Sport’s Biggest Names Set for Oceanic Legs of 2022 PDC World Series of Darts

Some of the biggest names in darts are set to embark on the Oceanic legs of the 2022 PDC World Series of Darts in August. Tournaments take place in Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand this month.

The Queensland Darts Masters is the first of three events on the schedule. It is programmed for August 12-13 where 16 players will begin in the opening round. Dimitri Van den Bergh, Michael Smith, James Wade, Michael Wade, Gerwyn Price, Fallon Sherrock, Jonny Clayton and Joe Cullen are the seeded players in the draw.

World Cup of Darts winning pair Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta will be among the Australian players who have qualified to take on the top eight players in the World Series Order of Merit.

The opening round is a best of 11 legs, while the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place in a best of 15 legs format. The winner will scoop £20,000 in prize money, with the runner-up handed a cheque for £10,000.

Van den Bergh is the number one seed in Queensland as he is the in-form player in the 2022 World Series of Darts. The Belgium player recorded his victory in the Nordic Darts Masters and then followed that up with success in the Dutch Darts Masters. Smith is also a winner in this year’s series, as he lifted the trophy following the US Darts Masters.

A week later, the leading PDC players head to New South Wales for the second Oceanic event. The tournament will take place over the same format as Queensland.

The Oceanic section of the World Series of Darts will conclude in Hamilton with the 2022 New Zealand Darts Masters. It will be the second time this event has been held. In 2019, in the inaugural tournament, van Gerwen beat fellow Dutch compatriot Raymond van Barneveld in the final 8-1.

The darts community in Australia continues to grow as the popularity of the PDC increases. The promoter is now selling arenas all over the world, which is a sign of how far the sport has come since the 1980s.

Whitlock has been with the PDC since 2001 and the former European Championship winner has helped increase interest in his native Australia. The Wizard was beaten in the final of the 2010 PDC World Darts Championship and he has consistently been at the top end of the world rankings since then.

Many of those in Australia who follow the PDC tour will use bookmaker sites to view the latest odds on major events to see who has the best chance of lifting the trophy. In the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship, bet365, one of the leading betting sites in Australia, makes van Gerwen the 4.50 favourite to prevail in what would be his fourth world title.

Before the World Championship begins in December, Australian darts fans will be following the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals, in what is a busy period on the PDC calendar.

The latest World Series of Darts events will be a chance to see who is at the top of their game ahead of the final majors of the year in 2022.