MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will begin his bid to win a third successive 2018 European Tour title on Saturday, with the draw and schedule of play for the German Darts Open now available.
World number one Van Gerwen has claimed victory in both European Tour events held so far this year, defeating Peter Wright in finals in Leverkusen and Munich.
The return to Saarbrucken will see the Dutchman face either Richard North or fellow countryman Danny Noppert when he enters the event in Saturday's second round.
2017 German Darts Open winner Wright begins his title defence against either German favourite Max Hopp or Austrian qualifier Zoran Lerchbacher.
World Champion Rob Cross could come up against the reigning PDC Unicorn World Youth Champion, Dimitri Van den Bergh, in round two, should the young Belgian defeat William O'Connor on Friday.
James Wade, a two-time semi-finalist so far this year, will headline the first round action on Friday as he takes on Poland's Tytus Kanik.
Former European Tour winner Robert Thornton plays Steve Lennon, while Paul Nicholson takes on Nathan Aspinall.
Terry Jenkins returns to the European Tour stage against Cameron Menzies, while Simon Stevenson takes on Kirk Shepherd and Matthew Edgar takes on Steve West.
The tournament will also feature first round clash between European Tour debutants Maik Kuivenhoven, from the Netherlands, and German ace Tobias Muller, who both secured their places in Thursday's final qualifiers.
The German Darts Open will be broadcast throughout the weekend for PDCTV-HD Subscribers at www.pdc.tv, and through a series of bookmakers' websites worldwide.
2018 German Darts Open
Tournament Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Richard North/Danny Noppert
Steve Beaton (16) v Dragutin Horvat/Alan Tabern
Dave Chisnall (8) v Jose Justivia/Luke Woodhouse
Ian White (9) v Terry Jenkins/Cameron Menzies
Daryl Gurney (5) v Rene Eidams/Ricky Williams
Mervyn King (12) v James Wade/Tytus Kanik
Michael Smith (4) v Steve Lennon/Robert Thornton
Jelle Klaasen (13) v Maik Kuivenhoven/Tobias Muller
Peter Wright (2) v Zoran Lerchbacher/Max Hopp
Benito van de Pas (15) v Paul Nicholson/Nathan Aspinall
Joe Cullen (7) v Luke Humphries/Ronny Huybrechts
Simon Whitlock (10) v Jan Dekker/Daniel Larsson
Mensur Suljovic (6) v Keegan Brown/Jermaine Wattimena
Gerwyn Price (11) v Simon Stevenson/Kirk Shepherd
Rob Cross (3) v Dimitri Van den Bergh/William O'Connor
Darren Webster (14) v Matthew Edgar/Steve West
Schedule of Play
Friday April 13
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm GMT)
Simon Stevenson v Kirk Shepherd
Matthew Edgar v Steve West
Terry Jenkins v Cameron Menzies
Maik Kuivenhoven v Tobias Muller
Jan Dekker v Daniel Larsson
Rene Eidams v Ricky Williams
Richard North v Danny Noppert
Jose Justicia v Luke Woodhouse
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm GMT)
Dragutin Horvat v Alan Tabern
Luke Humphries v Ronny Huybrechts
Steve Lennon v Robert Thornton
Zoran Lerchbacher v Max Hopp
Dimitri Van den Bergh v William O'Connor
Paul Nicholson v Nathan Aspinall
James Wade v Tytus Kanik
Keegan Brown v Jermaine Wattimena
Saturday April 14
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm GMT)
Darren Webster v Edgar/West
Ian White v Jenkins/Menzies
Simon Whitlock v Dekker/Larsson
Gerwyn Price v Stevenson/Shepherd
Jelle Klaasen v Kuivenhoven/Muller
Steve Beaton v Horvat/Tabern
Dave Chisnall v Justicia/Woodhouse
Michael Smith v Lennon/Thornton
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm GMT)
Mervyn King v Wade/Kanik
Daryl Gurney v Eidams/Williams
Benito van de Pas v Nicholson/Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v North/Noppert
Peter Wright v Lerchbacher/Hopp
Joe Cullen v Humphries/R Huybrechts
Mensur Suljovic v Brown/Wattimena
Rob Cross v Van den Bergh/O'Connor
Sunday April 15
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm GMT)
Third Round
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs.
Sunday's games played in Draw Bracket order.
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online by all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide - click here to visit PDCTV-HD.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian federation, Spain, Ukraine
Napoleonbet - www.en-gb.sports.napoleongames.be - Belgium
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa