The ILT Southland Darts Masters event returns to the city for a second time mid-October — with $15,000 in prize money on offer — the largest cash reward for a darts event in New Zealand.
Punters were urged to dress up for the event, which would see some of the country’s biggest names in darts converging on Ascot Park Hotel.
Southland Darts Association members Warren Parry, Kayden Milne and Darren ‘Governor’ Dummigan are no strangers to professional darts tournaments, and have their fair share of national rankings.
Parry was already Southland’s darts master, and was returning to the tournament after making a good start at last year’s, but losing to the overall winner in his second game.
"It’s one of the top [tournaments] in New Zealand. We’ve got all the top players coming down for it," he said.
He said it was pretty cool to be involved in the tournament, considering it was the biggest in the lower half of the country and he would be going up against some of New Zealand’s best players.
"No pressure — I’m just there to play darts and have fun, and whatever happens, happens," he said.
Dummigan said the darts scene in Invercargill had been progressively growing, but he wanted to see more younger players take up the sport to keep bolstering the numbers.
"The people that run it here do a great job ... The effort that’s been put in — well, it shows."
New Zealand’s top-ranked players are expected to compete, including New Zealand Number 1 and sixth-ranked World Darts Federation (WDF) player Ben Robb and second-ranked WDF player Haupai Puha.
Tickets are available by emailing Karley at darts@ilt.co.nz or phoning 03 219 9303.
