Raymond van Barneveld gets to bid farewell to his beloved home fans
Monday 4 November 2019 08:05, UK
James Wade is set to open his title defence later this week as the World Series of Darts Finals heads to Amsterdam.
Wayne Jones and Jonny Clayton will play off for the right to meet reigning champion Wade, who took the title 12 months ago in Austria by edging out Michael Smith in the final.
The season-ending tournament sees 24 players competing for a £70,000 top prize across three days, as the PDC stages a televised event in Amsterdam for the first time.
The leading eight players from the year's World Series Order of Merit, following five international events, qualified by right and are seeded through to the second round on Saturday night.
The remaining 16 players compete in Friday's first round - which is set to be headlined by the clash between Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price, in a repeat of Sunday's European Championship semi-final, before the winner progresses to play World champion Michael van Gerwen.
US Masters champion Nathan Aspinall - a World Series winner in Las Vegas in July - will play Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski in another tasty first-round tie, with the winner to face Daryl Gurney.
German Masters finalist Gabriel Clemens will come up against Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena, with five-time World champion Raymond van Barneveld awaiting the winner as the veteran begins his final televised event in the Netherlands ahead of retirement.
World Grand Prix finalist Dave Chisnall drew Simon Whitlock, while Mensur Suljovic will play Kyle Anderson, Ian White plays Ricky Evans and an all-Dutch tie sees Danny Noppert play Jeffrey de Zwaan.
Melbourne Masters champion Damon Heta, the fifth seed, could meet former schoolmate Kyle Anderson in round two, while German Darts Masters winner Peter Wright plays Evans or White in the last 16.
Following Saturday's second round, the tournament concludes across two sessions on Sunday, with the afternoon's quarter-finals following in the decisive evening session by the semi-finals and final.
Draw Bracket
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Smith/Price
(8) James Wade v Jones/Clayton
(5) Damon Heta v K Anderson/Suljovic
(4) Daryl Gurney v Ratajski/Aspinall
(2) Peter Wright v Evans/White
(7) Gary Anderson v Noppert/De Zwaan
(6) Raymond van Barneveld v Wattimena/Clemens
(3) Rob Cross v Chisnall/Whitlock
First Round Draw
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Wayne Jones v Jonny Clayton
Kyle Anderson v Mensur Suljovic
Krzysztof Ratajski v Nathan Aspinall
Ricky Evans v Ian White
Danny Noppert v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jermaine Wattimena v Gabriel Clemens
Dave Chisnall v Simon Whitlock
Schedule of Play
Friday, November 1 (1945 local time, 1845 GMT)
First Round x8
Wayne Jones v Jonny Clayton
Ricky Evans v Ian White
Kyle Anderson v Mensur Suljovic
Krzysztof Ratajski v Nathan Aspinall
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Dave Chisnall v Simon Whitlock
Danny Noppert v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Jermaine Wattimena v Gabriel Clemens
Saturday, November 2 (2000 local time, 1900 GMT)
Second Round x8
James Wade v Jones/Clayton
Damon Heta v K Anderson/Suljovic
Daryl Gurney v Ratajski/Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v Smith/Price
Peter Wright v Evans/White
Gary Anderson v Noppert/De Zwaan
Raymond van Barneveld v Wattimena/Clemens
Rob Cross v Chisnall/Whitlock
Sunday, November 3
Afternoon Session (1345 local time, 1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (2000 local time, 1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals & Final
Check out daily Darts news on skysports.com/darts, our app for mobile devices and our Twitter account @skysportsdarts - the action is back on your Sky Sports screens next month with the Grand Slam of Darts, nine days of coverage from the Aldersley Leisure Village gets underway on Saturday, November 9.
