Haupai Puha and Jonny Tata take the spoils at DPNZ double header in Hamilton

Haupai Puha rediscovered his winning touch on the DPNZ ProTour last weekend, while Jonny Tata continued his fine run of form by capturing his second title of the 2025 season in Hamilton.

Puha made a strong statement in Saturday’s seventh DPNZ ProTour event, powering past John Hurring 7–2 in the final to claim his sixth career title on the New Zealand circuit.

The 40-year-old was dominant throughout the day. After cruising through the group stage with four straight wins, he brushed aside Zacarno King and Marc Cossey in the knockout rounds. Puha then whitewashed Jaymie Hilton-Jones in the quarterfinals before dispatching David Adams 6–2 in the semis, and capped off the day with a commanding display in the final.

On Sunday, it was Tata’s turn to shine once again. The 32-year-old, who had previously lifted the trophy at Event 6 in Nelson, doubled his title tally for 2025 with an emphatic 7–0 whitewash of Mark Cleaver in the final of Event 8.

Tata barely put a foot wrong all day. He dropped just two legs across his four group matches, then romped past Clinton Julies and Andy Watkins with back-to-back whitewashes to book a quarterfinal berth. He overcame Craig Caldwell with little resistance but was pushed to the limit in the semifinals by Anthony Benitez, ultimately prevailing in a deciding leg after fending off a spirited comeback.

Thanks to his latest triumph, Tata leapfrogs Cleaver to take top spot in the DPNZ Order of Merit. Hurring remains in third place, narrowly ahead of former World Cup representative Ben Robb.

With their consistent performances, Tata, Cleaver, and Hurring have now secured qualification for the New Zealand Darts Masters, set to take place August 15–16 at Auckland’s Spark Arena.

Results DPNZ Event 7

Quarterfinals

David Adams 5-1 David Bowers

Haupai Puha 5-0 Jaymie Hilton-Jones

Jonny Tata 5-2 Dean Reyland

John Hurring 5-3 Craig Caldwell

Semi-final

Haupai Puha 6-2 David Adams

John Hurring 6-2 Jonny Tata

Finale

Haupai Puha 7-2 John Hurring

Results DPNZ Event 8

Quarterfinals

Mark Cleaver 5-4 Jack Sheppard

Haupai Puha 5-4 Jaymie Hilton-Jones

Jonny Tata 5-1 Craig Caldwell

Anthony Benitez 5-2 Tukina Weko

Semi-final

Mark Cleaver 6-4 Haupai Puha

Jonny Tata 6-5 Anthony Benitez

Finale

Jonny Tata 7-0 Mark Cleaver