The Darts World Championship gets underway on Friday as Michael van Gerwen begins his latest title defence by taking centre stage on the opening night.
The three-time world champion will take on either fellow Dutchman Jelle Klaasen or Kevin Burness, who meet in the opening match of the championship as the first round gets underway.
For the first 11 days of the tournament, all sessions will feature three first round encounters before finishing with a second round match that sees the introduction of the seeded players, featuring the likes of Van Gerwen, last year’s finalist Michael Smith and other past champions such as Gary Anderson, Rob Cross and Adrian Lewis.
Spread over three weeks, the Darts World Championship is one of the sporting highlights over the festive period, culminating in the final that traditionally takes place on New Year’s Day when the 2020 champion will be crowned.
The tournament features both afternoon and evening sessions as players compete in seven rounds in a knockout format of legs and sets, which increase as the competition progresses.
Full schedule
Friday December 13
Evening Session (7pm)
Jelle Klaasen vs Kevin Burness (First round)
Kim Huybrechts vs Geert Nentjes (First round)
Luke Humphries vs Devon Petersen (First round)
Michael van Gerwen vs Klaasen/Burness (Second round)
Saturday December 14
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Darius Labanauskas vs Matthew Edgar (First round)
Ryan Meikle vs Yuki Yamada (First round)
Luke Woodhouse vs Paul Lim (First round)
Jermaine Wattimena vs Humphries/Petersen (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Mark McGeeney vs Matt Campbell (First round)
Jamie Hughes vs Zoran Lerchbacher (First round)
Raymond van Barneveld vs Darin Young (First round)
Rob Cross vs Huybrechts/Nentjes (Second round)
Sunday December 15
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Kyle Anderson vs Xiaochen Zong (First round)
Ross Smith vs Ciaran Teehan (First round)
Brendan Dolan vs Nitin Kumar (First round)
Ian White vs Labanauskas/Edgar (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Arron Monk vs Jose Justicia (First round)
Andy Boulton vs Danny Baggish (First round)
James Richardson vs Mikuru Suzuki (First round)
Michael Smith vs Woodhouse/Lim (Second round)
Monday December 16
Evening Session (7pm)
Steve Lennon vs Callan Rydz (First round)
William O'Connor vs Marko Kantele (First round)
Vincent van der Voort vs Keane Barry (First round)
Gary Anderson vs Dolan/Kumar (Second round)
Tuesday December 17
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Ryan Searle vs Robbie King (First round)
Cristo Reyes vs Lourence Ilagan (First round)
Rowby-John Rodriguez vs Noel Malicdem (First round)
Krzysztof Ratajski vs Hughes/Lerchbacher (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Ritchie Edhouse vs Boris Koltsov (First round)
Jose De Sousa vs Damon Heta (First round)
Ted Evetts vs Fallon Sherrock (First round)
Jeffrey de Zwaan vs Van Barneveld/Young (Second round)
Wednesday December 18
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Ron Meulenkamp vs Ben Robb (First round)
Mickey Mansell vs Seigo Asada (First round)
Harry Ward vs Madars Razma (First round)
Stephen Bunting vs Monk/Justicia (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
James Wilson vs Nico Kurz (First round)
Josh Payne vs Diogo Portela (First round)
Gabriel Clemens vs Benito van de Pas (First round)
James Wade vs Edhouse/Koltsov (Second round)
Thursday December 19
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Justin Pipe vs Benjamin Pratnemer (First round)
Ryan Joyce vs Jan Dekker (First round)
John Henderson vs Richardson/Suzuki (Second round)
Steve Beaton vs K Anderson/Zong (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Chris Dobey vs Meulenkamp/Robb (Second round)
Danny Noppert vs Lennon/Rydz (Second round)
Dave Chisnall vs Van der Voort/Barry (Second round)
Gerwyn Price vs O'Connor/Kantele (Second round)
Friday December 20
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Darren Webster vs Meikle/Yamada (Second round)
Mervyn King vs R Smith/Teehan (Second round)
Jonny Clayton vs Joyce/Dekker (Second round)
Ricky Evans vs McGeeney/Campbell (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Nathan Aspinall vs Boulton/Baggish (Second round)
Joe Cullen vs Wilson/Kurz (Second round)
Max Hopp vs Clemens/Van de Pas (Second round)
Peter Wright vs Rodriguez/Malicdem (Second round)
Saturday December 21
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Keegan Brown vs Mansell/Asada (Second round)
