Luke Humphries will take on Joe Cullen in the first round of the 2025 Winmau World Masters, while unseeded duo Michael Smith and Dimitri Van den Bergh have also been handed tough opening assignments in Milton Keynes.
The new-look Winmau World Masters will be played at Arena MK in Milton Keynes next week, with the Preliminary Rounds taking place on Wednesday January 29 ahead of the televised main event from Thursday January 30-Sunday February 2.
The top 24 players from the PDC Order of Merit automatically qualify for the 32-player main event, with the world’s top 16 seeded in the draw, which was made on Tuesday.
The remaining eight players will come from the Preliminary Rounds next Wednesday, which will feature Tour Card Holders and representatives from the PDC's secondary tours, affiliate tours and Junior Darts Corporation.
World number one Humphries will kick off his title challenge against former Premier League runner-up Cullen, who won The Masters in Milton Keynes back in 2022.
Newly-crowned World Champion Luke Littler – featuring in his first ranking event since his Alexandra Palace heroics – has been pitted against one of the eight qualifiers in his opener.
Five-time Masters champion Michael van Gerwen and Stephen Bunting - who won last year’s Masters title - will also face qualifiers, as will world number four Rob Cross.
Scottish icon Gary Anderson faces reigning UK Open champion Van den Bergh, while Dutch number two Danny Noppert plays 2023 World Champion Smith in a repeat of the 2022 UK Open final.
2021 Masters champion Jonny Clayton will go head-to-head with German number one Martin Schindler, while Chris Dobey, who won the title in 2023, meets Ryan Searle for a place in the last 16.
Ten-time TV title winner James Wade takes on World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in another intriguing tussle, while Australian number one Damon Heta will face former European Champion Ross Smith and Nathan Aspinall locks horns with Andrew Gilding in a battle of former UK Open champions.
Elsewhere, Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright and Josh Rock will also discover their opponents following the conclusion of the Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday January 29.
The Preliminary Rounds will see 32 players seeded through to the Last 64 (players 25-56 on the PDC Order of Merit should all players enter), and they will be joined by 32 Group Winners from the round-robin group stage.
The group stage will see 32 players seeded as one per group (players 57-88 on the PDC Order of Merit should all players enter), with the remaining players drawn at random to the groups.
The tournament will be played in a set format, with each set being the best of three legs - beginning with the best of three sets throughout in the Preliminary Rounds.
The eventual Winmau World Masters champion will take home a £100,000 prize, with £50,000 on offer to the runner-up.
The top half of the draw will play their first round ties on Thursday January 30, with the bottom half of the draw playing on Friday January 31.
The schedule of matches will be confirmed following the conclusion of the Preliminary Rounds on Wednesday January 29.
2025 Winmau World Masters
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Humphries v Joe Cullen
(16) Josh Rock v Qualifier 6
(8) Damon Heta v Ross Smith
(9) Gerwyn Price v Qualifier 4
(4) Rob Cross v Qualifier 8
(13) Danny Noppert v Michael Smith
(5) Stephen Bunting v Qualifier 5
(12) Peter Wright v Qualifier 1
(2) Luke Littler v Qualifier 3
(15) James Wade v Mike De Decker
(7) Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler
(10) Chris Dobey v Ryan Searle
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Qualifier 2
(14) Gary Anderson v Dimitri Van den Bergh
(6) Dave Chisnall v Qualifier 7
(11) Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding
Friday January 31 (1900 GMT)
First Round x8 - Match Schedule TBC
Luke Littler v Qualifier 3
James Wade v Mike De Decker
Jonny Clayton v Martin Schindler
Chris Dobey v Ryan Searle
Michael van Gerwen v Qualifier 2
Gary Anderson v Dimitri Van den Bergh
Dave Chisnall v Qualifier 7
Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final