Haupai Puha on the rise of Luke Littler, with teenage sensation to feature at NZ Darts Masters
'He's the last one to get to the tournaments, and fairly quiet. He just puts his headphones on and plays on his phone.
'He does get up and practise a little bit, but he's not grinding away. He's got that much natural talent that he doesn't need to.'
Alongside Littler, defending NZ Darts Masters champion and world No 1 Luke Humphries has also been confirmed, while Stephen Bunting returns Downunder for the first time since 2015, alongside 2022 champion Gerwyn Price, with Chris Dobey making his first appearance.
Two more players will be confirmed at a later date, with Michael van Gerwen, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall all absent for family reasons.
There will be five additional New Zealand qualifiers to compete alongside Puha, with Australian duo Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock also featuring.
Littler competed in New Zealand for the first time last year and said he loved the experience.
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At the time, he said taking part in those lockdown events was challenging and played a key role in his development.
'I've enjoyed it. It's once a year for the fans here to see us play darts, so I just want to play my best for them.
'We had that competition in lockdown, facing Hopes and Ben [Robb], it was good to play them. It's been good speaking with them in person and experiencing their home.'
A brief break in the PDC schedule has allowed Puha to return to New Zealand, where he can spend time with his wife and kids, who have remained in Christchurch while he's been based overseas.
Puha travelled to Auckland this week, where he jumped off the Sky Tower for the first time. With the landing pad turned into a giant dartboard, Puha became a human dart.
The jump was to celebrate SkyCity becoming a naming sponsor for the event.
It was a thrilling experience for Puha, who will be competing in the New Zealand Darts Masters for the sixth time.
The Darts Masters first took place in 2015 in Henderson, where it spent four years, with Puha making his debut in the final year in 2018. The event then shifted to Hamilton in 2019 but was not held again until 2022 because of Covid.
Now back in Auckland and taking place in New Zealand's biggest indoor arena, it promises to be the biggest event yet. As Puha gets limited chances to play in New Zealand, he's excited about walking on stage in front of a home crowd.
'They're not too friendly overseas, so I'm looking forward to actually getting the crowd behind me.
'My family comes up there in the crowd and I always look out for them. A lot of people wearing my shirts and it's very humbling to come home and see that.
'I think everyone's going to be excited. I know I am, and hopefully I can perform.'
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Last year, Puha created history by becoming the first Kiwi to win a PDC Tour Card, gaining entry to the pro circuit, where the world's top 128 players are.
He has until the end of the year to reach the top 64. If he fails, he faces having to go to qualifying school again.
The rankings are based on earnings over a two-year period and Puha is currently 88th, with £24,000 (NZ$53,700). As it stands, he will have to more than triple his earnings this year to crack that mark.
'I feel like I've gotten better,' he said. 'The numbers say that I haven't, but the experience has done me wonders.
'I've got a long way to go, and I've only got six months, so it will be tough but it's not impossible.
'I need to make the worlds again, that will be pivotal.'
While in New Zealand, Puha has been enjoying the other sport he is passionate about: golf.
While focusing on darts in Britain, Puha tends to stay off the greens. Besides, other dart players are not keen on playing him at golf.
That's because Puha was an accomplished golfer before switching to darts, winning the New Zealand Māori Golf Match Play championship in 2010 and 2012.
Despite not picking up a club for four months, he shot a 68 at his local course in Avondale, Christchurch, which has a par 70.
'I hacked it around,' joked Puha. 'I was a little rusty.
'After a few beers, they twisted my arm to play the club champs qualifying the following day, and I shot 68 again.
'I played again on the weekend, shot 69 on Saturday and 70 on Sunday. Probably wasn't as pretty as the score says, but I miss it.'
Puha will play some darts events in New Zealand, before returning overseas with his next big event being the World Cup of Darts in Germany in June, where he will play alongside Mark Cleaver.
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