortable position at 3-1, but Cleaver brought it back to 4-4. Littler, though, saw the game out and won 6-4. £100,000 is up for grabs at the tournament, with the prize pot boosted by £40,000. The winner will receive £30,000, up £10,000 from last year. After his win, meanwhile, Littler spoke on his battle with Luke Humphries for the world No 1 spot, saying: 'Luke knows what he's got to do. But I don't think he has to put much pressure on himself. 'I know myself I'm right behind him. It wouldn't surprise me if he won everythng and defended all his prize money, I think I'm defending £200,000 at the Worlds, I won that at the Matchplay, but I am focusing on going back to back.'
