Nitin Kumar will be a short-notice participant in the Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia Darts Masters. The Indian is thus facing the next major career highlight after his historic World Championship moment.
Short-term change at the Riyadh Season Saudi Arabia Darts Masters: Paolo Nebrida has canceled his participation in the World Series event due to illness.
The PDC reacted promptly – and appointed Nitin Kumar as a replacement in the 16-man field. The association officially announced this on Saturday on X.
Nitin Kumar made history with his victory at the Darts World Championship
Kumar writes the next chapter
For Kumar, the nomination is the next accolade. The 40-year-old had already attracted great attention at the 2025/26 World Championship. In the first round, he defeated Richard Veenstra and made history as the first Indian to reach the second round of the Darts World Championship. Kumar impressed above all with his checkout strength – his doubles percentage was an extraordinary 75 percent.
After his coup, Kumar also came much more into focus in his home country – his World Championship appearance was celebrated there as a sporting exclamation mark.
Premiere in Saudi Arabia
The tournament in Riyadh will take place on January 19 and 20, 2026, and is the first World Series event ever in Saudi Arabia. It will be played in the Global Theater in Riyadh – with international stars and Asian representatives. The two World Championship finalists Luke Littler and Gian van Veen are just as present as crowd favorite Paul Lim.
Kumar now moves in as one of these participants. Nebrida, on the other hand, must postpone his World Series dream for now.