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Luke Littler stole the show at last year’s Australian Masters, beating Belgian opponent Mike De Decker in the final to clinch yet another piece of silverware. However, the reigning champion won’t be attempting to defend his title in New South Wales this weekend, after deciding against making the trip Down Under.
That meant Littler also missed last week’s New Zealand Masters, which was won by experienced Welshman Jonny Clayton. Michael van Gerwen and Luke Humphries are two other high-profile absentees in the southern hemisphere, but all three players have long since booked their place in the World Series of Darts Finals. In fact, the vast majority of the competition’s PDC representatives have already been invited to compete in the Dutch capital at the end of September, given the current standings of the World Series of Darts Order of Merit table.
The top 24 ranked players will progress to the Finals, after accumulating points across the opening six WSD events. The five players currently occupying (joint) 18th position have amassed just two Order of Merit points, so a quarter-final appearance (worth three points) in the Australian Masters alone could be enough to qualify.
That leaves the door open for this weekend’s eight Oceania-based participants, who will be in attendance at the WIN Entertainment Centre thanks to their performances in regional competitions. Although he’ll be competing as part of the eight-strong PDC contingent, Australian ace Damon Heta is also sure to receive a warm reception from native fans. Gerwyn Price is currently the bookies’ favourite to scoop the top prize when the action concludes on Saturday afternoon, while Clayton sits just beneath his Welsh compatriot in the odds markets.
UK-based darts enthusiasts can watch the 2026 Australian Masters on free-to-air channel ITV4, or alternatively by logging onto ITVX.
Australian Darts Masters 2026 – Key information
Date: Friday 21st August & Saturday 22nd August
Start time: 10.00 (BST)
Venue: WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong (New South Wales)
TV Channels/Live stream: ITV4/ITVX
Favourites: Gerwyn Price: 7/2, Jonny Clayton: 9/2
Odds provided by bet365
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A potential dark horse?
Having previously featured in several major PDC tournaments, Raymond Smith is arguably the most capable of the aforementioned Oceanian competitors (Heta aside).
The Brisbane-born archer has made three World Championships appearances, reaching the fourth round in 2022 before being eliminated by former WDF Masters champion Mervyn King. Four years prior, Smith secured safe passage through to the World Series of Darts Finals following his exploits in the last two regular season events of the 2018 campaign.
Although he was swept aside by Van Gerwen in the first round of the Melbourne Masters, the ‘Guru’ bounced back in his hometown the following weekend. Having beaten his namesake Michael on the opening day of action at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Smith bowed out to Scottish veteran Peter Wright in the quarter-finals. However, those four points he collected on home soil earned him a spot in the Finals, where he defeated Englishman Keegan Brown before losing to Raymond van Barneveld at the second round stage.
Smith qualified for this year’s Australian Masters by virtue of his performances on the 2025 ADA Tour, which saw him impressively win each of the opening four tournaments before claiming a runners-up medal in Weeks 10 and 12. The 46-year-old also delivered several eye-catching displays in last season’s ANZ Premier League, reaching the final on four occasions across a seven-event series. However, he was eventually pipped to the Premier League title by 2010 PDC World Championship finalist Simon Whitlock, who also features on this weekend’s roster.
After putting Stephen Bunting and Adam Leek to the sword en route to the semi-final of last week’s New Zealand Masters, Smith heads into Friday in confident spirits. Price prevented him from reaching a landmark first World Series of Darts final in Auckland, but he certainly has an outside chance of achieving this feat in his native homeland.
2026 World Series of Darts – Results
We’ve provided an overview of this season’s previous five World Series of Darts events below:
Bahrain Masters (15th& 16th January – Sakhir): Final = Michael van Gerwen 8-6 Gian van Veen
Saudi Arabia Masters (19 & 20th January – Riyadh): Final = Luke Littler 8-5 Michael van Gerwen
Nordic Masters (5th & 6th June – Copenhagen): Final = Michael van Gerwen 8-7 Luke Humphries
U.S. Masters (25th & 26th June – New York): Final = Luke Humphries 8-7 Luke Littler
New Zealand Masters (14th& 15th August – Auckland): Final = Jonny Clayton 8-4 Gerwyn Price
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
Ahead of the 2026 season, ITV agreed a three-year extension to their broadcasting contract with the PDC. This ensured that the network would continue to televise an array of major PDC tournaments, such as the World Masters, the UK Open, and the European Championships.
The agreement also enables ITV to screen all of this year’s World Series of Darts global events, including next month’s Finals at the AFAS Arena. ITV4 will host live coverage of this weekend’s Australian Masters, with programming commencing at the earlier-than-usual slot of 10:00 (BST) thanks to the significant time difference between the United Kingdom and New South Wales.
Online viewers can follow events at the WIN Entertainment Centre via the ITVX app, ITV’s dedicated streaming platform.
What happened at previous Australian Darts Masters?
There have only been two past editions of the Australian Masters, following the PDC’s decision to sanction a World Series of Darts meeting in Wollongong in 2024. Both of these tournaments were scheduled as the sixth and penultimate event of the regular season, with the New Zealand Masters taking place the following weekend on each occasion.
Therefore, the order of the two Down Under events has been switched this year.
Price overcame Littler in the final of the inaugural Australian Masters, after eliminating Brenton Lloyd, Damon Heta, and Peter Wright in the previous rounds. However, Littler would avenge this defeat on his return to Australia midway through 2025. Having edged past Oceanian duo Haupai Puha and Damon Heta early on, the talented teenager struck a maximum checkout en route to beating Bunting in the semi-finals. Mike De Decker soon became the next victim of Littler, who was able to add a maiden Australian Masters title to his rapidly increasing trophy haul.
Australian Darts Masters – Odds
Here’s the full list of outright winner odds:
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.