Brenton Lloyd and Joe Comito will feature in next month’s PalmerBet New South Wales Darts Masters, while Darren Penhall confirmed his place in the NZ Darts Masters following the latest round of DartPlayers Australia Pro Tour action last weekend.
The year’s fifth weekend of DPA action saw Pro Tour Events 18-21 take place in Warilla, after Lloyd won through Friday’s final World Series of Darts qualifier to secure his televised debut.
Lloyd won through a 48-player field to seal his big stage bow, dispatching Bill Aitken 5-1 to confirm his place in the £60,000 NSW Darts Masters, which will take place at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre on August 11-12.
After winning through a last-leg decider against Daniel Pearson in his opener, Lloyd battled past Brandon Weening to reach the last eight, before relinquishing just two legs against David Williams, Dave Hanel and Aitken to clinch his qualification.
Meanwhile, Comito will make his big stage return in Wollongong next month, having made his TV debut at last year’s PalmerBet Queensland Darts Masters.
The 42-year-old won DPA Event Seven back in March, and has featured in a further four finals on the domestic circuit to wrap up his qualification via the DartPlayers Australia Order of Merit.
Lloyd and Comito will be joined on home soil by Australia’s former World Cup winners Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock, with DPNZ qualifier John Hurring making up the Oceanic representatives alongside fellow DPA qualifiers Mal Cuming, Dave Marland and Penhall.
Penhall, meanwhile, continued his magnificent form to claim a hat-trick of titles in Warilla last weekend, winning Events 18, 19 and 20 before succumbing to Jeremy Fagg in the Event 21 decider.
Former PDC Tour Card Holder Penhall has now scooped an astonishing 11 DPA titles in 2023, defeating Weening in the weekend’s first three finals to add to his impressive haul.
As the top-ranked player from the DPA Order of Merit following Event 21, Penhall will now feature in the NZ Darts Masters on August 4-5, which will take place at the GLOBOX Arena in Hamilton.
Heta and Whitlock will also headline the Oceanic representatives in New Zealand, while New Zealand’s number one Ben Robb will take centre stage alongside compatriots Haupai Puha, Darren Herewini, Jonny Tata and Kayden Milne.
World Champion Michael Smith will be among the PDC superstars making the trip Down Under, with reigning World Series of Darts Finals champion Gerwyn Price and world number two Peter Wright also set to star.
Two-time World Cup winner Jonny Clayton – a winner in Wollongong last year – will make his return to Australasia, while former World Champion Rob Cross and Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh make their respective returns.
Former UK Open champions Nathan Aspinall and Danny Noppert will make their debuts Down Under, with Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries missing the August double-header for family reasons.
Tickets for the NZ Darts Masters and PalmerBet NSW Darts Masters are now on general sale.
2023 World Series of Darts
NZ Darts Masters
August 4-5, GLOBOX Arena, Hamilton
PDC Representatives
Michael Smith (England)
Peter Wright (Scotland)
Gerwyn Price (Wales)
Rob Cross (England)
Jonny Clayton (Wales)
Danny Noppert (Netherlands)
Nathan Aspinall (England)
Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium)
Oceanic Representatives
Damon Heta (Australia)
Simon Whitlock (Australia)
Ben Robb (New Zealand)
Haupai Puha (New Zealand)
Darren Herewini (New Zealand)
Jonny Tata (New Zealand)
Kayden Milne (New Zealand)
Darren Penhall (Australia)
PalmerBet NSW Darts Masters
August 11-12, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
PDC Representatives
Michael Smith (England)
Peter Wright (Scotland)
Gerwyn Price (Wales)
Rob Cross (England)
Jonny Clayton (Wales)
Danny Noppert (Netherlands)
Nathan Aspinall (England)
Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium)
Oceanic Representatives
Damon Heta (Australia)
Simon Whitlock (Australia)
Mal Cuming (Australia)
Darren Penhall (Australia)
Dave Marland (Australia)
Brenton Lloyd (Australia)
John Hurring (New Zealand)
Joe Comito (Australia)
NB: Brandon Weening was unable to compete in the NSW Darts Masters due to a prior commitment, with Joe Comito taking the place offered to the next-ranked player from the DPA Order of Merit following Event 21
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