Damon Leigh Heta (born 10 August 1987) is an Australian professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is ranked world number twenty; he reached a peak ranking of world number six in 2024. Nicknamed "the Heat", he has been a PDC Tour Card holder since 2020. Heta won his first European Tour title at the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy and reached his first major semi-final at the 2024 UK Open. He has won a total of 12 PDC titles in his professional career.
Prior to turning professional in 2020, Heta won his first overall PDC title at the 2019 Brisbane Darts Masters as a regional qualifier. He has since represented Australia in the PDC World Cup of Darts, winning the 2022 edition of the tournament alongside teammate Simon Whitlock.
Before turning professional in 2020, Heta mainly played on the Dartplayers Australia (DPA) Tour. His first big televised exposure in PDC darts was making his World Series debut at the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters as a DPA qualifier, where he was whitewashed 6âÂÂ0 in the first round by Dave Chisnall. Heta qualified for the 2016 Auckland Darts Masters where he lost in the first round to Michael van Gerwen 6âÂÂ3.
He qualified for the 2018 Melbourne Darts Masters, where he defeated his childhood friend Kyle Anderson 6âÂÂ5 in the first round. He lost 10âÂÂ7 to Gary Anderson in the quarter-finals. Anderson then defeated Heta 6âÂÂ5 in the first round of the 2018 Brisbane Darts Masters a week later.
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.
On 3 August 2019, Heta won the inaugural Australian Darts Open, beating top British Darts Organisation players such as Jim Williams 8âÂÂ1 in the semi-finals and 2015 BDO World Champion Scott Mitchell 10âÂÂ9 in the final to take the $15,000 winner's prize.
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 8âÂÂ7 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. 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."
Heta beat James Wade once again in the first round of the 2019 Melbourne Darts Masters, but lost 8âÂÂ3 to Rob Cross in the quarter-finals. He lost 6âÂÂ1 to Peter Wright in the first round of the 2019 New Zealand Darts Masters.
Heta secured his PDC World Championship debut at the 2020 edition through finishing top of the 2019 DPA Pro Tour Order of Merit. He won his first-round match against José de Sousa 3âÂÂ0 in sets. This set up a tie with reigning BDO World Champion Glen Durrant in the second round, to whom Heta lost 3âÂÂ0. Following the tournament, he attended 2020 PDC Q-School to pursue a career on the professional tour. He won a PDC Tour Card by finishing fourth on the UK Q-School Order of Merit.
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. 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. 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 8âÂÂ4 in the final. He also won Home Tour 3 by defeating Chris Dobey 4âÂÂ2 in the final. 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.
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. 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. He reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated in a 16âÂÂ13 defeat to Wade. He also had a significant run at the Players Championship Finals by reaching a second major quarter-final, where he led Mervyn King 7âÂÂ2 before eventually losing 10âÂÂ8.
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. However, he suffered a surprise 3âÂÂ2 defeat to American qualifier Danny Baggish, missing six match darts in the process. At the 2022 World Championship, Heta was the 31st seed and received a bye to the second round. He reached the third round of the competition for the first time after a 3âÂÂ1 win over Luke Woodhouse. He took a 2âÂÂ0 lead against 2020 champion Peter Wright, but was eliminated from the tournament after losing the next four sets in a 4âÂÂ2 defeat.
Heta was a quarter-finalist at the 2022 UK Open, losing 10âÂÂ5 to eventual champion Danny Noppert. He won 2022 Players Championship 5 by defeating Dimitri Van den Bergh 7âÂÂ4 in the semi-finals and Gary Anderson 8âÂÂ6 in the final.
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. They defeated Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton) 3âÂÂ1 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. 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."
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 7âÂÂ6 and 8âÂÂ7. He won his second Players Championship title of the year at the 26th event, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode 8âÂÂ4 in the final to claim his second PDC title in the space of six days.
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 3âÂÂ0. However, he faced a whitewash from Joe Cullen in the third round, losing 4âÂÂ0 and exiting the tournament.
