Jonny Tata will make his Paddy Power World Darts Championship debut after landing a nine-dart finish en route to claiming top spot on the DartPlayers New Zealand ProTour rankings at the weekend.
Tata enjoyed a terrific 2025 campaign, winning five of the last seven DPNZ events to secure top spot at the expense of his fellow countryman Ben Robb.
The 33-year-old kicked off the weekend’s final ProTour double-header in Canterbury with Event 11 success, sealed with a 7-5 victory over Jamie Hamill.
This was preceded by a semi-final win over his closest challenger Robb, after he followed up a deciding-leg victory against Jason Dellow by dumping out Mark Cleaver.
Tata then went back-to-back in sensational style on Saturday, whitewashing Cleaver in the semi-finals before running out a 7-4 winner against Robb in the Event 12 showpiece.
The Wellington-born star raced into a 4-0 lead against the five-time World Championship qualifier, achieving perfection in the fourth leg of the contest.
Robb rallied with legs of 11 and 12 darts to reduce the deficit to 6-4, only for Tata to sink double four and confirm his World Darts Championship qualification.
Tata - who competed at the World Series of Darts Finals earlier this month - will now also feature in the inaugural Dabble Darts Premier League, which gets underway on Saturday.
Robb will also star in the eight-player event after winning the DPNZ Top 16 Play-Off, having finished second to Tata in the 2025 DPNZ ProTour rankings.
The duo join six Australian stars for the eight-night ANZ Premier League, which will begin at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Saturday October 4.
The event will also visit Newcastle, Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide, Wellington and the Gold Coast on successive Saturdays, before the top four players compete in the Play-Offs in Brisbane on November 22.
2025 DartPlayers New Zealand ProTour
Event 11
Quarter-Finals
Kayden Milne 5-2 Tom McCulloch
Jamie Hamill 5-3 John Hurring
Jonny Tata 5-2 Tukina Weko
Ben Robb 5-2 Hunter Eyles
Semi-Finals
Jamie Hamill 6-3 Kayden Milne
Jonny Tata 6-2 Ben Robb
Final
Jonny Tata 7-5 Jamie Hamill
Event 12
Quarter-Finals
Mark Cleaver 5-1 Anthony Benitez
Jonny Tata 5-2 Caleb Hope
Ben Robb 5-4 Frank Bush
John Hurring 5-1 Hunter Eyles
Semi-Finals
Jonny Tata 6-0 Mark Cleaver
Ben Robb 6-5 John Hurring
Final
Jonny Tata 7-4 Ben Robb