Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his Dutch Darts Masters title next month against either John Henderson or Dimitri van den Bergh, whilst World Champion Gary Anderson will take on the winner of the veteran clash between Mervyn King or Ronnie Baxter at the Evenementenhal.
The opening European Tour event of 2016 takes place in Venray, from February 12-14th, and van Gerwen will be favourite to secure success on his home-turf. However, his compatriots Raymond van Barneveld and Vincent van der Voort won’t be present in Venray, after failing to progress through the European Tour qualifier.
However, there are many other Dutch stars in action. Dirk van Duijvenbode takes on Welsh ace Gerwyn Price, whilst Dekker, who defeated van Barneveld to qualify for this event, will take on qualifier Kevin Thomas. Jermaine Wattimena will face former World Champion Mark Webster, whilst Remco van Eijden plays Paul Milford.
Other stand-out first-round ties see former world champion Stephen Bunting take on Greece’s John Michael, who secured a tour-card at Q-School earlier this year. Elsewhere, two-time world finalist Simon Whitlock takes on young Belgian prospect Mike De Decker.
‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans, who defeated Whitlock at last month’s World Championships, will meet the enigmatic Devon Petersen, whilst Robbie Green and Rowby-John Rodriguez will clash in a repeat of their Grand Slam meeting in November.
Former world finalist Kevin Painter will take on Jamie Caven, with ‘Jabba’ hoping to replicate his heroics from the UK qualifier, where he produced a stunning 9-darter to seal his spot in Venray.
Whilst van Gerwen and Anderson are the main attractions in Saturday’s second-round, World Championship runner-up Adrian Lewis is also in action; Jackpot will face the winner of Milford or van Eijden. Peter Wright, seeded third in Venray, could potentially face Stephen Bunting in round-two, if ‘The Bullet’ can overcome his Greek opponent.
Second seed Michael Smith will play the winner of van Duijvenbode or Price in round-two, whilst eight-time major winner James Wade will meet the victor of the all-youth clash between Ryan Harrington and Dave Pallett.
Benito van de Pas will be hoping for glory on home soil, with the 13th seed set to face either Webster or Wattimena, whilst World Championship semi-finalist Jelle Klaasen will play Painter or Caven.
World Grand-Prix champion Robert Thornton will meet either Ritchie Edhouse or Martin Schindler, whilst eighth seed Dave Chisnall will clash with the winner of Dekker/Thomas. Ian White could meet Simon Whitlock in round-two if ‘The Wizard’ defeats De Decker, whilst Kim Huybrechts will play either Evans or Petersen.
Last year’s finalist Justin Pipe will begin his campaign against either Andree Welge or Welsh star Jamie Lewis, whilst nine-time major finalist Terry Jenkins will meet Zoran Lerchbacher or James Richardson.
Austria’s Mensur Suljovic could face his compatriot and fellow darts-control team-mate Rowby-John Rodriguez, if ‘Little John’ defeats the former Lakeside semi-finalist ‘Kong’ in the final match of Friday afternoon’s session.
We could also see an all-Northern Ireland tussle in round-two. Daryl Gurney will meet 14th seed Brendan Dolan, if ‘SuperChin’ can overcome Germany’s Jyhan Artut on Friday evening.
The full draw, tournament bracket and schedule can be found below.
Dutch Darts Masters
Draw Bracket – Second Round Onwards
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Dimitri Van den Bergh/John Henderson
Justin Pipe (16) v Andree Welge/Jamie Lewis
Dave Chisnall (8) v Kevin Thomas/Jan Dekker
Robert Thornton (9) v Ritchie Edhouse/Martin Schindler
Kim Huybrechts (5) v Ricky Evans/Devon Petersen
Gary Anderson (12) v Mervyn King/Ronnie Baxter
James Wade (4) v Ryan Harrington/David Pallett
Benito van de Pas (13) v Mark Webster/Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Smith (2) v Dirk van Duijvenbode/Gerwyn Price
Mensur Suljovic (15) v Robbie Green/Rowby-John Rodriguez
Ian White (7) v Mike De Decker/Simon Whitlock
Jelle Klaasen (10) v Kevin Painter/Jamie Caven
Adrian Lewis (6) v Paul Milford/Remco van Eijden
Terry Jenkins (11) v Zoran Lerchbacher/James Richardson
Peter Wright (3) v John Michael/Stephen Bunting
Brendan Dolan (14) v Jyhan Artut/Daryl Gurney
Schedule of Play
Friday February 12
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
First Round
Zoran Lerchbacher v James Richardson
Ritchie Edhouse v Martin Schindler
Paul Milford v Remco van Eijden
Andree Welge v Jamie Lewis
Kevin Thomas v Jan Dekker
Dimitri Van den Bergh v John Henderson
Mike De Decker v Simon Whitlock
Robbie Green v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
First Round
Kevin Painter v Jamie Caven
Jyhan Artut v Daryl Gurney
Ryan Harrington v David Pallett
John Michael v Stephen Bunting
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Gerwyn Price
Mervyn King v Ronnie Baxter
Mark Webster v Jermaine Wattimena
Ricky Evans v Devon Petersen
Saturday February 13
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
Second Round
Justin Pipe (16) v Welge/J Lewis
Terry Jenkins (11) v Lerchbacher/Richardson
Brendan Dolan (14) v Artut/Gurney
Mensur Suljovic (15) v Green/Rodriguez
Ian White (7) v Decker/Whitlock
Dave Chisnall (8) v Thomas/Dekker
James Wade (4) v Harrington/Pallett
Robert Thornton (9) v Edhouse/Martin Schindler
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Second Round
Jelle Klaasen (10) v Painter/Caven
Kim Huybrechts (5) v Evans/Petersen
Michael Smith (2) v van Duijvenbode/Price
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Van den Bergh/Henderson
Gary Anderson (12) v King/Baxter
Benito van de Pas (13) v Webster/Wattimena
Adrian Lewis (6) v Milford/van Eijden
Peter Wright (3) v Michael/Bunting
Sunday February 14
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
Third Round
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
All games are the best of 11 legs
Leave a Reply