THE invitations for November's World Series of Darts Finals have been confirmed, with a series of global prospects and stars from the PDC Order of Merit to be joined by four qualifiers in the Glasgow event.
The culmination of the year's World Series of Darts events, following tournaments in Dubai, Japan, Perth, Sydney and Auckland, will see 24 players competing on November 21-22 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, live on ITV4.
The top eight players from the World Series of Darts rankings, based on their performances in those five events, qualify by right to compete in the World Series of Darts Finals, where they enter at the second round stage.
The seeded players are led by Phil Taylor, who won in Japan, Perth and Sydney this year, with Auckland Darts Masters champion Adrian Lewis and Dubai Darts Masters winner Michael van Gerwen.
Peter Wright, James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld all reached one final apiece during the year, while World Champion Gary Anderson and Stephen Bunting complete the seeded stars.
The first round will feature 16 players who are a combination of eight exciting global prospects, the leading four non-qualified players from the PDC Order of Merit and four players to come from a Qualifier for PDC Tour Card Holders and players who competed in the five international World Series events during 2015 on October 23 in Coventry.
The field of global prospects includes reigning PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion Keegan Brown and former winner Michael Smith - whose second European Tour win of 2015 took him up to eighth in the PDC Order of Merit last weekend.
Australia's Kyle Anderson, who competed in the Perth Darts Masters in August, is also invited to compete in Glasgow, alongside South Africa's Devon Petersen, Netherlands' Benito van de Pas, Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez, Germany's Max Hopp and Wales' Jamie Lewis.
In addition, the next four highest-ranked players from the PDC Order of Merit not already in the field - Dave Chisnall, Robert Thornton, Ian White and Simon Whitlock - have been invited to compete in the World Series of Darts Finals.
Both Whitlock and Chisnall have previously competed in the World Series of Darts, while Thornton is a former UK Open champion and White is a three-time PDC ranking event winner who has broken into the world's top ten.
The final four places in the field will go to players from a Qualifier being held for PDC Tour Card Holders at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Friday October 23 as part of a double-header on the day which also includes the SINGHA Beer Grand Slam of Darts Qualifier.
"The World Series of Darts has been a hugely popular introduction to the worldwide circuit in the past three years, and November's inaugural Finals are an exciting next step for the concept," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"We're delighted to be able to include eight leading global prospects alongside the biggest names in the sport, giving some of the brightest young talents the chance to shine.
"This line-up has the perfect balance of youth and experience and an incredible amount of talent. We're all looking forward to a hugely exciting weekend of top-class darts at the Braehead Arena."
The opening afternoon session on Saturday November 21 will feature the Invited Players and Qualifiers competing in the first round, with the eight seeded stars entering in the evening's second round.
Sunday's afternoon session will feature the quarter-finals, with the tournament concluding with the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening.
* Tickets for the World Series of Darts Finals are available by calling 0844 499 1700, online via www.ticketmaster.co.uk and in person at the Braehead Arena Box Office (open Thurs-Sat).
2015 World Series of Darts Rankings - Top Eight
1. Phil Taylor
2. Adrian Lewis
3. Michael van Gerwen
4. Peter Wright
5. James Wade
6. Raymond van Barneveld
7. Gary Anderson
8. Stephen Bunting
Invited Players
Michael Smith
Keegan Brown
Devon Petersen
Kyle Anderson
Jamie Lewis
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Benito van de Pas
Max Hopp
Robert Thornton
Ian White
Dave Chisnall
Simon Whitlock
Qualifiers
Four players to come from a Qualifier to be held on Friday October 23 in Coventry open to PDC Tour Card Holders and players who competed in the five international World Series events during 2015.