THE PDC will stage a World Series of Darts treble-header in Australia and New Zealand in August 2017, with tournaments in Auckland and Perth to sandwich the inaugural Melbourne Darts Masters.
The continued growth of the World Series of Darts will see six international events this year, including the return of televised darts to Las Vegas, followed by a season-ending World Series of Darts Finals.
May will see the fifth Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters kick off the series ahead of July's Shanghai Darts Masters and the U.S. Darts Masters in Las Vegas before the stars of the sport head Down Under in August.
The third staging of the Auckland Darts Masters will kick off the treble-header from August 11-13 at the Trusts Arena, with Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson having won the 16-player tournament in the past two years.
Melbourne will then stage a World Series of Darts event for the first time from August 18-20 as it replaces Sydney on the schedule, with the Melbourne Darts Masters taking place at the Hisense Arena on the Olympic Park.
The fourth Perth Darts Masters will then take place from August 25-27, with the tournament returning to HBF Stadium in Mount Claremont.
"We're excited to be able to confirm these three huge tournaments in New Zealand and Australia in August," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"The World Series of Darts has gone from strength to strength in recent years and this year we'll be returning to Las Vegas as well as visiting Dubai, China and Australia.
"We're excited about seeing the Auckland Darts Masters continue to grow. With PDC tournaments broadcast live on Sky Sport throughout the year and the domestic circuit continuing to grow, especially with the emergence of Cody Harris, this is a hugely exciting time for the sport in New Zealand.
"The same can be said for Australia, with the established stars Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson now joined on the big stage by Corey Cadby, whose emergence last year and success in winning the World Youth Championship has been a massive boost for the sport.
"We've had four fantastic years in Sydney but want to spread the World Series across Australia. We'll be back in Sydney in future years but this is the chance for fans in Victoria to see the biggest names in darts in their own backyard.
"We'll then move on to Perth for our fourth year in West Australia, and we're expecting another fantastic reception from fans there."
Last year had seen Phil Taylor win his fourth successive Sydney Darts Masters title, before Michael van Gerwen captured the Perth Darts Masters title for the first time.
Each of August's three World Series of Darts events will feature a 16-player field, with eight PDC stars joined by eight Oceanic representatives to compete in the three-day tournaments.
Worldwide coverage will be hosted by Sky New Zealand in Auckland and by Fox Sports in Melbourne and Perth, and broadcast globally through the PDC’s series of international broadcast partners.
Tickets for the Auckland Darts Masters, in association with TAB and Burger King, are now available through www.ticketek.co.nz.
Tickets for the Melbourne Darts Masters will go on general sale on Monday March 20 at 3pm from Ticketek via www.ticketek.com.au or by calling 132 849.
Tickets for the Perth Darts Masters will go on general sale on Wednesday March 22, with a Ticketmaster pre-sale from Monday March 20. For further details, visit www.downunderevents.com.au.
2017 Auckland Darts Masters, in association with TAB and Burger King
Trusts Arena, Auckland
Friday August 11 (7pm)
8x First Round
Table Ticket $84
Tiered Ticket $64
Saturday August 12 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
Table Ticket $89
Tiered Ticket $69
Sunday August 13 (6pm)
Semi-Finals
Final
Table Ticket $94
Tiered Ticket $74
Tickets available now through www.ticketek.co.nz.
Melbourne Darts Masters
Hisense Arena, Melbourne
Friday August 18 (7pm)
8x First Round
Table Tickets $ 97.45
Tiered Tickets $77.10
Saturday August 19 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
Table Tickets $103.55
Tiered Tickets $82.15
Sunday August 20 (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Final
Table Tickets $108.65
Tiered Tickets $87.25
Season Tickets (Table Seat for all sessions) $240.45
Tickets will be available from www.ticketek.com.au or by calling 132 849.
Perth Darts Masters
HBF Stadium, Perth
Friday August 25 (7pm)
8x First Round
Saturday August 26 (7pm)
Quarter-Finals
Sunday August 27 (5pm)
Semi-Finals
Final
Ticket Prices
Table Row A Vip $295pp (Fully Serviced & Catered)
Table Row B Vip $225pp (Fully Serviced & Catered)
Table Row C&D Gold $165pp (Fully Serviced & Catered)
Table Row E&F $95pp
Table Row G $75
Table Tickets available via www.downunderevents.com.au.
Tiered Seating $57.95pp
Tiered Seating available via www.ticketmaster.com.au.
Three-Day Passes available in all categories