Jonny Tata enjoyed the perfect start to the 2025 Dabble Darts ANZ Premier League season on Saturday, beating Raymond Smith 5-3 to prevail on Night One at John Cain Arena in Melbourne.
Less than a week after hitting a nine-darter on the DartPlayers New Zealand tour, Tata continued his strong form to triumph in front of a 2,500 strong crowd.
Tata overcame James Bailey, Joe Comito and Smith to pocket the nightly $2,000 prize and claim five points to sit top of the standings following Night One.
The 33-year-old Wellington truck driver averaged 96.03 in the final against Smith, which featured a classy 86 checkout.
Earlier in the night, Tata produced an average of 90.14 in a 5-4 win over Comito in the semi-finals, and 89.46 in a whitewash 5-0 win over Bailey in the last eight.
For Smith, he started his night with a 5-3 win over Tim Pusey, before beating hometown hero Brody Klinge 5-2 in the final four.
It was a tough night for Australian icon Simon Whitlock, who lost 5-4 to Comito in the opening round, while Ben Robb also succumbed by the same scoreline to Klinge, who took out the highest checkout of the night with a 164 to seal the win.
The action continues next weekend at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, where Tata will look to continue his strong form against Pusey, while Whitlock faces Klinge, Comito squares off against Robb and Smith tackles Bailey.
Click here for match stats and results.
2025 Dabble Darts ANZ Premier League
Night One - Saturday October 4
John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Quarter-Finals
Jonny Tata 5-0 James Bailey
Joe Comito 5-4 Simon Whitlock
Raymond Smith 5-3 Tim Pusey
Brody Klinge 5-2 Ben Robb
Semi-Finals
Jonny Tata 5-4 Joe Comito
Raymond Smith 5-2 Brody Klinge
Final
Jonny Tata 5-3 Raymond Smith
Night Two - Saturday October 11
Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Quarter-Finals
Jonny Tata v Tim Pusey
Simon Whitlock v Brody Klinge
Joe Comito v Ben Robb
Raymond Smith v James Bailey
All matches best of nine legs