Joe Cullen will begin his defence of the Hungarian Darts Trophy against either William O'Connor or James Wade, with the draw and schedule for this weekend’s PDC European Tour event confirmed.
The MVM Dome in Budapest will play host to the year’s penultimate European Tour event from September 22-24, as the race for World Grand Prix qualification concludes in the Hungarian capital.
Ricardo Pietreczko currently occupies the final qualification spot, with Dutch youngster Gian van Veen and Luke Woodhouse also amongst the players vying to make their debuts in the double-start event.
The trio will all feature in Friday’s first round - which will be broadcast through PDCTV, Viaplay and DAZN – with 16 matches taking place across two sessions.
Pietreczko and Woodhouse have been pitted against Hungarian duo Nandor Major and Gabor Jagicza in their respective openers, while Van Veen faces a tough assignment against the veteran Brendan Dolan.
In arguably the tie of the first round, TV title winners Daryl Gurney and Jose de Sousa will lock horns on Friday evening, while German number one Gabriel Clemens faces Irish star Keane Barry.
Ten-time TV title winner Wade plays Ireland’s former World Cup finalist O’Connor, with European Champion Ross Smith kicking off his campaign against Wales’ Robert Owen.
Elsewhere, UK Open champion Andrew Gilding meets in-form Belgian Mike De Decker, while German Darts Open runner-up Stephen Bunting takes on Northern Irish youngster Nathan Rafferty.
The 16 seeded players enter the fray in Saturday’s second round, and reigning champion Cullen faces a potential repeat of last year’s decider against O’Connor in round two.
Michael Smith, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price will also headline this weekend’s action in Budapest, as the decorated trio return to European Tour action following their absence in Jena.
Smith will play the winner of the clash between Gurney and De Sousa, with Van Gerwen up against European Champion Smith or former UK Open semi-finalist Owen.
Price will begin his bid for a third European Tour title of the year against Bunting or Rafferty, while top seed Dave Chisnall – also a winner of two European Tour titles in 2023 – meets Andy Boulton or Scott Mitchell.
Second seed Damon Heta opens his title challenge against Pietreczko or Major, with Clemens or Barry awaiting third seed Luke Humphries on Saturday evening.
Scott Williams and Richard Veenstra will compete for the right to play fourth seed Dirk van Duijvenbode, while World Youth Champion Josh Rock kicks off his campaign against Gilding or De Decker.
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright will take on Madars Razma or Scott Waites for a place in round three, with Jonny Clayton set to meet Joe Murnan or Jermaine Wattimena in Saturday’s finale.
Van Veen and Woodhouse will play Nathan Aspinall and Rob Cross respectively if they win through their opening ties, with Van Veen needing to reach at least round three to preserve his World Grand Prix hopes.
Woodhouse, meanwhile, must make the quarter-finals to have a chance of qualifying for next month’s tournament, which takes place at Leicester’s Morningside Arena from October 2-8.
Following Saturday’s second round, the last 16 will take place on Sunday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a blockbuster evening session.
Live coverage of all 2023 European Tour events will be streamed through Viaplay in the UK, the Netherlands, Poland and all Nordic & Baltic countries, and through DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Coverage will also be shown on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers' worldwide.
2023 Hungarian Darts Trophy
Tournament Draw Bracket - Second Round Onwards
(6) Rob Cross v Gabor Jagicza/Luke Woodhouse
(11) Peter Wright v Madars Razma/Scott Waites
(3) Luke Humphries v Gabriel Clemens/Keane Barry
(14) Martin Schindler v Sebastian Bialecki/Mihaly Vida
(7) Gerwyn Price v Nathan Rafferty/Stephen Bunting
(10) Joe Cullen v William O'Connor/James Wade
(2) Damon Heta v Ricardo Pietreczko/Nandor Major
(15) Nathan Aspinall v Gian van Veen/Brendan Dolan
(5) Josh Rock v Mike De Decker/Andrew Gilding
(12) Michael Smith v Daryl Gurney/Jose De Sousa
(4) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Scott Williams/Richard Veenstra
(13) Danny Noppert v Vladimir Andersen/Anton Ostlund
(8) Jonny Clayton v Joe Murnan/Jermaine Wattimena
(9) Michael van Gerwen v Robert Owen/Ross Smith
(1) Dave Chisnall v Andy Boulton/Scott Mitchell
(16) Ryan Searle v Rowby-John Rodriguez/Patrik Kovacs
Schedule of Play
Friday September 22
First Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Joe Murnan v Jermaine Wattimena
Vladimir Andersen v Anton Ostlund
Sebastian Bialecki v Mihaly Vida
Madars Razma v Scott Waites
Andy Boulton v Scott Mitchell
Scott Williams v Richard Veenstra
Mike De Decker v Andrew Gilding
Gian van Veen v Brendan Dolan
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Gabor Jagicza v Luke Woodhouse
Robert Owen v Ross Smith
Rowby-John Rodriguez v Patrik Kovacs
William O'Connor v James Wade
Daryl Gurney v Jose De Sousa
Nathan Rafferty v Stephen Bunting
Ricardo Pietreczko v Nandor Major
Gabriel Clemens v Keane Barry
Saturday September 23
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Martin Schindler vBialecki/Vida
Danny Noppert v Andersen/Ostlund
Ryan Searle v Rodriguez/Kovacs
Josh Rock v De Decker/Gilding
Rob Cross v Jagicza/Woodhouse
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Williams/Veenstra
Damon Heta v Pietreczko/Major
Joe Cullen v O'Connor/Wade
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Nathan Aspinall v Van Veen/Dolan
Luke Humphries v Clemens/Barry
Peter Wright v Razma/Waites
Gerwyn Price v Rafferty/Bunting
Michael Smith v Gurney/De Sousa
Michael van Gerwen v Owen/R Smith
Dave Chisnall v Boulton/Mitchell
Jonny Clayton v Murnan/Wattimena
Sunday September 24
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order