MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will begin his defence of The Unibet Masters title against Stephen Bunting on Saturday January 30 at ArenaMK, with World Champion Gary Anderson up against Vincent van der Voort in Milton Keynes.
World number one van Gerwen kicked off a brilliant 2015 when he took victory in The Masters, which features the top 16 players in the PDC Order of Merit following the completion of the World Championship.
The Dutchman is up against former Lakeside Champion and Premier League ace Bunting when this year's £200,000 Unibet Masters kicks off, live on ITV4.
World Champion Gary Anderson, ranked second in the Order of Merit, will take on quick-fire Dutchman Vincent van der Voort in their opener - only weeks after the Scot took victory on the Alexandra Palace stage.
Another high-profile rematch from the World Championship sees Phil Taylor - the inaugural Masters champion - taking on Holland's Jelle Klaasen, who overcame the Stoke legend during his run to the semi-finals.
World Championship runner-up Adrian Lewis will meet Belgium's Kim Huybrechts, while 2015 Masters finalist Raymond van Barneveld - who moved up to ninth in the rankings by reaching the Ally Pally semi-finals - takes on number eight seed Michael Smith.
2014 Masters champion James Wade faces nine-time major finalist Terry Jenkins, and reigning World Grand Prix champion Robert Thornton meets Dave Chisnall, who landed a nine-dart finish in November's Grand Slam of Darts.
Top seed van Gerwen is the 2/1 pre-tournament favourite with sponsors Unibet, with World Champion Anderson the 3/1 second favourite, while both Taylor and Lewis are 8/1 to lift the title.
The 2016 Unibet Masters will be held on Saturday January 30 and Sunday January 31 at ArenaMK in Milton Keynes, with tickets available online via https://www.theticketfactory.com/pdc/online/.
2016 Unibet Masters
First Round Draw & Tournament Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Stephen Bunting (16)
Michael Smith (8) v Raymond van Barneveld (9)
Phil Taylor (4) v Jelle Klaasen (13)
Peter Wright (5) v Ian White (12)
Gary Anderson (2) v Vincent van der Voort (15)
Robert Thornton (7) v Dave Chisnall (10)
Adrian Lewis (3) v Kim Huybrechts (14)
James Wade (6) v Terry Jenkins (11)
Schedule of Play
Saturday January 30
Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm)
First Round x4
Robert Thornton v Dave Chisnall
James Wade v Terry Jenkins
Peter Wright v Ian White
Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
First Round x4
Adrian Lewis v Kim Huybrechts
Phil Taylor v Jelle Klaasen
Gary Anderson v Vincent van der Voort
Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
Sunday January 31
Afternoon Session (12.45pm-5pm)
Quarter-Finals
Lewis/Huybrechts v Wade/Jenkins
Anderson/van der Voort v Thornton/Chisnall
Taylor/Klaasen v Wright/White
van Gerwen/Bunting v Smith/van Barneveld
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
First 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
First Round Losers - £5,000
Total - £200,000
Unibet Tournament Odds
Outright Winner
2/1 Michael van Gerwen
3/1 Gary Anderson
8/1 Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis
14/1 James Wade, Peter Wright
18/1 Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith
25/1 Raymond van Barneveld
28/1 Jelle Klaasen
33/1 Robert Thornton
40/1 Kim Huybrechts, Ian White
50/1 Stephen Bunting
66/1 Vincent van der Voort
80/1 Terry Jenkins
First Round Match Odds
7/5 Robert Thornton v 5/9 Dave Chisnall
11/25 James Wade v 9/5 Terry Jenkins
13/25 Peter Wright v 6/4 Ian White
9/10 Michael Smith v 9/10 Raymond van Barneveld
2/5 Adrian Lewis v 2/1 Kim Huybrechts
1/2 Phil Taylor v 8/5 Jelle Klaasen
9/50 Gary Anderson v 39/10 Vincent van der Voort
2/15 Michael van Gerwen v 23/5 Stephen Bunting
Odds courtesy www.unibet.co.uk and subject to fluctuation. For more information and other markets, visit www.unibet.co.uk.