This article was first published by NZME.
Darts has long been a bone of contention in the debate around what constitutes a sport - with some seeing it as the ultimate pub game. It was officially recognised by Sport England in 2005. Joseph Los’e meets the best player in the country, halfway through his first year on the world pro circuit.
Haupai Puha took up serious golf at 15 and started with a seven handicap. By 17, he was a scratch golfer – meaning he would shoot the course rating or better and was a very good player. A few years later, Puha went on to win the New Zealand Māori Golf Match Play championship in 2010 and again in 2012.
He took up serious darts at 30. In three years, he won a number of darts ranking events and was a regular on TV.
This year, via qualifying school, he gained entry to the world pro circuit, where the world’s top 128 players are.
But wind back the clock a few years and Puha was at a crossroads: which sport could make him a comfortable living? Crack the top echelon of golf and there are millions of dollars on offer. But marriage, children and a fulltime job as a roofer meant Puha’s choice came down to timing.
Golf, while still enjoyable, became a weekend whack-around as work on the Christchurch rebuild and a young family took precedence. Instead, darts would be the ultimate winner.
“I knew I wanted to be a darts player because when I was walking around the golf course playing inter-club, all I was thinking about was darts and couldn’t get it out of my head,” Puha, 39, told the Herald.
He’s halfway through his first year on tour after two previous qualifying-school attempts. The tour runs January to January.
Back in New Zealand to prepare for the Australian and New Zealand Masters this month, Puha is proud to be the first Māori and also the first New Zealander to qualify in the big international tournaments that attract massive crowds, massive sponsorships and massive pay days.
Big-name darts players in the UK and Europe are held in the same high regard as top footballers – minus the dollars. Attending a darts event at Alexandra Palace, aka the “Ally Pally” – can be as exciting as any All Blacks match, complete with the glitz and glamour.
Puha says he has managed to stay on the circuit through personal savings, a darts shirts and design business, a very supportive family – wife Kawhena and children Makere, 15, Harawira, 10, and Manaia, 9 – and sponsors who have allowed him to chase his dream.
“This is a family dream. My wife is always pushing me, though I am always sceptical,” Puha says, laughing.
“I have also used savings and we have a shirt business making darts and shirts and design.
“But I could not have managed on the pro circuit without good sponsors and I’m truly grateful.”
From Ngāti Porou, on the East Coast, Puha grew up in Wellington and, as in most Māori garages, there were car parts, a guitar and a dart board on the scene.
“My dad played golf so I would go out with him and he pulled me around while I sat on his trundler,” Puha said.
“I took up golf at 15 and from 17 have played on scratch. I still play golf on scratch.”
Darts followed a similar trajectory.
“I started throwing darts when I was a kid but not really playing,” Puha said. “I took up darts properly when I was 30 when we moved to Christchurch following the earthquakes, as I was a roofer.
“My workmates were playing so I joined the bottom team and it all went from there. I won the bottom grade and went to A grade and won and next I was on TV. Since then it has taken me around the world.”
Puha said once he started playing events that were televised, he was hooked by the adrenaline of the crowds and the accolades.
“Pre-Covid, I started dominating the New Zealand circuit, winning 16 out of 20 ranking events and was at my peak,” Puha said.
“I went to play in the World Cup in Austria when Covid hit and got stranded in the UK for almost six months.”
Desperate to get home to hook up with his whānau, darts took a back seat for Puha.
But he went back to darts qualifying school and topped the rankings to gain entry into the world circuit. He’s yet to win a major tournament but commentators say that is not far away.
“I have tried to create my own style and image so I have the New Zealand Māori mullet,” Puha said.
“Most people think I’m in the UK as a rugby player and crack up when I tell them I play darts.
“In Germany and the Netherlands they call me by my last name as the name is like a celebration – Puha!”
He’s currently ranked 113th in the world, pocketing almost $20,000 on the circuit.
The top 32, with the likes of Luke Humphries – who has won over $2.4 million in prize money and fellow Englishman Michael Smith (a little behind, winning $2.3m) – earn big money. Their costs to turn up to tournaments are covered, as they have automatic entry.
But players ranked 33rd to 64th – the group on the cusp of winning big tournaments who, along with players ranked 64th to 128th, are trying to break into the big time – must play in qualifiers to get into tournaments.
The 64th-ranked player, Gawlas Adam from the Czech Republic, has won $156,000 in prize money.
Puha, who has been competing on the New Zealand darts circuit seriously since 2017 but is at the beginning of his international darts career, is blazing a trail for younger New Zealanders and he’s not too far away from a big win and pay cheque on the tour, according to the experts.
Although he’s the first Kiwi to be on the world pro darts circuit, he is far from the first to try.
New Zealand Darts Council chairman Ken Wilson said there were 4000 registered players and 4000 associated with RSAs and chartered clubs, and Puha was a great ambassador for the sport.
“We are seeing huge growth in younger players,” Wilson told the Herald.
“We had a youth tournament last month and Haupai ran a coaching clinic. The young people were able to talk with Haupai, and found out he’s just like us.
“He is setting such a great example for our youth and this year, for the first time in 30 years, we are sending a youth team to Australia to play and get experience.”
Puha doesn’t have to go back to qualifying school this year but if he is not in the top 64 next year, it’s either go back to Q school or go home.
“With my ranking, I am one of 128 professionals playing and can play in the pro tournaments. The top 32 and top 64 of the pro tour ranks, you can play in every tournament.
“My goal this year is to make the top 64 and keep my card, if not, I have to go back to Q school.”
Puha spent his first six months on his own, to determine if he could make a living from playing professional darts. He said a chat with former world champion Phil Taylor, who dominated the world darts scene for three decades, changed his ways.
“I got to pick Phil Taylor’s brain and that changed my entire preparation,” Puha said.
“Phil taught me it was what you were practising and had to be done every day. That meant missing out on parties and celebrations but you had to be dedicated.
“That’s how he stayed at the top so long and something I hope to emulate.”
Now Puha goes from practising six hours a day to two hours on off-tournament weeks, as well as regular gym workouts.
He will head back to the world circuit later this year but his first goals are the Australian and New Zealand Masters.
“It will be more pressure in Hamilton because my whānau will be there and expect me to perform,” Puha said.
“I’ll be trying my best.”
But Puha will be up against the very best in match play champion led by the three Englishmen, world No 1 Luke Humphries, teenage sensation Luke Little and reigning New Zealand champion Rob Cross, returning to defend his title.
Gerwyn Price – a New Zealand Darts Masters winner back in 2022 – will be one of five world champions in action, as world No 2 Michael Smith and European Champion Peter Wright also feature.
UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh will make his third consecutive appearance in Hamilton, and Australian number one Damon Heta will compete as a Professional Darts Corporation representative, having broken into the world’s top 10 in 2024.
Puha heads up the eight Oceanic representatives, with Puha’s World Cup partner Ben Robb and Australian stalwart Simon Whitlock also set to star.
Former New Zealand Darts Masters quarter-finalists Kayden Milne and Jonny Tata will also compete on home soil next month, and they will be joined by Mark Cleaver and World Series debutant Daniel Snookes.
Australia’s Jeremy Fagg completes the 16-player field, after finishing top of the Dart players Australia Order of Merit to confirm his qualification.
- NZME