PHIL TAYLOR will begin his challenge to win a fifth successive PartyPoker.net European Championship title against Magnus Caris when the £200,000 tournament is staged in Muelheim, Germany later this month.
Taylor has been unstoppable since the European Championship was introduced to the PDC calendar in 2008, winning all four titles since by picking up two defeats of Adrian Lewis and wins over Steve Beaton and Wayne Jones in the other finals.
This year's event will be held from September 20-23 in Muelheim and screened live on ESPN, with the first round being split across Thursday and Friday night.
Taylor's opening clash will see him come up against Swedish number one Magnus Caris on Thursday September 20, with emerging Dutchman Jerry Hendriks or leading Austrian Mensur Suljovic awaiting the winner in the second round.
World Champion Adrian Lewis will face Stoke rival Ian White in the first round on Friday night in a repeat of their meeting on Sunday night in the German Darts Masters final in Sindelfingen, which Lewis won 6-3.
World number three James Wade drew former World Matchplay champion Colin Lloyd, while Wes Newton, the number four seed, plays Germany's Tomas Seyler.
Number five seed Andy Hamilton drew Paul Nicholson, Simon Whitlock plays Mark Walsh, Terry Jenkins faces five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld and Mark Webster plays Germany's Andree Welge - who won their German Darts Masters first round game 6-4 despite a nine-darter from the Welshman on Friday.
With only eight players seeded, the draw threw together a host of big names, including Mervyn King's battle with Players Championship Finals winner Kevin Painter and Dutch star Vincent van der Voort's clash with Belgian Kim Huybrechts, who made his name with a run to the quarter-finals of last year's European Championship.
Justin Pipe drew last year's World Grand Prix runner-up Brendan Dolan, World Matchplay semi-finalist Ronnie Baxter plays Germany's Michael Rosenauer, Holland's Michael van Gerwen plays Andy Smith, Dave Chisnall meets another young Dutchman, Gino Vos, and Richie Burnett meets Co Stompe.
The second round of the tournament will be played on Saturday September 22, with the quarter-finals taking place on Sunday afternoon and the semi-finals and final being held in the evening session.
ESPN UK is available at Sky channel 417, Virgin channel 529, Freeview Top Up TV channel 34 and BT Vision channel 34.
ESPN Classic is available at Sky channel 425 and Virgin channel 533.
To subscribe and watch ESPN, including the PartyPoker.net European Darts Championship, call 0844 324 1540 or click here to visit the ESPN website for more subscription information.
PartyPoker.net European Championship
First Round Draw & Tournament Bracket
Phil Taylor (1) v Magnus Caris
Jerry Hendriks v Mensur Suljovic
Mark Webster (8) v Andree Welge
Justin Pipe v Brendan Dolan
Andy Hamilton (5) v Paul Nicholson
Ronnie Baxter v Michael Rosenauer
Wes Newton (4) v Tomas Seyler
Mervyn King v Kevin Painter
Adrian Lewis (2) v Ian White
Kim Huybrechts v Vincent van der Voort
Terry Jenkins (7) v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Andy Smith
Simon Whitlock (6) v Mark Walsh
Dave Chisnall v Gino Vos
James Wade (3) v Colin Lloyd
Richie Burnett v Co Stompe
Schedule of Play
Thursday September 20
First Round
8.05pm Jerry Hendriks v Mensur Suljovic
8.35pm Mark Webster v Andree Welge
9.05pm Justin Pipe v Brendan Dolan
9.35pm Andy Hamilton v Paul Nicholson
10.05pm Wes Newton v Tomas Seyler
10.35pm Phil Taylor v Magnus Caris
11.05pm Mervyn King v Kevin Painter
11.35pm Ronnie Baxter v Michael Rosenauer
Friday September 21
First Round
8.05pm Michael van Gerwen v Andy Smith
8.35pm Richie Burnett v Co Stompe
9.05pm Dave Chisnall v Gino Vos
9.35pm Simon Whitlock v Mark Walsh
10.05pm James Wade v Colin Lloyd
10.35pm Adrian Lewis v Ian White
11.05pm Terry Jenkins v Raymond van Barneveld
11.35pm Kim Huybrechts v Vincent van der Voort
Saturday September 22
Afternoon Session
Second Round
2.10pm Webster/Welge v Pipe/Dolan
3.10pm Hamilton/Nicholson v Baxter/Rosenauer
4.10pm Newton/Seyler v King/Painter
5.10pm Taylor/Caris v Hendricks/Suljovic
Evening Session
Second Round
8.10pm Whitlock/Walsh v Chisnall/Vos
9.10pm Jenkins/van Barneveld v van Gerwen/Smith
10.10pm Lewis/White v Huybrechts/van der Voort
11.10pm Wade/Lloyd v Burnett/Stompe
Sunday September 23
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
2.10pm
3.10pm
4.10pm
5.10pm
Evening Session
Semi-Finals
8.10pm
9.10pm
Final
Approx 10.30pm
Order of Play for Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals to be confirmed
Format
First Round Best of 11 legs
Second Round Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals Best of 21 legs
Final Best of 21 legs
PartyPoker.net European Championship Qualifiers
Top 16 from PDC Order of Merit
1 Phil Taylor (England)
2 Adrian Lewis (England)
3 James Wade (England)
4 Wes Newton (England)
5 Andy Hamilton (England)
6 Simon Whitlock (Australia)
7 Terry Jenkins (England)
8 Mark Webster (Wales)
9 Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
10 Justin Pipe (England)
11 Kevin Painter (England)
12 Dave Chisnall (England)
13 Ronnie Baxter (England)
14 Mark Walsh (England)
15 Paul Nicholson (Australia)
16 Vincent van der Voort (Netherlands)
ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers
Ian White (England)
Kim Huybrechts (Belgium)
Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
Colin Lloyd (England)
Richie Burnett (Wales)
Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland)
Andy Smith (England)
Mervyn King (England)
European Order of Merit Qualifiers
Magnus Caris (Sweden)
Co Stompe (Netherlands)
Gino Vos (Netherlands)
Jerry Hendriks (Netherlands)
Mensur Suljovic (Austria)
Andree Welge (Germany)
Michael Rosenauer (Germany)
Tomas Seyler (Germany)
ESPN UK is available at Sky channel 417, Virgin channel 529, Freeview Top Up TV channel 34 and BT Vision channel 34.
ESPN Classic is available at Sky channel 425 and Virgin channel 533.
To subscribe and watch ESPN, including the PartyPoker.net European Darts Championship, call 0844 324 1540 or click here to visit the ESPN website for more subscription information.