GARY ANDERSON will begin his defence of the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters title against Phil Taylor on Wednesday, as Dutch giants Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld prepare to meet in the World Series of Darts opener.
The fifth staging of the Dubai Darts Masters will take place on May 24-25 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium, with the open-air setting providing a spectacular backdrop for the two-day championship.
The year's first World Series of Darts tournament will begin with the high-profile meeting between defending Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters champion Anderson and legendary 16-time World Champion Taylor.
Taylor will be competing in Dubai for the final time ahead of his retirement at the end of the year, while Anderson is returning to the scene of his first of three World Series wins last year.
"It's a tough game," said Anderson. "Phil beat me the last time we played in the Premier League so it will be hard game, and he'll be trying his damnedest because this is his last year.
"It's nice to get over to Dubai and be back here. Winning the event last year was a great memory and I'd love to do it again."
World Champion Van Gerwen was the winner in the first three years of the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters from 2013-2015 before losing out to Anderson in last year's final.
He faces an all-Dutch clash with Van Barneveld in their quarter-final on Wednesday, in a game which revives memories of their meeting in the final four years ago.
"I'm looking forward to it," said Van Gerwen. "It's always a fantastic tournament for me and I've always played well over here.
"Last year I let Gary Anderson walk away with the trophy, unfortunately I made a few mistakes, but I'm here to try to get it back again.
"That's what you need to aim for, keep your confidence high and make sure you perform well and also prepare well because you need to get used to the heat again. I feel comfortable about it."
Van Barneveld was one of just two players to defeat Van Gerwen during the recent Premier League season, and is aiming to see off the world number one in Dubai on Wednesday.
"There were no easy draws and you know what you've got to do - play your best," said Van Barneveld. "To beat Michael, the Premier League champion and World Champion, is going to be tough so I hope I play well tomorrow.
"Mike is a machine but someone has to stop him and why not me? If there is one player in darts that can beat him it's me, I've shown that for the last two or three years."
Number four seed James Wade will play debutant Gerwyn Price, with the Welsh ace having secured selection for the tournament after reaching March's UK Open final but a newcomer on the open-air stage in Dubai.
"I don't think anyone enjoys the heat and the conditions but everyone has to do the same thing," explained Wade. "It's the same for every player and I can't wait."
Premier League runner-up Peter Wright, another former finalist in Dubai, will take on Dave Chisnall in the other quarter-final, with both players in strong form recently.
Wright, who has won eight ranking titles so far this year, said: "My plan is to come here and win. I want to make up for losing out in the Premier League so I'm going to try and win this one.
"I think Chizzy is probably playing the best darts of anyone else and you just have to look at the end of the Premier League, when he was unbeaten in seven games, so I've got a very hard game."
Wright - who has become known as darts' tinkerman after often changing his darts between, or during, matches - admits that the unique setting of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium presents a different challenge for players.
However, he has backed Price to adapt in his debut on the open-air stage on Wednesday.
"It's Gerwyn's first time and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the heat on stage, but he's a professional sportsman so he should be alright," added Wright.
"You're not sure how the darts are going to fly up there so I'm going to take two sets of darts with me on stage. If one doesn't go, and the others don't go, then I'm in real trouble!"
Commenting on the upcoming event, Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Colm McLoughlin said: "It's been a great pleasure for Dubai Duty Free to host this event for the fifth time.
"We are very pleased that it has grown to become one of the highly anticipated events in the Dubai calendar and with eight of the world top darts players taking part this week, we can all look forward to an exciting battles to determine who will lift the highly coveted trophy."
The Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters will be hosted at the Irish Village supported by long-term partners JW Marriott Marquis and Qantas. SIXT, the Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Calendar, Dubai Television and SPORT360 also support the event.
The AED640,000 tournament will be broadcast worldwide through the PDC's series of broadcast partners, with coverage in the UK on ITV4 from 6pm on Wednesday and 7pm on Thursday.
The Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters draw was conducted by Nic Bruwer, Executive Vice President - Commercial for Dubai Duty Free, and Dave Cattanach, General Manager of Irish Village.
2017 Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters
Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Raymond van Barneveld
James Wade (4) v Gerwyn Price
Gary Anderson (2) v Phil Taylor
Peter Wright (3) v Dave Chisnall
Schedule of Play
Wednesday May 24
Quarter-Finals
James Wade v Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Gary Anderson v Phil Taylor
Michael van Gerwen v Raymond van Barneveld
Best of 19 legs
Thursday May 25
Semi-Finals
Final
Best of 21 legs