MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will begin the defence of his European Darts Open title against either Jay Foreman or Mark Dudbridge, as the £100,000 European Tour event in Dusseldorf prepares to kick off on Friday.
World Champion van Gerwen was victorious in last year's European Tour event at the Maritim Hotel in Dusseldorf, when he saw off Simon Whitlock in the final.
This year's tournament begins on Friday, with play in the first round taking place in the afternoon session on two stages inside the Maritim Hotel, with play on the Main Stage being streamed live online.
Former World Championship finalist Mark Dudbridge will take on Nottingham's Jay Foreman in one first round clash on the Main Stage, with the winner then progressing to meet van Gerwen on Saturday afternoon in the lasr 32.
James Wade, the recent Gibraltar Darts Trophy winner, will be in action on the Main Stage on Friday afternoon, along with the tasty tie between Dean Winstanley and Michael Smith, Kevin Painter's clash with World Youth Champion Keegan Brown and Ronnie Baxter's meeting with Darren Webster.
Johnny Haines and Andy Smith also meet on the Main Stage, with Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting also in action.
The action on Stage Two includes former World Matchplay champion Colin Lloyd playing in his first European Tour event of 2014 against Gerwyn Price.
Experienced Dennis Smith takes on Irish qualifier William O'Connor, Jamie Lewis meets fellow youngster Chris Aubrey while Gary Stone and Darren Johnson are other UK Qualifiers on Stage Two.
The second round kicks off on Friday night with the players seeded 9-16 in action on the Main Stage, including former European Tour winners Wes Newton, Adrian Lewis, Steve Beaton, Justin Pipe and Simon Whitlock.
The top eight seeded players play their second round matches on Saturday afternoon, with van Gerwen joined in entering the fray by Gary Anderson, Dave Chisnall and Kim Huybrechts - all fellow European Tour winners - as well as Peter Wright, Brendan Dolan, Ian White and Robert Thornton.
The tournament continues with the third round being held on Saturday night, before Sunday afternoon's decisive final session features the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Live Coverage
Bet365 - www.bet365.com
Coral - www.coral.co.uk
Ladbrokes - www.ladbrokes.com
Unibet - www.unibet.com
William Hill - www.williamhill.com
To view live coverage, fans must be registered with the respective website listed above
LIVEPDC.TV - www.LIVEPDC.TV for all subscribers outside of the UK & Ireland.
Live Scores will be available through the PDC Live Scores Website, http://live.dartsdata.com .
European Darts Open
European Tour Event Six
Maritim Hotel, Dusseldorf
Friday July 11
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
First Round
Main Stage
Martin Schindler 3-6 Raymond van Barneveld
Jay Foreman 4-6 Mark Dudbridge
Michael Hurtz 2-6 Stephen Bunting
Dean Winstanley 2-6 Michael Smith
Ronnie Baxter 5-6 Darren Webster
Kevin Painter 6-0 Keegan Brown
Christian Kist 5-6 James Wade
Johnny Haines 1-6 Andy Smith
Stage Two
Ronny Huybrechts 0-6 Benito van de Pas
Ryan de Vreede 6-4 Gary Stone
Jamie Lewis 6-1 Chris Aubrey
Michael Rosenauer 6-5 Mensur Suljovic
Darren Johnson 6-2 Jelle Klaasen
Dennis Smith 6-4 William O'Connor
Gerwyn Price 6-2 Colin Lloyd
Arman Ertur 5-6 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Second Round - Seeds 9-16
Jamie Caven (16) 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Justin Pipe (12) 6-2 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Wes Newton (15) 6-5 Dennis Smith
Mervyn King (11) 6-3 Darren Johnson
Steve Beaton (9) 2-6 Kevin Painter
Adrian Lewis (10) 6-5 Benito van de Pas
Simon Whitlock (14) 6-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Andy Hamilton (13) 6-2 Darren Webster
Saturday July 12
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Second Round - Seeds 1-8
Brendan Dolan (3) 6-5 Jamie Lewis
Dave Chisnall (6) 6-2 Michael Rosenauer
Ian White (7) 3-6 James Wade
Kim Huybrechts (8) 6-1 Ryan De Vreede
Peter Wright (5) 6-1 Michael Smith
Gary Anderson (2) 6-3 Gerwyn Price
Robert Thornton (4) 4-6 Andy Smith
Michael van Gerwen (1) 6-2 Mark Dudbridge
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Brendan Dolan (3) 2-6 Simon Whitlock (14)
Dave Chisnall (6) 6-5 Mervyn King (11)
James Wade 6-4 Adrian Lewis (10)
Gary Anderson (2) 6-3 Wes Newton (15)
Andy Smith 5-6 Andy Hamilton (13)
Peter Wright (5) 6-2 Justin Pipe (12)
Kim Huybrechts (8) 2-6 Kevin Painter
Michael van Gerwen (1) 4-6 Jamie Caven (16)
Games in bracket order
Sunday July 13
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-3 Dave Chisnall
James Wade 5-6 Gary Anderson
Andy Hamilton 2-6 Peter Wright
Kevin Painter 6-2 Jamie Caven
Semi-Finals
Simon Whitlock 6-5 Gary Anderson
Peter Wright 6-5 Kevin Painter
Final
Simon Whitlock 2-6 Peter Wright
All games are the best of 11 legs
Draw Bracket
Brendan Dolan (3) v J Lewis/Aubrey
Simon Whitlock (14) v Schindler/van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall (6) v Rosenauer/Suljovic
Mervyn King (11) v Johnson/Klaasen
Ian White (7) v Kist/Wade
Adrian Lewis (10) v R Huybrechts/van de Pas
Gary Anderson (2) v Price/Lloyd
Wes Newton (15) v D Smith/O'Connor
Robert Thornton (4) v Haines/A Smith
Andy Hamilton (13) v Baxter/D Webster
Peter Wright (5) v Winstanley/M Smith
Justin Pipe (12) v Ertur/Rodriguez
Kim Huybrechts (8) v De Vreede/Stone
Steve Beaton (9) v Painter/Brown
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Foreman/Dudbridge
Jamie Caven (16) v Hurtz/Bunting