BRISBANE and Vienna are to host the PDC's World Series of Darts for the first time in 2018 following confirmation of the year's seven events, while Rob Cross, Jamie Lewis and Dimitri Van den Bergh will also step onto the global stage.
The ongoing global expansion of the World Series of Darts will see six worldwide events followed by the end-of-season Finals, which will move to Austria in November.
The year's events will begin with the second staging of the German Darts Masters, with a one-day spectacular being held on Friday May 25 at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen.
The stars of the sport will then return to Las Vegas, with the North American Championship to be followed by the second U.S. Darts Masters, which will be held at Mandalay Bay from July 5-7.
July's double-header will then see the third Shanghai Darts Masters held on July 13-14 at the Pullman Hotel Shanghai South, before the action heads Down Under for an August treble-header.
The Auckland Darts Masters takes place from August 3-5 at the Trusts Arena, with the sport's top names returning to New Zealand for the fourth staging of the popular event.
The action then moves to Australia, with the second Melbourne Darts Masters taking place from August 10-12 at the Hisense Arena before the inaugural Brisbane Darts Masters, from August 17-19 at the BCEC, sees the World Series visit Queensland for the first time.
The season-ending World Series of Darts Finals will then be held from November 2-4 at the Multiversum Schwechat in Vienna, as Austria hosts the 24-player event.
The world's current top four players - Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, World Champion Rob Cross and Gary Anderson - will compete in each of the six international events.
They will be joined in the German Darts Masters by Austrian star Mensur Suljovic – the reigning Champions League of Darts winner - five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, reigning World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh and World Championship semi-finalist Jamie Lewis.
The top two German players from the PDC Order of Merit at April 30 will also qualify alongside six players from the German Superleague.
World Grand Prix champion Daryl Gurney and Premier League star Gerwyn Price will compete in the U.S. Darts Masters - where the Northern Irish ace was runner-up in 2017 - and Shanghai Darts Masters in July, with the final two PDC players to be confirmed in due course.
The U.S. Darts Masters will also feature the eight players from the USA or Canada who qualify to compete in the 2018 North American Championship - with four winners from qualifiers to be held on July 3-4 joined by four players from a Qualifiers Order of Merit.
The Shanghai Darts Masters will see the eight PDC stars up against eight regional competitors, with the top three players from the PDC Asian Tour, following Event Six, joined by five Chinese qualifiers.
August's three events will see Van Gerwen, Wright, Cross and Anderson joined by Australian trio Simon Whitlock, Kyle Anderson - the reigning Auckland Darts Masters champion – and recent UK Open finalist Corey Cadby plus one other player.
A series of qualifying events will be held during July for players to win spots in the three events, to be held in Invercargill from July 2-8 and in Warilla from July 22-25.
The Auckland Darts Masters will feature the top two players from the DPNZ World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, plus one player from the DPA World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, plus four players from the Auckland Darts Masters, with one place to be confirmed.
The events in Melbourne and Brisbane will both feature the top two players from the DPA World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, one player from the DPNZ World Series Qualifiers Merit Table and four qualifiers, with one place to be confirmed.
The World Series of Darts Finals will then see the top eight players from the final World Series of Darts Order of Merit joined by 16 invited players and qualifiers to compete in Vienna.
Tickets for the German Darts Masters are available now through www.eventim.de, while tickets for the North American Championship and U.S. Darts Masters are available via www.axs.com.
Ticket information for other events will be confirmed at www.pdc.tv/tickets in due course.
2018 PDC World Series of Darts
German Darts Masters
May 25, Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Mensur Suljovic, Raymond van Barneveld, Jamie Lewis, Dimitri Van den Bergh.
German Representatives: Top two German players from PDC Order of Merit at April 30, plus top six players from German Superleague. Tickets: CLICK HERE
U.S. Darts Masters (preceded by North American Championship)
July 5-7, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, America
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, (Michael Smith & James Wade confirmed April 16)
North American Representatives: 8x Qualifiers for North American Championship; 4x winners of qualifiers on July 3-4 plus four players from Qualifiers' Order of Merit.
Tickets: CLICK HERE
Shanghai Darts Masters
July 13-14, Pullman Hotel Shanghai South, China
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Daryl Gurney, Gerwyn Price, (Michael Smith & James Wade confirmed April 16)
Asian Representatives: Top three players from PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit following Event Six (June 24) plus five Chinese Qualifiers.
Auckland Darts Masters
August 3-5, Trusts Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, Kyle Anderson, (Michael Smith & Raymond van Barneveld confirmed April 16)
Oceanic Representatives: Corey Cadby, top two players from DPNZ World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, top player from DPA World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, four Qualifiers
Melbourne Darts Masters
August 10-12, Hisense Arena, Melbourne, Australia
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, Kyle Anderson, (Michael Smith & Raymond van Barneveld confirmed April 16)
Oceanic Representatives: Corey Cadby, tp two players from DPA World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, top player from DPNZ World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, four Qualifiers
Brisbane Darts Masters
August 17-19, BCEC, Brisbane, Australia
Competing Players
PDC Representatives: Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson, Simon Whitlock, Kyle Anderson, (Michael Smith & Raymond van Barneveld confirmed April 16)
Oceanic Representatives: Corey Cadby, top two players from DPA World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, top player from DPNZ World Series Qualifiers Merit Table, four Qualifiers
World Series of Darts Finals
November 2-4, Multiversum Schwechat, Vienna, Austria
Competing Players
Top eight players from World Series of Darts Order of Merit
Top four players from PDC Order of Merit not otherwise qualified
Between four and eight invited players at discretion of PDC Board of Directors.
Between four and eight Qualifiers.
Tickets: CLICK HERE
NOTE: Representatives above updated following April 16 player confirmation of Michael Smith and James Wade for Las Vegas & Shanghai & Michael Smith and Raymond van Barneveld for Auckland, Melbourne and Brisbane. Click here for the full announcement.