Van den Bergh draws Razma for Nordic Darts Masters opener

Dimitri Van den Bergh (Mikal Schlosser, PDC)

Dimitri Van den Bergh will open his defence of the Nordic Darts Masters title against Madars Razma in a blockbuster first round tie at Forum Copenhagen next Friday.

The year's second PDC World Series of Darts event sees a 16-player field compete on January 20-21 in the third staging of the Nordic Darts Masters.

Eight top PDC stars - headlined by reigning champion Van den Bergh and World Champion Michael Smith - will face the leading eight players from the Nordic & Baltic region in the event's first round.

Van den Bergh, last year's champion in Copenhagen, will meet top-ranked Latvian ace Razma in the stand-out tie of the first round as the Belgian bids to retain the title.

In-form World Champion Smith will be bidding to follow up Friday's Bahrain Darts Masters success with a third successive tournament win as he heads to Copenhagen, where he opens his challenge against Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas.

Bahrain Darts Masters runner-up Gerwyn Price will face Denmark's Benjamin Drue Reus, while third seed Rob Cross meets another home hope, Vladimir Andersen.

Peter Wright, the fourth seed, has drawn Sweden's Dennis Nilsson, who sees his fellow countrymen Daniel Larsson and Andreas Harrysson face Jonny Clayton and 2021 champion Michael van Gerwen respectively.

World number five Luke Humphries will play Finland's Marko Kantele in the other first round tie on Friday, before the tournament concludes across two sessions on Saturday.

Tickets for the 2023 Nordic Darts Masters are available through Ticketmaster.

The Nordic Darts Masters is being broadcast through Viaplay, via ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN, and on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).

Please note that Friday's first round coverage can be watched live by fans from the UK on PDCTV. ITV4 coverage of the first round will be shown delayed on Saturday January 21.

2023 Nordic Darts Masters
January 20-21, Forum Copenhagen
Draw Bracket

(1) Michael Smith v Darius Labanauskas
Luke Humphries v Marko Kantele
(4) Peter Wright v Dennis Nilsson
Michael van Gerwen v Andreas Harrysson
(2) Gerwyn Price v Benjamin Drue Reus
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Madars Razma
(3) Rob Cross v Vladimir Andersen
Jonny Clayton v Daniel Larsson

Schedule of Play
Friday January 20 (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)

First Round
Luke Humphries v Marko Kantele
Jonny Clayton v Daniel Larsson
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Madars Razma
Gerwyn Price v Benjamin Drue Reus
Peter Wright v Dennis Nilsson
Michael Smith v Darius Labanauskas
Rob Cross v Vladimir Andersen
Michael van Gerwen v Andreas Harrysson
* Please note updated schedule

Saturday January 21
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (2000 local time, 1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final