Kiwi ace Haupai Puha will make his World Cup of Darts debut in June, after being confirmed alongside Cody Harris for the New Zealand team.
The Professional Darts Corporation’s (PDC) World Cup sees 32 nations compete across four days (June 6-9) in Hamburg, with the tournament featuring a combination of singles and doubles matches, as teams compete for a 70,000 pounds (NZ$135,000) top prize.
Puha, 34, earned his spot at the international event by topping the Darts Players New Zealand (DPNZ) rankings, winning eight of the 14 events played over the past 12 months.
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Puha made his televised darts debut in 2018, competing in the PDC's Auckland Darts Masters and Melbourne Darts Masters events on the world darts circuit.
Puha is the third partner Harris has had in three years, having previously played alongside Warren Parry and Rob Szabo.
Auckland's Harris, competing at his fourth World Cup, will lead the team, after establishing himself on the PDC circuit with plenty of big-stage experience that includes appearances at two world championships and this year’s UK Open.
Last year, New Zealand suffered a disappointing 5-3 fist-round defeat to Singapore, despite leading 2-0 at one stage.
New Zealand have only made it out of the first round twice - in 2010, when they beat Poland, and in 2015, when they beat 11th-ranked Canada 5-4.
The draw for the June event will take place next month.
The Netherlands are the back-to-back defending champions, with the pair of Michael Van Gerwen and Raymond Van Barneveld beating Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in last year’s final.
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