The 2024 Jack’s World Series of Darts Finals will get underway in Amsterdam on Friday, as reigning champion Michael van Gerwen headlines an extended 32-player field in the Dutch capital.
The tenth staging of the World Series of Darts Finals will take place across five sessions from September 13-15, with Van Gerwen chasing a record-extending sixth success on home soil.
The 35-year-old will kick off his title defence on Friday night against 2021 champion Jonny Clayton, as he eyes a first PDC title since his Dutch Darts Masters triumph back in January in Den Bosch.
"It would mean a lot to win this title again this weekend, but it's going to be tough," warned Van Gerwen, a winner of 16 World Series of Darts titles.
"I need to make sure I play my own game and keep maintaining the same level of performance I've been delivering in the last few weeks.
"At some point everything will fall into place and then I believe I can do some nice things again."
Van Gerwen won the title for a fifth time when he overcame Nathan Aspinall in the 2023 final, and has also competed in his homeland in Den Bosch and in the Premier League's annual visit to Rotterdam this year.
"It is always nice to play in front of your home crowd and I'm looking forward to that," added the Dutch superstar. "I feel sharp, I feel good and I hope I can deliver."
The 16 first round matches will be split across Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, with top seed Luke Littler and World Champion Luke Humphries also amongst the stars in opening night action.
Littler has taken the World Series of Darts circuit by storm on his debut year, following up a memorable win in January’s Bahrain Darts Masters by breezing to victory in the second staging of the Poland Darts Masters in June.
However, the 17-year-old has been handed a tough opening round clash against former European Champion Ross Smith, who has recently broken into the world’s top ten.
"It's been great to be on the World Series this year," said Littler. "I enjoyed Bahrain and won my first PDC title and then won in Poland, so it shows why I should be number one seed.
"I'd love to win this one as the number one seed and go into the autumn with a win.
"It's a high-quality field of players and I'm sure I'll have a good game against Ross - I think everyone knows me and Ross can hit as many 180s as anyone."
Smith is relishing the chance to take on the Premier League champion and World Championship finalist on the big stage as he opens his own challenge for a second TV title.
“The pressure is all on Luke as far as I’m concerned, but he doesn’t seem to know pressure does he?” admitted Smith, a two-time finalist on the European Tour in 2024.
“Luke is a different animal! I remember playing him quite a lot in online tournaments during lockdown. People were all talking about him then.
“I’ve played him twice this season. Once in a Players Championship event where I beat him, and then he gave me a good hiding on the European Tour; he played exceptionally well.
“I’m just going up there to enjoy it. I’ve had a week of being a bit too serious and overthinking things. I know what I can do, and I know I've got to be on it.”
World number one Humphries will also feature on Day One in the Dutch capital, as he plays New Zealand’s premier player Haupai Puha for a place in the last 16.
“I'm feeling good, I'm feeling sharp,” insisted Humphries, a semi-finalist at this event 12 months ago.
“I obviously had a nice break and enjoyed some time off with the family, but I came back last weekend [on the European Tour] and I felt back to normal.”
Humphries landed his maiden World Series of Darts title at last month’s New Zealand Darts Masters, and he is hoping to transfer that form to the AFAS Live this weekend.
“Winning that World Series event was a small thing on the CV that I wanted to tick off this year,” continued the 29-year-old.
“They are not easy titles to win, because you have eight of the best players in the world playing in each event, so hopefully I can do the same again in Amsterdam.
“It's going to be tough. All of the top players will be there, and although it's not a ranked event, winning this title would be a great start to a really important back end of the year.”
Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld will make his return to home soil with a tie against Swedish debutant Johan Engstrom on Friday, as Dutch duo Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen go head-to-head for a place in round two.
Australian number one Damon Heta plays German number two Gabriel Clemens in another stand-out showdown, as UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh faces an in-form Chris Dobey.
The winner of Van den Bergh and Dobey’s clash will take on either current Masters champion Stephen Bunting or Croatia’s Boris Krcmar, who lock horns in the tournament’s curtain-raiser.
The first round concludes on Saturday afternoon, as 2022 champion Gerwyn Price meets Scottish star Cameron Menzies, while a resurgent Peter Wright plays Dave Chisnall for the third time in a fortnight.
Rob Cross – a winner at the US Darts Masters in June – has been pitted against Australian veteran Simon Whitlock, with world number two Michael Smith up against Portugal’s Jose de Sousa in his opener.
2022 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode begins his campaign against Daryl Gurney, while Wessel Nijman takes on Andrew Gilding, drafted in as a late replacement for Nathan Aspinall.
Dutch darter Kevin Doets and Keane Barry will do battle in Saturday’s opening fixture, before Rhys Griffin makes his televised debut against former North American Champion Jeff Smith.
The second round will take place on Saturday evening, followed by the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon ahead of the semi-finals and final in Sunday's decisive evening session.
Alongside the expanded field, a new prize fund of £400,000 will be in place this year, with £80,000 going to the eventual champion and £40,000 on offer to the runner-up.
The tournament will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including Viaplay and DAZN, and on PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland).
2024 Jack's World Series of Darts Finals
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Littler v Ross Smith
Johan Engstrom v Raymond van Barneveld
(8) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey
Boris Krcmar v Stephen Bunting
(4) Luke Humphries v Haupai Puha
Gabriel Clemens v Damon Heta
(5) Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton
Danny Noppert v Gian van Veen
(2) Gerwyn Price v Cameron Menzies
Daryl Gurney v Dirk van Duijvenbode
(7) Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Rhys Griffin v Jeff Smith
(3) Rob Cross v Simon Whitlock
Keane Barry v Kevin Doets
(6) Michael Smith v Jose de Sousa
Wessel Nijman v Andrew Gilding
Schedule of Play
Friday September 13 (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
First Round x8
Boris Krcmar v Stephen Bunting
Gabriel Clemens v Damon Heta
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey
Johan Engstrom v Raymond van Barneveld
Luke Littler v Ross Smith
Michael van Gerwen v Jonny Clayton
Luke Humphries v Haupai Puha
Danny Noppert v Gian van Veen
Saturday September 14
Afternoon Session (1245 CEST, 1145 BST)
First Round x8
Keane Barry v Kevin Doets
Rhys Griffin v Jeff Smith
Daryl Gurney v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Gerwyn Price v Cameron Menzies
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Rob Cross v Simon Whitlock
Wessel Nijman v Andrew Gilding
Michael Smith v Jose de Sousa
Evening Session (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Second Round x8
Van den Bergh/Dobey v Krcmar/Bunting
Littler/R Smith v Engstrom/Van Barneveld
Humphries/Puha v Clemens/Heta
Van Gerwen/Clayton v Noppert/Van Veen
Price/Menzies v Gurney/van Duijvenbode
Wright/Chisnall v Griffin/J Smith
Cross/Whitlock v Barry/Doets
M Smith/De Sousa v Nijman/Gilding
Sunday September 15
Afternoon Session (1245 CEST, 1145 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals & Final
Format
First Round - Best of 11 legs
Second Round - Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs
Final - Best of 21 legs
Prize Fund
Winner - £80,000
Runner-Up - £40,000
Semi-Finalists - £25,000
Quarter-Finalists - £17,500
Second Round Losers - £10,000
First Round Losers - £5,000
Total - £400,000