THE Professional Darts Corporation are delighted to announce a new, multi-event sponsorship agreement with Ladbrokes which will begin at the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals this weekend.
The first tournament in a four-year deal, the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals sees the leading bookmaker extend their support of big-stage PDC tournaments.
Ladbrokes will become the title sponsors of The Masters for 2020, 2021 and 2022, and will also take over as title sponsors of the UK Open for 2019, 2020 and 2021 in a switch from sister company Coral.
"It's wonderful to be working with Ladbrokes again and this deal shows their ongoing commitment to a wide range of PDC tournaments," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
Ladbrokes have a long-held association with the PDC and this deal will showcase their brand across three of our biggest televised events over the next four years.
"The new sponsorship begins at this weekend's Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals, which promises to be an action-packed weekend with coverage live on ITV4 and worldwide.
"Following the excitement and drama of PDC events recently during our busy autumn period, there is greater interest than ever in the sport and an increasingly high standard being produced by stars on the oche."
Simon Clare, Ladbrokes Coral PR Director: "We are thrilled to be announcing a significant and longstanding association between Ladbrokes and the PDC, with sponsorship of three of the biggest darts tournaments in the calendar.
We have enjoyed many successful years working with the PDC and now is the time to take our relationship onto the next level with this exciting deal.
The Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be held from November 23-25 at the Butlin's Minehead Resort in Somerset.
Featuring the leading 64 stars from the 2018 Players Championship Order of Merit, following 22 one-day ProTour events, the tournament offers a £460,000 prize fund, including £100,000 to the winner.
Friday's first round will be headlined by top seed Michael van Gerwen, the reigning champion, beginning his challenge for a fourth successive title when he plays Matthew Edgar.
Number one seed Ian White, who topped the Players Championship Order of Merit, takes on Scott Taylor, while new Grand Slam of Darts champion Gerwyn Price plays Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski.
Gary Anderson, March's UK Open winner in Minehead, plays Alan Tabern, while world number two Peter Wright takes on Spain's Toni Alcinas and 2017 finalist Jonny Clayton faces an all-Welsh tie with Mark Webster.
Play on the first two days will be held across two stages at the Butlin's Minehead Resort, with Sunday's final day seeing the action centre on the Skyline Arena stage.
Butlin's Weekend Break Packages are available through www.bigweekends.com, which include accommodation and tickets for all six sessions of darts.
Whilst the televised coverage of the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will focus on the Main Stage, play on Friday and Saturday on Stage Two will be available on PDCTV-HD for all subscribers worldwide.
Update (Nov 20): Mensur Suljovic has withdrawn and been replaced by Benito van de Pas.
2018 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals
Schedule of Play
Friday November 23
First Round
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Main Stage
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Jelle Klaasen
Max Hopp v Steve West
Keegan Brown v Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Lewis v Adam Hunt
Simon Whitlock v Kyle Anderson
Daryl Gurney v Robert Thornton
James Wade v Ross Smith
Stage Two
Brendan Dolan v Michael Barnard
Josh Payne v Ryan Searle
Nathan Aspinall v Martin Schindler
Gabriel Clemens v Andrew Gilding
Ryan Joyce v Steve Lennon
Mervyn King v Simon Stevenson
Stephen Bunting v Richard North
Mickey Mansell v Madars Razma
Dave Chisnall v Jamie Lewis
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Main Stage
Ian White v Scott Taylor
Gary Anderson v Alan Tabern
Rob Cross v Cristo Reyes
Krzysztof Ratajski v Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright v Toni Alcinas
Michael van Gerwen v Matthew Edgar
Michael Smith v Vincent van der Voort
Stage Two
Jermaine Wattimena v Stephen Burton
John Henderson v Joe Cullen
Jonny Clayton v Mark Webster
Ricky Evans v Jan Dekker
James Wilson v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Danny Noppert v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Chris Dobey v Ron Meulenkamp
Darren Webster v Jeffrey de Graaf
Steve Beaton v Kim Huybrechts
Saturday November 24
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Second Round
Main Stage
Gurney/Thornton v Payne/Searle
Wade/R Smith v Aspinall/Schindler
Chisnall/J Lewis v Dobey/Meulenkamp
Cross/Reyes v Joyce/Lennon
G Anderson/Tabern v Whitlock/K Anderson
Van Gerwen/Edgar v Brown/Suljovic
Wright/Alcinas v Hopp/West
Stage Two
Bunting/North v Mansell/Razma
Wilson/Van den Bergh v Clemens/Gilding
De Zwaan/Klaasen v Evans/Dekker
Wattimena/Burton v D Webster/De Graaf
White/Taylor v Dolan/Barnard
Noppert/Rodriguez v King/Stevenson
M Smith/Van der Voort v Clayton/M Webster
Beaton/Huybrechts v Henderson/Cullen
A Lewis/Hunt v Ratajski/G Price
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Third Round
Main Stage
4x Games TBC
Stage Two
4x Games TBC
Sunday November 25
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final
Plus PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship Final:
Martin Schindler v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Best of 11 legs. To be played between semi-finals and final of Players Championship Finals.
Former Winners
Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals
Prize Fund
Winner: £100,000
Runner-Up: £40,000
Semi-Finalists: £23,000
Quarter-Finalists: £12,500
Second Round Losers: £8,000
Last 32 Losers: £5,000
First Round Losers: £2,500
Total: £460,000
Nine-Dart Finish Bonus: £5,000
Format
First Round: Best of 11 legs
Second Round: Best of 11 legs
Third Round: Best of 19 legs
Quarter-Finals: Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals: Best of 21 legs
Final: Best of 21 legs