Dimitri Van den Bergh will open the defence of his Betfred World Matchplay title on Saturday's mouth-watering opening night of the tournament against debutant Devon Petersen, with the schedule of play confirmed for the 2021 tournament.
Van den Bergh, who sensationally won the title on debut in Milton Keynes in 2020, will walk onto the iconic Winter Gardens stage for the first time on Saturday July 17 to take on South Africa's Petersen on what promises to be a special night for the sport.
After a year away from Blackpool due to coronavirus restrictions, darts' biggest summer event will return to the seaside, with experienced duo Dave Chisnall and Vincent van der Voort taking the honour of contesting the first match back in the Empress Ballroom.
A blockbuster opening night will also see a further two first round clashes take place, as World Champion Gerwyn Price faces Jermaine Wattimena - a late replacement for Mensur Suljovic - and Premier League winner Jonny Clayton takes on Dutch debutant Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Sunday's double session will begin with former champions James Wade and Rob Cross in action against Luke Humphries and Ross Smith respectively in the afternoon's action, before the evening session sees 2017 runner-up Peter Wright face Danny Noppert and Grand Slam of Darts winner Jose de Sousa up against Gabriel Clemens.
The first round is set to conclude in front of a capacity crowd on Monday, with two-time champion Michael van Gerwen playing Australian debutant Damon Heta and 2018 winner Gary Anderson facing Stephen Bunting.
The second round will take place across Tuesday July 20 and Wednesday July 21, before the quarter-finals are staged across Thursday July 22 and Friday July 23.
Saturday July 24 will see the semi-finals take place, before the final is held on Sunday July 25 when the champion will lift the Phil Taylor Trophy and walk away with the £150,000 star prize.
A limited number of tickets remain available for some sessions of the Betfred World Matchplay - click here for full ticket information.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers and through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7.
2021 Betfred World Matchplay
Schedule of Play
Saturday July 17 (1900 BST)
4x First Round
Dave Chisnall v Vincent van der Voort
Jonny Clayton v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Gerwyn Price v Jermaine Wattimena
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Devon Petersen
Sunday July 18
Afternoon Session (1300 BST)
4x First Round
Krzysztof Ratajski v Brendan Dolan
Glen Durrant v Callan Rydz
Rob Cross v Ross Smith
James Wade v Luke Humphries
Evening Session (1930 BST)
4x First Round
Joe Cullen v Chris Dobey
Michael Smith v Ryan Searle
Peter Wright v Danny Noppert
Jose de Sousa v Gabriel Clemens
Monday July 19 (1900 BST)
4x First Round
Daryl Gurney v Ian White
Nathan Aspinall v Mervyn King
Michael van Gerwen v Damon Heta
Gary Anderson v Stephen Bunting
Tuesday July 20 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round
Cross/R Smith v Durrant/Rydz
Wade/Humphries v Ratajski/Dolan
Price/Wattimena v Clayton/Van Duijvenbode
Van den Bergh/Petersen v Chisnall/Van der Voort
Wednesday July 21 (1900 BST)
4x Second Round
M Smith/Searle v De Sousa/Clemens
Anderson/Bunting v Aspinall/King
Van Gerwen/Heta v Gurney/White
Wright/Noppert v Cullen/Dobey
Thursday July 22 (1900 BST)
2x Quarter-Finals
Friday July 23 (1900 BST)
2x Quarter-Finals
Saturday July 24 (1900 BST)
Semi-Finals
Sunday July 25 (2030 BST)
Final