Simon Whitlock vs Ward/Razma (Second round)
Steve West vs Searle/R King (Second round)
Adrian Lewis vs Reyes/Ilagan (Second round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Daryl Gurney vs Pipe/Pratnemer (Second round)
Glen Durrant vs De Sousa/Heta (Second round)
Mensur Suljovic vs Evetts/Sherrock (Second round)
Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Payne/Portela (Second round)
Sunday December 22
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Clayton/Joyce/Dekker vs Bunting/Monk/Justicia (Third round)
White/Labanauskas/Edgar vs Hopp/Clemens/Van de Pas (Third round)
Aspinall/Boulton/Baggish vs Ratajski/Hughes/Lerchbacher (Third round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Wade/Edhouse/Koltsov vs Beaton/K Anderson/Zong (Third round)
Cross/Huybrechts/Nentjes vs Noppert/Lennon/Rydz (Third round)
Van Gerwen/Klaasen/Burness vs Evans/McGeeney/Campbell (Third round)
Monday December 23
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Cullen/Wilson/Kurz vs Wattimena/Humphries/Petersen (Third round)
Lewis/Reyes/Ilagan vs Webster/Meikle/Yamada (Third round)
M Smith/Woodhouse/Lim vs Van den Bergh/Payne/Portela (Third round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Chisnall/Van der Voort/Barry vs De Zwaan/Van Barneveld/Young (Third round)
G Anderson/Dolan/Kumar vs West/Searle/R King (Third round)
Wright/Rodriguez/Malicdem vs Brown/Mansell/Asada (Third round)
Friday December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Whitlock/Ward/Razma vs King/R Smith/Teehan (Third round)
Suljovic/Evetts/Sherrock vs Dobey/Meulenkamp/Robb (Third round)
Gurney/Pipe/Pratnemer vs Durrant/De Sousa/Heta (Third round)
Evening Session (7pm)
Price/O'Connor/Kantele vs Henderson/Richardson/Suzuki (Third round)
Fourth Round games TBC
Saturday December 28
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
3 x Fourth Round
Evening Session (7pm)
3 x Fourth Round
Sunday December 29
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
2 x Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (7pm)
2 x Quarter-Finals
Monday December 30 (7pm)
Semi-Finals
Wednesday January 1 (8pm)
Final
Draw
Seeded Players Enter In Second Round
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Jelle Klaasen/Kevin Burness
(32) Ricky Evans v Mark McGeeney/Matt Campbell
(16) Jonny Clayton v Ryan Joyce/Jan Dekker
(17) Stephen Bunting v Arron Monk/Jose Justicia
(8) James Wade v Ritchie Edhouse/Boris Koltsov
(25) Steve Beaton v Kyle Anderson/Xiaochen Zong
(9) Ian White v Darius Labanauskas/Matthew Edgar
(24) Max Hopp v Gabriel Clemens/Benito van de Pas
(5) Gary Anderson v Brendan Dolan/Nitin Kumar
(28) Steve West v Ryan Searle/Robbie King
(12) Nathan Aspinall v Andy Boulton/Danny Baggish
(21) Krzysztof Ratajski v Jamie Hughes/Zoran Lerchbacher
(4) Michael Smith v Luke Woodhouse/Paul Lim
(29) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Josh Payne/Diogo Portela
(13) Adrian Lewis v Cristo Reyes/Lourence Ilagan
(20) Darren Webster v Ryan Meikle/Yuki Yamada
(2) Rob Cross v Kim Huybrechts/Geert Nentjes
(31) Danny Noppert v Steve Lennon/Callan Rydz
(15) Joe Cullen v James Wilson/Nico Kurz
(18) Jermaine Wattimena v Luke Humphries/Devon Petersen
(7) Peter Wright v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Noel Malicdem
(26) Keegan Brown v Mickey Mansell/Seigo Asada
(10) Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort/Keane Barry
(23) Jeffrey de Zwaan v Raymond van Barneveld/Darin Young
(6) Daryl Gurney v Justin Pipe/Benjamin Pratnemer
(27) Glen Durrant v Jose De Sousa/Damon Heta
(11) Mensur Suljovic v Ted Evetts/Fallon Sherrock
(22) Chris Dobey v Ron Meulenkamp/Ben Robb
(3) Gerwyn Price v William O'Connor/Marko Kantele
(30) John Henderson v James Richardson/Mikuru Suzuki
(14) Simon Whitlock v Harry Ward/Madars Razma
(19) Mervyn King v Ross Smith/Ciaran Teehan
Format
First Round - Best of five sets (no tie-break)
Second Round - Best of five sets
Third Round - Best of seven sets
Fourth Round - Best of seven sets
Quarter-Finals - Best of nine sets
Semi-Finals - Best of 11 sets
Final - Best of 13 sets
Tie-break
A tie-break will be in operation in all round from the second round onwards, where the final set must be won by two clear legs. If the score reaches five-all, the 11th leg will be a sudden-death leg.
Prize money
Winner - £500,000
Runner-up - £200,000
Semi-final - £100,000
Quarter-final - £50,000
Fourth round - £35,000
Third round - £25,000
Second round - £15,000
First round - £7,500
