THE PDC European Tour returns to action this weekend with the HappyBet International Darts Open in Riesa, as Michael van Gerwen bids to win his fifth £25,000 title of the year.
Dutch star van Gerwen has been victorious in four of the previous six £115,000, 48-player, three-day European Tour events staged so far in 2016, most recently at the HappyBet European Darts Open in Dusseldorf at the end of July.
The world number one is the top seed for the International Darts Open, with Peter Wright, Kim Huybrechts and Dave Chisnall completing the top four seeds ahead of Michael Smith, who won in Riesa last year.
James Wade, May's HappyBet European Matchplay winner, withdrew from competing in Riesa. As a result, players below him moved up one place in the seedings, with the highest ranked qualifier, Daryl Gurney, becoming the 16th seed and a fifth player coming from the Host Nation Qualifier.
Gurney will compete in Riesa despite suffering a broken little finger on his throwing hand during August, and could face fellow Northern Irish ace Brendan Dolan - his World Cup partner in June - in Saturday's second round.
Friday's first round sees the 32 qualifiers meet each other across two sessions, with the field being finalised at Thursday evening's European Qualifier and Host Nation Qualifier.
Former European Tour finalist Jamie Caven meets Andy Boulton, while another plum tie sees Kevin Painter up against South Africa's Devon Petersen, while Andy Hamilton meets James Wilson and Robbie Green plays James Richardson.
Suffolk left-hander Ryan Meikle - who won a PDC Tour Card in January - will make his European Tour debut against European Qualifier Michael Rasztovits, with the winner set to face van Gerwen.
The players to win through Thursday's qualifying events were:
European Qualifiers: Ronny Huybrechts, Jeffrey de Graaf, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Jermaine Wattimena, Krzysztof Ratajski, Michael Rasztovits, Vincent Kamphuis, Yordi Meeuwisse
Host Nation Qualifiers: Maik Langendorf, Rene Eidams, Max Hopp, Dragutin Horvat, Mike Holz
Online coverage of the HappyBet International Darts Open will be available through www.LIVEPDC.TV for all subscribers worldwide.
Live coverage with faster streams is also available at the following betting websites:
www.bet365.com - Worldwide
www.betfair.com - UK, Ireland, Spain & Denmark
www.tempobet700.com - Worldwide
www.fonbet.com/en/ - Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia
Live Scores will be available at the new-look PDC Live Scores website, http://live.dartsdata.com.
HappyBet International Darts Open
Tournament Draw Bracket
Michael van Gerwen (1) v Ryan Meikle/Michael Rasztovits
Daryl Gurney (16) v Yordi Meeuwisse/Brendan Dolan
Jelle Klaasen (8) v Krzysztof Ratajski/Chris Dobey
Mensur Suljovic (9) v Michael Barnard/Mike Holz
Michael Smith (5) v Andy Hamilton/James Wilson
Terry Jenkins (12) v Max Hopp/Darren Webster
Dave Chisnall (4) v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Jermaine Wattimena
Alan Norris (13) v Andy Boulton/Jamie Caven
Peter Wright (2) v Rene Eidams/Steve West
Simon Whitlock (15) v Kevin Painter/Devon Petersen
Benito van de Pas (7) v Kyle Anderson/Vincent Kamphuis
Robert Thornton (10) v Ronny Huybrechts/Mark Frost
Ian White (6) v Maik Langendorf/Jim Walker
Gerwyn Price (11) v Dragutin Horvat/Ricky Evans
Kim Huybrechts (3) v Jeffrey de Graaf/Joe Cullen
Stephen Bunting (14) v Robbie Green/James Richardson
Friday September 2
First Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Robbie Green v James Richardson
Andy Hamilton v James Wilson
Maik Langendorf v Jim Walker
Ryan Meikle v Michael Rasztovits
Yordi Meeuwisse v Brendan Dolan
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Jermaine Wattimena
Michael Barnard v Mike Holz
Ronny Huybrechts v Mark Frost
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Andy Boulton v Jamie Caven
Krzysztof Ratajski v Chris Dobey
Kyle Anderson v Vincent Kamphuis
Dragutin Horvat v Ricky Evans
Jeffrey de Graaf v Joe Cullen
Max Hopp v Darren Webster
Kevin Painter v Devon Petersen
Rene Eidams v Steve West
Saturday September 3
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Daryl Gurney v Yordi Meeuwisse/Brendan Dolan
Ian White v Maik Langendorf/Jim Walker
Stephen Bunting v Robbie Green/James Richardson
Mensur Suljovic v Michael Barnard/Mike Holz
Alan Norris v Andy Boulton/Jamie Caven
Robert Thornton v Ronny Huybrechts/Mark Frost
Jelle Klaasen v Krzysztof Ratajski/Chris Dobey
Gerwyn Price v Dragutin Horvat/Ricky Evans
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Benito van de Pas v Kyle Anderson/Vincent Kamphuis
Terry Jenkins v Max Hopp/Darren Webster
Michael Smith v Andy Hamilton/James Wilson
Dave Chisnall v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Jermaine Wattimena
Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Meikle/Michael Rasztovits
Peter Wright v Rene Eidams/Steve West
Simon Whitlock v Kevin Painter/Devon Petersen
Kim Huybrechts v Jeffrey de Graaf/Joe Cullen
Sunday September 4
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm local time, 12pm-4pm BST)
Third Round
Evening Session (7pm-11pm local time, 6pm-10pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
All matches are the best of 11 legs. Sunday's games played in draw bracket order.