Damon Heta (born 10 August 1987) is an Australian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is currently ranked world number ten; he reached a peak ranking of world number six in 2024. A PDC Tour Card holder since 2020, Heta won his first European Tour title at the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy. He reached his first major semi-final at the 2024 UK Open. Heta has won a total of 11 PDC titles in his professional career.
Amongst his titles won in Australia are the 2011 Pacific Masters, the 2014 DPA Australian Singles, the 2015 West Coast Classic, and the 2016 DPA Australian Open.[1]
A week later, at the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters, Heta reached his first PDC final by beating former major winners James Wade, Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock, becoming the first Australian player to reach a final on home soil. He won his maiden PDC title by defeating former world champion Rob Cross 8–7 in the final. Heta's win was considered a shock upset as he entered the tournament as a 250/1 betting outsider, having only won two televised matches before claiming his first title.[8][9] After the victory, Heta discussed a potential move to the United Kingdom to play on the PDC Pro Tour, saying, "Hopefully I'll be able to come over to the UK soon and when I do people better watch out."[10]
Heta initially moved to England upon earning his Tour Card and competed in PDC events until he was advised to travel back home to Australia amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. He participated in the newly-established PDC Home Tour from his home in Perth.[19] Despite the time difference involved, with Heta needing to wake up at 3 a.m. to play his opening group match, Heta won his group in the first edition of the Home Tour.[20] He returned to Europe and won his first PDC ranking title in September; winning day two of the PDC Autumn Series in Niedernhausen, beating Joe Cullen 8–4 in the final.[21] He also won Home Tour 3 by defeating Chris Dobey 4–2 in the final.[22] Partnering Simon Whitlock, Heta made his PDC World Cup of Darts debut for Australia as a replacement for Kyle Anderson, with the pair reaching the quarter-finals.[23]
Heta was awarded a place at the Grand Slam of Darts as the highest-ranked player on the PDC Autumn Series Order of Merit who had not already qualified.[24] He finished second in Group F behind James Wade after wins over Jermaine Wattimena and Glen Durrant which saw him advance to the knockout rounds.[25] He reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated in a 16–13 defeat to Wade.[26] He also had a significant run at the Players Championship Finals by reaching a second major quarter-final, where he led Mervyn King 7–2 before eventually losing 10–8.[27]
2021–2022: World Cup champion
Heta in 2022
Heta made his second world championship appearance at the 2021 PDC World Championship, entering the first round as the highest-ranked non-seed on the Pro Tour Order of Merit.[28] However, he suffered a surprise 3–2 defeat to American qualifier Danny Baggish, missing six match darts in the process.[29] At the 2022 World Championship, Heta was the 31st seed and received a bye to the second round.[30] He reached the third round of the competition for the first time after a 3–1 win over Luke Woodhouse.[31] He took a 2–0 lead against 2020 champion Peter Wright, but was eliminated from the tournament after losing the next four sets in a 4–2 defeat.[32]
In June that year, Heta, in conjunction with Simon Whitlock, reached the final of the 2022 PDC World Cup of Darts after wins over Lithuania, Sweden, Belgium and England.[35] They defeated Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton) 3–1 in the final to claim the title for Australia for the first time and become the fifth nation to win the event, ten years after the Australian team of Whitlock and Paul Nicholson lost the 2012 final to England.[36][37] The duo dedicated their victory to compatriot and former professional player Kyle Anderson who died in August 2021, with Heta proclaiming, "This was for Kyle, and for Australia in general."[35]
In October, Heta won the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy on the PDC European Tour, securing his maiden European Tour title. He defeated Michael van Gerwen in the semi-finals and Peter Wright in the final, with both matches going to a deciding leg where Heta won 7–6 and 8–7.[38] He won his second Players Championship title of the year at the 26th event, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode 8–4 in the final to claim his second PDC title in the space of six days.[39]
2023
Heta entered the second round of the 2023 World Championship as 20th seed and won his opening match, whitewashing two-time world champion Adrian Lewis 3–0.[40][41] However, he faced a whitewash from Joe Cullen in the third round, losing 4–0 and exiting the tournament.[42]
Heta was a three-time ranking finalist in 2023. In the lead-up to the World Cup of Darts, he won Players Championship 14 by defeating Luke Woodhouse 8–2 in the final.[52] The next month, in the lead-up to the World Matchplay, he claimed his second title of the year by beating Ryan Joyce 8–4 in the final of Players Championship 16.[53] He reached a third final in October but missed out on the Players Championship 28 title in an 8–6 loss to Ross Smith.[54] He was also runner-up at the New South Wales Darts Masters, but failed to capture a second World Series title as he lost 8–1 to Rob Cross.[55]
Heta reached the semi-finals of a major event for the first time at the UK Open.[58] He achieved wins over Simon Whitlock 10–8, Nathan Aspinall 10–9 and Gian van Veen 10–8 en route to the quarter-finals.[59] He was drawn against 2024 World Championship runner-up Luke Littler. Their quarter-final match – noted for its high standard of play – saw Heta almost squander 8–4 and 9–6 leads as Littler fought back but Heta hit double 16 to win 10–8.[60][61] He was drawn to play Dimitri Van den Bergh in the semi-finals, to whom he lost 11–6.[58]
At the 2025 World Championship, Heta lost the opening set of his second-round match against practice partner Connor Scutt but won the next three for a 3–1 victory, including an errant dart at double 12 which saw him miss out on a nine-dart finish.[65] He then achieved the nine-darter in his third-round match with Luke Woodhouse, a contest Heta ultimately lost 4–3.[66] Despite the defeat, Heta received a £60,000 bonus from tournament sponsor Paddy Power for hitting the nine-darter; he bought a Rolex watch upon the money entering his bank account.[67]
Despite being ranked world number eight at the culmination of the 2025 World Championship, Heta was not selected for the 2025 Premier League. He admitted that he did not expect to be in the lineup but expressed his gratitude to those who had faith in him.[68] In February, he reached the quarter-finals of the World Masters by dramatically beating Gerwyn Price 4–3 in sets, missing six match darts and surviving one match dart from Price before eventually securing the victory.[69] He was eliminated after a 4–1 loss to Luke Humphries.[70]
Heta won his first title of 2025 at Players Championship 13 where he defeated Nathan Aspinall 8–6 in the final.[71] At the European Darts Open, he made it to his first European Tour final since winning the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy. He was unable to claim a second title, this time on the receiving end of an 8–6 loss to Aspinall.[72] Heta won his second title of the year by beating Stephen Bunting 8–7 in the final of Players Championship 20.[73]
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(31 August 2025) [2] 
