Van Gerwen to open World Series Finals defence on blockbuster opening night

Michael van Gerwen

Michael van Gerwen will headline the opening night of the 2024 Jack's World Series of Darts Finals as he begins his title against Jonny Clayton on Friday September 13.

Reigning champion Van Gerwen takes on 2021 champion Clayton in a mouth-watering clash in one of 16 first round clashes to take place across Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

An expanded 32-player field will compete for the title and a share of £400,000 in prize money from September 13-15 at AFAS Live, with play split across five sessions.

Friday's opening night will also see top seed Luke Littler in action against Ross Smith, while NZ Masters champion Luke Humphries - the reigning World Champion - takes on New Zealand's number one Haupai Puha.

Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld will face Johan Engstrom, NZ Masters runner-up Damon Heta meets German number one Gabriel Clemens and 2019 runner-up Danny Noppert plays rising star Gian van Veen.

Saturday's afternoon session sees Australian Masters winner Gerwyn Price up against in-form Scot Cameron Menzies, while US Masters champion Rob Cross takes on Simon Whitlock as the players in the bottom half of the draw take to the stage.

2022 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode meets Daryl Gurney, two-time finalist Peter Wright faces Dave Chisnall and Nathan Aspinall makes his return against young Dutch talent Wessel Nijman.

The second round will take place on Saturday night, with the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon ahead of the semi-finals and final in Sunday's decisive evening session.

A limited number of tickets for the Jack's World Series of Darts Finals are available via SeeTickets.

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.

2024 Jack's World Series of Darts Finals
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 Nathan Aspinall
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/Aspinall

Sunday September 15
Afternoon Session (1245 CEST, 1145 BST)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals & Final

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 Nathan Aspinall

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