Darren Herewini returned to winning ways at the New Zealand Darts Council Nationals, winning the Singles Championships after beating Ben Robb 6-3 in the Final at the Motueka Recreation Centre. The 31-year-old has put himself in strong contention to play for New Zealand at the WDF World Cup later this year in Denmark, with his showing in Motueka.
Darren has been named in the 4-man NZ team and will be defending his 2019 WDF World Cup Singles win – this is the first year it has been contested since 2019 due to COVID.
Apocalypse was also victorious in the Mixed Pairs Event with partner Mary-Anne Teinaki, beating Brian Steed and Jo Steed in the Final 4-3.
Darren beat Josh Walters 3-1 in the Last 16, going on to face former New Zealand World Cup star Haupai Puha in the Quarter Finals. The Winmau player went on to win 4-1, before beating James Miller in the Semi Finals 5-2.
Hopes did get the better of Herewini in the NZ Darts Open Final (WDF Gold Ranked Event), losing 6-1 despite beating Australian international Peter Machin in a last leg decider at the Last 16 stage.
The New Zealand player impressed in the Final against the NZDC Number 2 ranked player Ben Robb, missing just 3 darts at double in a 6-3 win against Big Rigg. The 31-year-old included 3 15 dart legs as well as a 13 darter, in winning the Singles Championships in Motueka.
Herewini along with partner Mary-Anne Teinaki won the Mixed Pairs Competition, beating NZDC Number 17 Simon Hitch and Ladies WZDC Number 11 Kayla Hitch in the Semi Finals, clinching a last leg decider (3-2) victory.
Apocalypse has enjoyed a strong comeback to form in a weeklong event between the 18th and 23rd of June in Motueka, which included 2 singles events, The NZ Open, NZDC Singles Championships, a Men’s Pairs Event, and a Mixed Pairs competition. Most of the turnout was all from New Zealand, with a couple of players from Australia coming over to play the NZ Open.
A fantastic week for Apocalypse who returned to winning ways in Motueka, claiming 2 tournament victories within the New Zealand Darts Council. More events are fast approaching such as the Shot NZ Singles Event on the 15th of July in Porirua.
By Harry Masterson
NZDC Singles Championships 2023 Results:
Quarter Finals:
Darren Herewini 4-1 Haupai Puha
James Miller 4-3 Cairns Mason
Ben Robb 4-1 Craig Pullen
Darren Dummigan 4-1 Brian Corbett
Semi Finals:
Darren Herewini 5-2 James Miller
Ben Robb 5-2 Darren Dummigan
Final:
Darren Herewini 6-3 Ben Robb
NZDC Mixed Pairs Event: Results
Semi Finals:
Darren Herewini & Mary-Anne Teinaki 3-2 Simon Hitch & Kayla Hitch
Brian Steed & Jo Steed 3-2 Lou Tai & Wendy Harper
Final:
Darren Herewini & Mary-Anne Teinaki 4-3 Brian Steed & Jo Steed
