2021 Ladbrokes Masters schedule of play confirmed

Michael Smith (Lawrence Lustig, PDC)

The schedule of play has been confirmed for the 2021 Ladbrokes Masters, which will commence on Friday January 29 in Milton Keynes.

The £220,000 tournament has been expanded to feature 24 players this year, with the first round seeing the players ranked from 9-24 on the PDC Order of Merit facing off.

The action will begin as Ian White plays Mensur Suljovic on Friday January 29, before Premier League champion Glen Durrant meets Players Championship Finals runner-up Mervyn King.

World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh then plays Chris Dobey, before Krzysztof Ratajski takes on Simon Whitlock and two former Masters finalists - Michael Smith and Adrian Lewis - then face off.

Daryl Gurney then meets Jeffrey de Zwaan, while Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa takes on World Cup winner Jonny Clayton, before Joe Cullen's tie with Stephen Bunting completes the first round.

The second round is split across two sessions on Saturday January 30, with former champion James Wade starring in the afternoon session before Peter Wright begins his title defence in the evening, when Gerwyn Price steps out as World Champion for the first time.

Five-time winner Michael van Gerwen also opens his challenge on Saturday night, and is the 9/4 pre-tournament favourite with sponsors Ladbrokes, ahead of Price (5/2) and Wright (7/1).

The Ladbrokes Masters will conclude on Sunday January 31, with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session.

Worldwide coverage will be led by host broadcaster ITV4 in the UK and Ireland, as well as through RTL7 in the Netherlands and DAZN in various global territories, as well as through the PDC's global broadcasters, for PDCTV Rest of the World Subscribers and through matchroom.live.

2021 Ladbrokes Masters
Friday January 29 (1900 GMT)

First Round x8
Ian White v Mensur Suljovic
Glen Durrant v Mervyn King
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey
Krzysztof Ratajski v Simon Whitlock
Michael Smith v Adrian Lewis
Daryl Gurney v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jose de Sousa v Jonny Clayton
Joe Cullen v Stephen Bunting

Saturday January 30
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)

Second Round x4
Rob Cross v Durrant/King
James Wade v Van den Bergh/Dobey
Nathan Aspinall v White/Suljovic
Dave Chisnall v Gurney/De Zwaan

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Second Round x4
Gary Anderson v Smith/Lewis
Peter Wright v Ratajski/Whitlock
Gerwyn Price v Cullen/Bunting
Michael van Gerwen v De Sousa/Clayton

Sunday January 31
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final

Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Second Round - Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs
Final - Best of 21 legs

Prize Fund
Winner - £60,000
Runner-Up - £25,000
Semi-Finalists - £17,500
Quarter-Finalists - £10,000
Second Round Losers - £5,000
First Round Losers - £2,500
Total - £220,000

Draw Bracket
(1) Gerwyn Price v (16) Joe Cullen/(17) Stephen Bunting
(8) Gary Anderson v (9) Michael Smith/(24) Adrian Lewis
(4) Rob Cross v (13) Glen Durrant/(20) Mervyn King
(5) Nathan Aspinall v (12) Ian White/(21) Mensur Suljovic
(2) Michael van Gerwen v (15) Jose de Sousa/(18) Jonny Clayton
(7) James Wade v (10) Dimitri Van den Bergh/(23) Chris Dobey
(3) Peter Wright v (14) Krzysztof Ratajski/(19) Simon Whitlock
(6) Dave Chisnall v (11) Daryl Gurney/(22) Jeffrey de Zwaan