The battle for supremacy on the DPNZ Tour intensified last weekend in Christchurch, where Kayden Milne and Ben Robb each claimed a title to keep their rivalry perfectly balanced. Both players now have two titles each after tournaments 3 and 4, which featured a total of 97 entrants.
Milne started the weekend strongly by winning the first tournament. He went unbeaten through the group stage and navigated a tricky knockout phase, needing a deciding leg three times to defeat Jamie Hamill, Josh Roberts, and Frank Bush in succession. In the semi-final, Milne edged out Ben Robb 6-4 before facing Jack Sheppard in the final. Sheppard had sprung a surprise by eliminating Jonny Tata in the quarterfinals. The final saw Milne take the first three legs, Sheppard battle back to 3-3, but Milne reasserted control with four legs on the spin to seal a 7-3 victory.
A day later, it was Robb's turn to dominate. He advanced as a group winner and dropped only four legs en route to the final, including emphatic revenge in a 6-1 semi-final win over Kayden Milne. In the final against Mark Cleaver, Robb found himself 5-2 down but staged an impressive comeback, reeling off five legs in a row in 21, 13, 15, 17 and 18 darts to turn the match around. Cleaver had chances to force a deciding leg but missed three darts at double, allowing Robb to claim a 7-5 victory.
With these results, Ben Robb now leads the DPNZ Tour standings with 2500 points, just ahead of Kayden Milne on 2450. Jonny Tata sits third with 1400 points, followed by Mark Cleaver (1250), Haupai Puha (1150), Jack Sheppard (950), Caleb Hope (700), and Darren Herwini (550). Both Robb and Milne are showing excellent form, setting the pace on the New Zealand tour as the upcoming tournaments will determine who can truly pull away in this compelling head-to-head.
