Haupai Puha
| Haupai Puha | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Hopes" | ||||||||||||||||
| Born | 12 February 1985[1] Gisborne, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||
| Home town | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||
| Darts information | |||||||||||||||||
| Playing darts since | 2017 | ||||||||||||||||
| Darts | 26g Shot Darts | ||||||||||||||||
| Laterality | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||
| Walk-on music | "35" by Ka Hao ft. Rob Ruha | ||||||||||||||||
| Organisation (see split in darts) | |||||||||||||||||
| PDC | 2017– | ||||||||||||||||
| WDF | 2021–2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Current world ranking | 114  7 (26 May 2024)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| WDF major events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||
| World Ch'ship | Last 48: 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| PDC premier events – best performances | |||||||||||||||||
| World Ch'ship | Last 96: 2021, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| UK Open | Last 128: 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| World Series Finals | Last 16: 2023 | ||||||||||||||||
| Other tournament wins | |||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Haupai Puha (born 12 February 1985) is a New Zealand professional darts player who currently plays in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. He won a PDC tour card on 14 January 2024, making him the first ever New Zealand player to gain a card.[3] He is also a professional golfer.
Darts career[edit]
Puha qualified for two 2018 World Series of Darts events in Australia and New Zealand as the number two ranked player in the DPNZ rankings. He would lose in the first round of both events to Kyle Anderson in Auckland and to Rob Cross in Melbourne. He made his first PDC major appearance at the 2019 World Cup of Darts in Hamburg together with Cody Harris. They beat Lithuania and South Africa to reach the quarter-finals, eventually losing to Japan.
Puha also qualified for all three World Series events in Australia and New Zealand in 2019. He lost to Raymond van Barneveld in the first round of both the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters and the 2019 Melbourne Darts Masters, and to Gary Anderson in the first round of the 2019 New Zealand Darts Masters.
Puha has played once in the WDF World Championship and twice in the PDC World Championship, losing in the first round on all three occasions.
Having won his PDC tour card in January 2024 Puha competed at the 2024 UK Open, beating Jelle Klaasen in the first round before losing to Wesley Plaisier in the second round.[4] On the 8th May 2024 Puha qualified for a European Tour event for the first time, [5] going on to lose to Niels Zonneveld in the opening round of the 2024 Dutch Darts Championship.[6]
Puha credits his experience with golf in making the transition to darts.[7]
World Championship results[edit]
PDC[edit]
- 2021: First round (lost to Mickey Mansell 0–3) (sets)
- 2024: First round (lost to Martin Lukeman 1–3)
WDF[edit]
- 2022: First round (lost to Ben Hazel 1–2)
Performance timeline[edit]
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDC Ranked televised events | ||||||
| World Championship | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | 1R | ||
| UK Open | DNQ | |||||
| WDF Ranked televised events | ||||||
| World Championship | DNQ | 1R | DNQ | |||
| Australian Open | DNQ | RU | QF | DNQ | ||
| PDC Non-ranked televised events | ||||||
| World Series of Darts | DNQ | 1R | 2R | |||
| World Cup of Darts | 1R | 1R | DNQ | |||
References[edit]
- ^ "Haupai Puha". Mastercaller.com. 12 February 1985. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
- ^ "PDC Order of Merit". PDPA. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
- ^ https://dartsnews.com/pdc/haupai-puha-becomes-first-ever-new-zealander-to-win-pdc-tour-card-at-q-school
- ^ https://www.sportinglife.com/darts/news/darts-results-dimitri-van-den-bergh-survives-last-leg-decider-to-beat-luke-humphries-in-the-uk-open-final/216332
- ^ https://www.pdc.tv/news/2024/05/08/de-graaf-taylor-bates-complete-et7-8-qualification-double
- ^ https://www.pdc.tv/news/2024/05/24/magnificent-menzies-breezes-past-barney-rosmalen
- ^ "Darts: Fearless Haupai Puha ready to face world's best at Auckland Masters". Newshub.
External links[edit]
- Player profile on Haupai Puha from Dartsdatabase
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