THE inaugural Danish Darts Open will begin on Friday in Copenhagen, with former European Tour winners Adrian Lewis, Steve Beaton, Robert Thornton and Max Hopp all in action.
The PDC European Tour visits Scandinavia for the first time as 48 players compete across the weekend at the Brondbyhallen in Copenhagen, in the eighth £135,000 event of the year.
World number one Michael van Gerwen heads the 16 seeded players who will enter the event at the second round stage on Saturday, with the Dutchman aiming to claim his sixth European Tour win of the year.
However, a high-quality field will see a host of former European Tour winners in action in the first round.
Double World Champion Lewis headlines the opening day's play with a tie against emerging youngster Ted Evetts.
German Darts Open winner Hopp takes on Dragutin Horvat, while former European Tour winners Thornton and Beaton meet Scott Taylor and Adam Huckvale respectively.
Mickey Mansell, a Players Championship winner earlier this year, will take on Dutch star Jelle Klaasen, while recent Gibraltar Darts Trophy semi-finalist Paul Nicholson plays Peter Jacques.
Jeffrey de Zwaan, another ProTour winner in 2018, will meet Latvian ace Madars Razma, while Austrian teenager Rusty-Jake Rodriguez makes his second European Tour appearance in the opening fixture against Ireland's William O'Connor.
The field was completed in Thursday night's qualifiers, with the two places open to Danish players going to Per Laursen and Brian Lokken and Sweden's Dennis Nilsson and Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas qualifying from the remainder of the PDCNB region.
The Danish Darts Open will take place from June 22-24, with streaming available for all PDCTV-HD Subscribers worldwide as well as through a series of bookmakers' websites.
2018 Danish Darts Open
Tournament Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
Peter Wright (3) v Barry Lynn/Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price (14) v Mickey Mansell/Jelle Klaasen
Mensur Suljovic (6) v Ryan Joyce/Krzysztof Ratajski
Darren Webster (11) v Brian Lokken/Cristo Reyes
Joe Cullen (7) v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Madars Razma
James Wade (10) v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez/William O’Connor
Michael Smith (2) v Adrian Lewis/Ted Evetts
Stephen Bunting (15) v Paul Nicholson/Peter Jacques
Rob Cross (4) v Steve Beaton/Adam Huckvale
Mervyn King (13) v Max Hopp/Dragutin Horvat
Daryl Gurney (5) v Ricky Evans/Dennis Nilsson
Simon Whitlock (12) v Jermaine Wattimena/Wayne Jones
Jonny Clayton (8) v Richard North/Darius Labanauskas
Ian White (9) v Per Laursen/Steve West
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Robert Thornton/Scott Taylor
John Henderson (16) v Martin Schindler/Brendan Dolan
Schedule of Play
Friday June 22
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Rusty-Jake Rodriguez v William O’Connor
Ryan Joyce v Krzysztof Ratajski
Martin Schindler v Brendan Dolan
Jermaine Wattimena v Wayne Jones
Richard North v Darius Labanauskas
Steve Beaton v Adam Huckvale
Barry Lynn v Chris Dobey
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Madars Razma
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Mickey Mansell v Jelle Klaasen
Robert Thornton v Scott Taylor
Per Laursen v Steve West
Paul Nicholson v Peter Jacques
Ricky Evans v Dennis Nilsson
Adrian Lewis v Ted Evetts
Brian Lokken v Cristo Reyes
Max Hopp v Dragutin Horvat
Saturday June 23
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
John Henderson v Schindler/Dolan
Joe Cullen v De Zwaan/Razma
Gerwyn Price v Mansell/Klaasen
Jonny Clayton v North/Labanauskas
James Wade v Rodriguez/O’Connor
Darren Webster v Lokken/Reyes
Simon Whitlock v Wattimena/Jones
Stephen Bunting v Nicholson/Jacques
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Mervyn King v Hopp/Horvat
Mensur Suljovic v Joyce/Ratajski
Peter Wright v Lynn/Dobey
Michael Smith v Lewis/Evetts
Rob Cross v Beaton/Huckvale
Daryl Gurney v Evans/Nilsson
Michael van Gerwen v Thornton/Taylor
Ian White v Laursen/West
Sunday June 24
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (7.15pm local time, 6.15pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order