Heta Nails Tournament Average as All Eight PDC Stars Advance on Day 1 in Wollongong

A record-breaking night at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong saw Aussie No.1 Damon Heta thrill his home fans by smashing the tournament average record in a dominant whitewash of James Bailey. While Day 1 didn’t produce any major upsets, the passionate crowd was treated to some spectacular darts.

All eight PDC stars progressed fairly comfortably, setting up a star-studded quarter-final line-up. Let’s dive into the eight Last 16 clashes…

Damon Heta celebrating in front of a home crowd in Wollongong (Photo by: James Patrick/PDC)

🇧🇪 Mike De Decker 6-2 🇦🇺 Brandon Weening

De Decker kicked off with a clinical 86 checkout in two darts to hold in 17 and take an early 1-0 lead, but Weening quickly responded with a 21-dart hold to level at 1-1. The next three legs were one-way traffic as De Decker surged ahead, taking them in 17, 15, and 20 darts to build a 4-1 advantage, capitalising on Weening’s loose setup play, which gave him just one missed dart at double during that stretch.

Weening showed some relief after missing nine darts at double in one leg, but eventually found double 8 to halve the deficit. De Decker steadied himself with an 18-dart hold before punishing further errors from Weening with a crucial 21-dart break to close out the match. Though De Decker’s scoring was very poor on his debut, he still secured the win against his fellow debutant.

Match Stats:

De Decker: 80.33 average | 180s: 2 | 60% on Doubles (6/10)

Weening: 75.81 average | 180s: 3 | 10% on Doubles (2/20)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gerwyn Price 6-3 🇦🇺 Joe Comito

Price started confidently, opening with a maximum and a solid 15 dart hold before producing a swift 13 dart break to take a 2-0 lead. He missed the chance to extend his advantage to 3-0, failing to find double top, and Comito responded impressively with a 14-dart break to pull one back.

The match then saw a run of three successive breaks. Price reclaimed the throw with a 13 darter, Comito hit back with a 15 darter as his confidence grew, but Price fired in another 13 darter to roar back into a 4-2 lead.

A composed 14 dart hold put the Welshman one leg from victory at 5-2. Comito stayed resilient with an 18-dart hold to make it 5-3, but two missed doubles in leg nine proved costly as Price punished him with a 17-dart hold to close out the match.

Comito showed marked improvement, matching Price at times, a massive step up from previous outings.

Match Stats:

Price: 100.45 average | 180s: 3 | 60% on Doubles (6/10)

Comito: 83.91 average | 180s: 2 | 33.33% on Doubles (3/9)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stephen Bunting 6-1 🇦🇺 Brody Klinge

‘The Bullet’, World Series No.1 seed Stephen Bunting, dominated from the start, racing into a 5-0 lead without allowing Klinge a single dart at a double. While Klinge’s debut wasn’t poor by any means, he always seemed to be just one visit behind, forced to play catch-up.

Klinge did shine briefly with a stunning 161 checkout for a 12-dart hold, claiming his first leg on the big stage. However, Bunting remained in control, confidently closing out the match with a 15-dart hold for a commanding 6-1 victory.

Match Stats:

Bunting: 101.29 average | 180s: 0 | 42.86% on Doubles (6/14)

Klinge: 95.10 average | 180s: 0 | 100% on Doubles (1/1)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luke Humphries 6-3 🇳🇿 Jonny Tata

Tata started brightly, capitalising on a lacklustre opening from the World No.1 to take an unexpected 2-0 lead, including a classy 120 checkout. However, Humphries soon found his rhythm, unleashing a four-leg streak that Tata struggled to match, pulling ahead 4-2.

Tata showed resilience with a composed 15-dart hold to narrow it to 4-3, but Humphries had settled firmly into the contest. A clinical 68 finish followed to move 5-3 up, and he sealed the win with a precise double 5 on his final dart.

Match Stats:

Humphries: 92.04 average | 180s: 2 | 42.86% on Doubles (6/14)

Tata: 83.85 average | 180s: 1 | 50% on Doubles (3/6)

 🇦🇺 Damon Heta 6-0 🇦🇺 James Bailey

‘The Heat’ put on a breathtaking display on home soil, landing four ton-plus checkouts, including two 121s, a 117, and a 104, while Bailey got under 100 in a leg just twice.

Heta’s phenomenal 109.98 average shattered the tournament record and sent a clear message in Wollongong. Bailey simply couldn’t match the relentless pressure of a man performing at his peak in front of a passionate hometown crowd.

Match Stats:

Heta: 109.98 average | 180s: 3 | 66.67% on Doubles (6/9)

Bailey: 76.44 average | 180s: 0 | 0% on Doubles (0/0)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Luke Littler 6-5 🇳🇿 Haupai Puha

‘Hopes’ started confidently, racing to a 2-0 lead with a 15-dart hold followed by a 19-dart break, capitalising on Littler’s errors on the outer ring. But ‘The Nuke’ responded with a clinical three-leg burst, winning legs in 13, 17, and 16 darts, denying Puha any darts at double during that charge to lead 3-2.

Puha fired back with two stunning 12-dart legs to regain the lead at 4-3. Littler then produced a crucial but quiet 18-dart hold to level at 4-4 as Puha struggled to score in that leg. A brilliant 119 checkout helped Littler break again in 18 darts to move within one leg of victory.

In leg 10, Littler cheekily hit a single 1 after two treble 20s to set up a 170 checkout, narrowly missing the bullseye. Puha seized the opportunity, forcing a decider with a 17-dart break. However, he couldn’t make the most of the throw in the final leg, and Littler found a composed 13-dart break under pressure to seal a thrilling win.

Match Stats:

Littler: 91.80 average | 180s: 3 | 31.58% on Doubles (6/19)

Puha: 88.29 average | 180s: 2 | 55.56% on Doubles (5/9)

🇬🇧 Josh Rock 6-1 🇦🇺 Simon Whitlock

Rock delivered a sensational start, firing four consecutive five-visit legs to storm into a 4-0 lead, leaving Whitlock with just a single dart at the bull in that charge.

‘The Wizard’ finally got on the board with a composed 76 checkout for a 15-dart hold, but that was the high point for the Aussie legend.

Rock responded with a stunning 127 checkout on the bull for 5-1, then capitalised on a single missed dart at double 7 from Whitlock by finishing a clinical 65 in two darts to seal a dominant victory. This was arguably one of the best debut performances ever on the World Series stage.

Match Stats:

Rock: 108.16 average | 180s: 4 | 75% on Doubles (6/8)

Whitlock: 93.26 average | 180s: 1 | 33.33% on Doubles (1/3)

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chris Dobey 6-4 🇦🇺 Tim Pusey

The contest began chaotically, with three consecutive breaks of throw, each leg decided after missed darts at double from both players. Pusey managed to hold the upper hand early, punishing further misses to hold in 19 darts and lead 3-1.

Although he missed a dart to extend his lead to 4-1, Dobey capitalised to narrow the gap, only for Pusey to regain a two-leg cushion with a clutch last-dart hold on double top for 4-2.

Dobey then cut the deficit to 4-3 with a composed 15-dart hold, including a 96 checkout. He punished three clear misses from Pusey, who could have moved to within one leg of victory, with a clinical 17-dart break to level at 4-4.

The final two legs were all Dobey, as ‘Hollywood’ held in 15 darts before delivering a flawless 12-dart break to seal the win. Pusey had no doubling opportunities in these closing legs despite being on makeable finishes.

Match Stats:

Dobey: 89.49 average | 180s: 2 | 24% on Doubles (6/25)

Pusey: 88.60 average | 180s: 3 | 21.05% on Doubles (4/19)

Quarter-Final Line-Up:

(1) Stephen Bunting vs. Josh Rock

(4) Luke Littler vs. Damon Heta

(2) Gerwyn Price vs. Chris Dobey

(3) Luke Humphries vs. Mike De Decker

The spotlight now shifts to Saturday evening’s finals session at the WIN Entertainment Centre, where the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the title-deciding final await. All eight of the PDC elite remain locked in pursuit of glory, with home hopes resting firmly on Aussie No.1 Damon Heta to bring the trophy to Wollongong.

Stay tuned to Darts Central as the Australian Darts Masters continues to deliver drama, passion, and high-octane darts straight from Wollongong’s passionate crowd.