MICHAEL VAN GERWEN will be bidding to claim a fifth PDC European Tour title of 2019 when he defends his European Darts Grand Prix title in Sindelfingen this weekend, with the draw and schedule now confirmed.
Van Gerwen's wins in the German Darts Open and Austrian Darts Open over the past two weekends have seen him follow up two earlier wins in 2019 in style.
The World Champion also claimed victory at the European Darts Grand Prix in 2018, and will begin his title defence on Saturday against either Brendan Dolan or a Host Nation Qualifier.
2018 runner-up James Wade is also in action at the Glaspalast this weekend, taking on Ryan Searle or Glen Durrant in his opening tie.
2019 German Darts Championship winner Daryl Gurney will play either Chris Dobey or Madars Razma, while German ace Max Hop will play Kim Viljanen or UK Open champion Nathan Aspinall.
Arguably the stand-out fixture from Friday's first round ties, which feature the 32 qualifiers, will be the clash between in-form pair Steve Beaton and Stephen Bunting.
Former European Tour event winner Vincent van der Voort will play Dave Prins, while East Europe Qualifier Pero Ljubic plays Ross Smith.
From the original field of entries, Dave Chisnall has withdrawn and been replaced as a seed by Mervyn King, the highest-ranked qualifier.
The 48-player field was finalised on Thursday with five places available in the Host Nation Qualifier and two spots available from the West & South Europe Qualifier.
The Host Nation Qualifiers were led by Dragutin Horvat and Michael Rosenauer, alongside Michael Hurtz, Daniel Klose and Ricardo Pietreczko, while Michael Rasztovits and Stefan Bellmont won through the West & South Europe Qualifier.
The European Darts Grand Prix will be played from May 10-12 at the Glaspalast in Sindelfingen, Germany. Coverage will be broadcast through PDCTV-HD for all subscribers worldwide, and through a series of bookmakers' websites listed below.
2019 European Darts Grand Prix
Tournament Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
(3) Ian White v Michael Rasztovits/Dimitri Van den Bergh
(14) Ricky Evans v Daniel Klose/Keegan Brown
(6) Rob Cross v Stefan Bellmont/Jeffrey de Zwaan
(11) Michael Smith v Robert Owen/Krzysztof Ratajski
(7) Mensur Suljovic v Steve Beaton/Stephen Bunting
(10) James Wade v Ryan Searle/Glen Durrant
(2) Gerwyn Price v Dragutin Horvat/Gavin Carlin
(15) Darren Webster v Vincent van der Voort/Dave Prins
(4) Daryl Gurney v Chris Dobey/Madars Razma
(13) Max Hopp v Kim Viljanen/Nathan Aspinall
(5) Adrian Lewis v Ricardo Pietreczko/Jamie Hughes
(12) Joe Cullen v Mark McGeeney/Josh Payne
(8) Peter Wright v Niels Zonneveld/Michael Hurtz
(9) Jonny Clayton v Pero Ljubic/Ross Smith
(1) Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan/Michael Rosenauer
(16) Mervyn King v Matthew Edgar/James Richardson
Schedule of Play
Friday May 10
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Pero Ljubic v Ross Smith
Matthew Edgar v James Richardson
Robert Owen v Krzysztof Ratajski
Niels Zonneveld v Michael Hurtz
Kim Viljanen v Nathan Aspinall
Mark McGeeney v Josh Payne
Brendan Dolan v Michael Rosenauer
Michael Rasztovits v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Vincent van der Voort v Dave Prins
Chris Dobey v Madars Razma
Dragutin Horvat v Gavin Carlin
Stefan Bellmont v Jeffrey de Zwaan
Daniel Klose v Keegan Brown
Steve Beaton v Stephen Bunting
Ricardo Pietreczko v Jamie Hughes
Ryan Searle v Glen Durrant
Saturday May 11
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Michael Smith v Owen/Ratajski
Joe Cullen v McGeeney/Payne
Jonny Clayton v Ljubic/R Smith
Mervyn King v Edgar/Richardson
Ricky Evans v Klose/Brown
Ian White v Rasztovits/Van den Bergh
Gerwyn Price v Horvat/Carlin
Darren Webster v Van der Voort/Prins
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Rob Cross v Bellmont/De Zwaan
James Wade v Searle/Durrant
Daryl Gurney v Dobey/Razma
Mensur Suljovic v Beaton/Bunting
Adrian Lewis v Pietreczko/Hughes
Max Hopp v Viljanen/Aspinall
Michael van Gerwen v Dolan/Rosenauer
Peter Wright v Zonneveld/Hurtz
Sunday May 12
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (1915 local time, 1815 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
All games up to and including the quarter-finals are the best of 11 legs, with the semi-finals the best of 13 legs and the final the best of 15 legs. Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order.
Watch Online
PDC European Tour events can be watched online through PDCTV-HD for all subscribers worldwide.
Live coverage with faster streams may also be available at the following bookmakers' websites:
bet365 - www.bet365.com - Worldwide
Bet90 - www.bet90.com - Brazil, Germany
Betfair - www.betfair.com - Brazil, Denmark, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Wales
Betfred - www.betfred.com - England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
bwin - www.bwin.com - Worldwide
FDJ - www.fdj-gaming-solutions.com - France
Fonbet - www.fonbet.com - Armenia, Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Russian federation, Ukraine
Fortuna - www.fortunagroup.eu - Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Legolasbet - www.legolas.bet - Sweden
Ligastavok - www.ligastavok.ru/ - Russia
Marathonbet - www.betmarathon.com - Belarus, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine
Nike - www.nike.sk - Slovakia
Olimp - www.betolimp.com - Kazakhstan, Russian federation
Paddy Power - www.paddypower.com/ - England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Stoiximan - www.stoiximan.gr - Cyprus, Greece, Romania
Supabets - www.supabets.com.gh - Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa
Superbet - www.superbet.ro/ - Romania, Poland
Tempobet - www.tempobet.org - Europe
Totogaming - www.totogaming.am/en/ - Armenia
Tipsport - www.tipsport.cz - Czech Republic & Slovakia
Unibet - www.unibet.com - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom
William Hill - www.williamhill.com - Great Britain, Ireland, Spain
Winlinebet - www.winlinebet.ru - Russia
World Sports Betting - www.worldsportsbetting.co.za - Namibia, South Africa