THE opening night of the partypoker.com World Grand Prix on Sunday October 4 will feature reigning champion Michael van Gerwen and the big-name clashes between Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright's meeting with Dave Chisnall.
The £400,000 tournament, unique for the format which sees players need to both begin and end every leg with a double, will see 32 stars competing from October 4-10 at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin, live on Sky Sports.
Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen's clash with World Youth Champion Keegan Brown will be one of the eight first round clashes to take place on the opening night this Sunday.
Former World Champions Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld - both former Dublin finalists - will also meet in a huge first round contest, while number four seed Peter Wright takes on 2013 World Grand Prix runner-up Dave Chisnall in another eagerly-awaited contest.
The tournament will open with Irish ace William O'Connor's clash with Welsh youngster Jamie Lewis, before two former Lakeside Champions face off as Mark Webster takes on Stephen Bunting.
Belgium's Kim Huybrechts - who hit a nine-dart finish in Sunday's Players Championship in Barnsley - then faces emerging Dutch star Benito van de Pas, and new world number eight Michael Smith, a two-time European Tour winner this year, challenges Welsh debutant Gerwyn Price.
The opening night will also feature Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan, the 2011 World Grand Prix runner-up who famously hit the first double-start nine-dart finish four years ago, taking on in-form Dutchman Jelle Klaasen, who won Sunday's Players Championship.
Monday will see the remaining eight first round games take place, headlined by 11-time World Grand Prix champion Phil Taylor's meeting with Holland's Vincent van der Voort.
World Champion Gary Anderson opens his challenge in Dublin with an all-Scottish battle against John Henderson, while two-time World Grand Prix champion James Wade takes on Austrian star Mensur Suljovic.
Scotland's former UK Open champion Robert Thornton, the number seven seed, meets Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney, while the night opens as Australian star Simon Whitlock plays Andrew Gilding.
Former World Grand Prix finalists Mervyn King and Terry Jenkins meet in another big-name clash, while Justin Pipe takes on Steve Beaton and Ian White plays Jamie Caven, who jumped into the qualifying places at the expense of Joe Murnan on the final weekend before the cut-off.
The partypoker.com World Grand Prix continues with the second round on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dublin, with the quarter-finals taking place on a bumper Thursday night of action.
Friday sees the semi-finals held at the Citywest Hotel, with the tournament concluding with the final on Saturday, alongside the final of the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay championship, which sees Mick McGowan take on Tom Biggane.
Tickets for the partypoker.com World Grand Prix are available from the Citywest Hotel
By email to darts15@citywesthotel.com.
Telephone - By calling 01 401 0505 (Outside Ireland 00353 1 401 0505).
PDC Dublin Fans' Forum
The partypoker.com World Grand Prix will be preceded on Thursday October 1 (7pm) by a PDC Fans’ Forum at Busker’s Bar in Dublin, featuring Adrian Lewis, Brendan Dolan and Raymond van Barneveld. Entry is free, with registration via www.owal.co/register.
partypoker.com World Grand Prix
Schedule of Play
Sunday October 4 (7pm-12am)
First Round
William O'Connor v Jamie Lewis
Mark Webster v Stephen Bunting
Kim Huybrechts v Benito van de Pas
Michael Smith v Gerwyn Price
Peter Wright v Dave Chisnall
Michael van Gerwen v Keegan Brown
Adrian Lewis v Raymond van Barneveld
Jelle Klaasen v Brendan Dolan
Monday October 5 (7pm-12am)
First Round
Andrew Gilding v Simon Whitlock
Justin Pipe v Steve Beaton
Mervyn King v Terry Jenkins
James Wade v Mensur Suljovic
Ian White v Jamie Caven
Phil Taylor v Vincent van der Voort
Gary Anderson v John Henderson
Robert Thornton v Daryl Gurney
Tuesday October 6 (7pm-11pm)
Second Round
Smith/Price v O'Connor/J Lewis
Wright/Chisnall v Klaasen/Dolan
van Gerwen/Brown v Huybrechts/van de Pas
A Lewis/van Barneveld v Webster/Bunting
Wednesday October 7 (7pm-11pm)
Second Round
Thornton/Gurney v Pipe/Beaton
Wade/Suljovic v Gilding/Whitlock
Taylor/van der Voort v King/Jenkins
Anderson/Henderson v White/Caven
Thursday October 8 (7pm-11pm)
Quarter-Finals
Order of Games TBC
Friday October 9 (7pm-10pm)
Semi-Finals
Order of Games TBC
Saturday October 10 (8.30pm-10.30pm)
Final
Preceded by
Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay final (7.40pm)
Mick McGowan v Tom Biggane
Best of 11 legs
Format
First Round - Best of three sets
Second Round - Best of five sets
Quarter-Finals - Best of five sets
Semi-Finals - Best of seven sets
Final - Best of nine sets
* All Sets are the best of five legs. There will be no tie-break in any set.
* All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before he can begin scoring in each leg.
* The Order of Play for the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals will be confirmed on www.pdc.tv.
Prize Fund
Winner £100,000
Runner-Up £45,000
Semi-Finalists £23,500
Quarter-Finalists £15,000
Second Round Losers £8,500
First Round Losers £5,000
Total £400,000