Michael van Gerwen will begin his defense of the bet365 US Darts Masters against American star Danny Lauby on Friday, while Luke Littler faces a familiar opponent on his first appearance at the tournament in New York.
After events in Bahrain and Den Bosch in January, the World Series continues on May 31 and June 1 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, with 16 players battling it out.
Friday’s first round will see eight PDC stars take on eight North American representatives for a place in Saturday’s final stages, with champion Van Gerwen and Premier League champion Littler among them.
Top seed Van Gerwen, winner of the Dutch Darts Masters earlier this year, begins his campaign against two-time World Championship qualifier Lauby, who secured his PDC Tour card at the Qualifying School in January.
Littler, who triumphed in Bahrain after his stunning run to the final of the PDC World Darts Championship, will make his US Darts Masters debut against Canadian No 1 Matt Campbell in a repeat of their third-round clash at the World Championship in December. .
Michael Smith won the title on the PDC’s first visit to New York in 2022 and the St Helens star will open his challenge against North American champion Jeff Smith, who also enjoyed a memorable run to the USA Darts final Masters 12 months ago.
Nathan Aspinall, another former US Darts Masters champion, takes on Grand Slam quarter-finalist Stowe Buntz, with two-time world champion Peter Wright taking on CDC Cross Border Challenge winner Alex Spellman.
World Champion and World No. 1 Luke Humphries takes on Canadian veteran David Cameron. Elsewhere, Gerwyn Price takes on Dutch-born American Jules van Dongen, while Rob Cross will play debutant Adam Sevada in the opening match of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s afternoon session will feature the bet365 North American Championship as the eight stars from the USA and Canada battle it out for that title and a possible place in the World Darts Championship and the Grand Slam of Darts.
bet365 US Darts Masters Draw
Friday, May 31
First round: Rob Cross vs Adam Sevada, Nathan Aspinall vs Stowe Buntz, Peter Wright v Alex Spellman, Gerwyn Price vs Jules van Dongen, Michael van Gerwen vs Danny Lauby, Luke Humphries vs David Cameron, Luke Littler vs Matt Campbell, Michael Smith vs Jeff Smith.
The best of 11 feet
Saturday June 1st
Quarterfinals
The best of 11 feet
Semifinals
The best of 13 feet
Final
The best of 15 feet
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