Michael van Gerwen will take on either Michael Smith or Gerwyn Price as he bids to reclaim his World Series of Darts Finals title, whilst defending champion James Wade will meet either Jonny Clayton or Wayne Jones in his opener in Amsterdam.
The season-ending tournament will take place on Dutch soil for the very first time this week, as 24 players battle it out for the £70,000 top prize across three days of action.
The top eight players from the year’s World Series Order of Merit qualified automatically and are seeded through to the second round on Saturday night, whilst the remaining 16 players will compete in Friday’s first round.
The opening night of action will be headlined with an all-Premier League clash between Smith and Price – in a repeat of last weekend’s European Championship semi-final. It doesn’t get any easier for the winner, with world No 1 Van Gerwen awaiting in round two.
Jones or Clayton will kick off the tournament for the right to face reigning champion Wade on Saturday. ‘The Machine’ defeated Smith in last year’s final, although Clayton incredibly whitewashed the nine-time major winner 6-0 at the recent European Championship.
Raymond van Barneveld will meet either Jermaine Wattimena or Gabriel Clemens in his final competitive event on home soil. Wattimena and Clemens have played RvB on multiple occasions in 2019, although the five-time world champion will be desperate to bow out in style ahead of his retirement.
Another tasty first round tie sees US Darts Masters champion Nathan Aspinall – a World Series winner in Las Vegas in July – taking on Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski. The winner will face two-time major winner Daryl Gurney, who reached the final of August’s Melbourne Masters.
World Grand Prix finalist Dave Chisnall will play former major champion Simon Whitlock for the right to face third seed Rob Cross, who clinched his third major televised title at the European Championship.
Two-time finalist Peter Wright will lock horns with either Ricky Evans or Ian White in his second round tie. Evans reached his first televised quarter-final at last week’s European Championship, whilst White is still remarkably yet to reach a major PDC semi-final.
Two former World Series event winners will collide in Friday’s first round as Mensur Suljovic takes on Kyle Anderson. The winner will be up against Melbourne Masters winner Damon Heta – a former schoolmate of Anderson.
Seventh seed Gary Anderson will play a host nation representative on Saturday, as he prepares to face the winner of the all-Dutch dust up between Danny Noppert and Jeffrey de Zwaan – both of whom have reached televised semi-finals on the PDC circuit in 2018.
Following Saturday’s second round, the tournament concludes across two sessions on Sunday, with the afternoon’s quarter-finals following in the decisive evening session by the semi-finals and final.
Photo Credit: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe
Jack’s Casino World Series of Darts Finals
Draw Bracket
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Smith/Price
(8) James Wade v Jones/Clayton
(5) Damon Heta v K Anderson/Suljovic
(4) Daryl Gurney v Ratajski/Aspinall
(2) Peter Wright v Evans/White
(7) Gary Anderson v Noppert/De Zwaan
(6) Raymond van Barneveld v Wattimena/Clemens
(3) Rob Cross v Chisnall/Whitlock
First Round Draw
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Wayne Jones v Jonny Clayton
Kyle Anderson v Mensur Suljovic
Krzysztof Ratajski v Nathan Aspinall
Ricky Evans v Ian White
Danny Noppert v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jermaine Wattimena v Gabriel Clemens
Dave Chisnall v Simon Whitlock
Schedule of Play
Friday November 1 (1945 local time, 1845 GMT)
First Round x8
Wayne Jones v Jonny Clayton
Ricky Evans v Ian White
Kyle Anderson v Mensur Suljovic
Krzysztof Ratajski v Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Dave Chisnall v Simon Whitlock
Danny Noppert v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jermaine Wattimena v Gabriel Clemens
Saturday November 2 (2000 local time, 1900 GMT)
Second Round x8
James Wade v Jones/Clayton
Damon Heta v K Anderson/Suljovic
Daryl Gurney v Ratajski/Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v Smith/Price
Peter Wright v Evans/White
Gary Anderson v Noppert/De Zwaan
Raymond van Barneveld v Wattimena/Clemens
Rob Cross v Chisnall/Whitlock
Sunday November 3
Afternoon Session (1345 local time, 1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (2000 local time, 1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals & Final
Format
First Round – Best of 11 legs
Second Round – Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals – Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals – Best of 21 legs
Final – Best of 21 legs
Prize Fund
Winner £70,000
Runner-Up £30,000
Semi-Finalists £20,000
Quarter-Finalists £10,000
Second Round £7,500
First Round £5,000
Total £300,000
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