In their defence of the World Cup of Darts, Heta and Australia teammate Simon Whitlock reached the quarter-finals but were beaten by Belgium (Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts) in a deciding leg. At the World Matchplay, Heta earned his first win at the event in his 10âÂÂ5 victory over Josh Rock in the first round. He followed that with a dominant 11âÂÂ1 win against Brendan Dolan to advance to the quarter-finals, where he was defeated 16âÂÂ13 by Luke Humphries. Heta qualified for the Grand Slam of Darts through the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. He progressed to the knockout rounds by finishing second in Group H with 5âÂÂ4 wins over Ricardo Pietreczko and Beau Greaves respectively and a 5âÂÂ2 loss to Nathan Aspinall. In the second round, he produced a surprise 10âÂÂ7 victory over Michael van Gerwen. He was eliminated by Rob Cross 16âÂÂ6 in the quarter-finals. He reached another major quarter-final at the Players Championship Finals, where he lost 10âÂÂ6 to Ryan Joyce.
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 8âÂÂ2 in the final. The next month, in the lead-up to the World Matchplay, he claimed his second title of the year by beating Ryan Joyce 8âÂÂ4 in the final of Players Championship 16. He reached a third final in October but missed out on the Players Championship 28 title in an 8âÂÂ6 loss to Ross Smith. He was also runner-up at the New South Wales Darts Masters, but failed to capture a second World Series title as he lost 8âÂÂ1 to Rob Cross.
At the 2024 World Championship, Heta ensured his first appearance in the last 16 of the event following a 4âÂÂ3 win over Berry van Peer in the third round. He was defeated 4âÂÂ1 by Scott Williams.
Heta reached the semi-finals of a major event for the first time at the UK Open. He achieved wins over Simon Whitlock 10âÂÂ8, Nathan Aspinall 10âÂÂ9 and Gian van Veen 10âÂÂ8 en route to the quarter-finals. He was drawn against 2024 World Championship runner-up Luke Littler. Their quarter-final match â noted for its high standard of play â saw Heta almost squander 8âÂÂ4 and 9âÂÂ6 leads as Littler fought back but Heta hit double 16 to win 10âÂÂ8. He was drawn to play Dimitri Van den Bergh in the semi-finals, to whom he lost 11âÂÂ6.
Heta won another two ranking titles during the year. He claimed his first title in February at Players Championship 4 with an 8âÂÂ4 win over Chris Dobey in the final. He then won his second title in August by defeating Ryan Searle 8âÂÂ3 in the final of Players Championship 18. Heta was also runner-up at the New Zealand Darts Masters, losing 8âÂÂ2 to Luke Humphries in the final.
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 3âÂÂ1 victory, including an errant dart at double 12 which saw him miss out on a nine-dart finish. He then achieved the nine-darter in his third-round match with Luke Woodhouse, a contest Heta ultimately lost 4âÂÂ3. Despite the defeat, Heta received a ã60,000 bonus from tournament sponsor Paddy Power for hitting the nine-darter; he bought a Rolex watch upon the money entering his bank account.
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. In February, he reached the quarter-finals of the World Masters by dramatically beating Gerwyn Price 4âÂÂ3 in sets, missing six match darts and surviving one match dart from Price before eventually securing the victory. He was eliminated after a 4âÂÂ1 loss to Luke Humphries.
Heta won his first title of 2025 at Players Championship 13 where he defeated Nathan Aspinall 8âÂÂ6 in the final. 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 8âÂÂ6 loss to Aspinall. Heta won his second title of the year by beating Stephen Bunting 8âÂÂ7 in the final of Players Championship 20.
Heta was born on 10 August 1987 in Perth, Western Australia. Through his father, he is of MÃÂori descent. Heta worked as a roofer in Perth before moving to England with his wife Meaghan. They shared a house with fellow professional player Dimitri Van den Bergh in Leicester. Heta is a supporter of Premier League team Nottingham Forest.
In 2023, Heta grew a moustache in support of Movember.
PDC European Tour
PDC Players Championships