SCOTT WAITES will begin the defence of his William Hill Grand Slam of Darts title on Saturday night against Michael van Gerwen - while teenager James Hubbard drew three-time winner Phil Taylor for his televised debut at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Waites enjoyed the greatest night of his career last November when he came from 8-0 down to defeat James Wade 16-12 in the final and take the £100,000 first prize.
As number one seed, Waites heads Group A and was drawn alongside debutant Mark Walsh, Stockport's Tony O'Shea and Dutch ace Michael van Gerwen for the round-robin group stage of the event.
Group B sees number eight seed Raymond van Barneveld drawn with Lakeside Championship finalist Dean Winstanley, two-time World Champion Ted Hankey and Stoke's Ian White - who came into the event on Monday after Simon Whitlock had to withdraw through injury.
Gary Anderson heads Group C alongside Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones - who reached last year's semi-finals, World Grand Prix finalist Brendan Dolan and Wildcard Qualifier Nigel Heydon.
Last year's runner-up Wade, seeded number four, was drawn alongside Terry Jenkins, Justin Pipe and Dave Chisnall in Group D, with the first four groups playing their opening matches on Saturday night.
Number two seed Taylor will enter the fray on Sunday afternoon when Groups E-H play their opening best-of-nine leg contests.
Taylor was drawn in a tasty Group E alongside Mervyn King, Steve Beaton - who ended his reign as champion with a 16-14 quarter-final win last year - and PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship finalist James Hubbard, the 19-year-old who will make his televised debut on Sunday against the Stoke legend.
Group F sees number seven seed Wes Newton joined by 2010 Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson, Welshman Barrie Bates and Sweden's Wildcard Qualifier Magnus Caris.
Former World Champions Mark Webster and John Part are drawn with Holland's Jan Dekker and Under-21 World Champion Arron Monk in Group G, while current PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis meets Dutch pair Vincent van der Voort and Co Stompe and Wales' Martin Phillips in Group H.
The draw was made on Monday by former Aston Villa footballer Ian Taylor, live on BRMB Gold radio, with the players split into four pools of eight for the draw.
The schedule of play will be announced on Tuesday, however the players in Groups A-D will play on Saturday night, Sunday night and Tuesday night, with the players in Groups E-H playing on Sunday afternoon, Monday night and Wednesday night.
The players listed first and fourth in each group will meet in the opening matches, and the players named second and third will also clash - i.e. Scott Waites plays Michael van Gerwen and Mark Walsh plays Tony O'Shea.
Listen again to the draw - CLICK HERE to visit the BRMB website
The William Hill Grand Slam of Darts will be played from November 12-20, with tickets still available from the Wolves Civic Box Office or on 0870 320 7000.
Seeded Players
Scott Waites (1)
Phil Taylor (2)
Adrian Lewis (3)
James Wade (4)
Gary Anderson (5)
Mark Webster (6)
Wes Newton (7)
Raymond van Barneveld (8)
Pool B
Paul Nicholson
Terry Jenkins
Mervyn King
Mark Walsh
Wayne Jones
Vincent van der Voort
Dean Winstanley
Jan Dekker
Pool C
Co Stompe
Brendan Dolan
John Part
Justin Pipe
Steve Beaton
Barrie Bates
Tony O'Shea
Ted Hankey
Pool D
Michael van Gerwen
Dave Chisnall
Nigel Heydon
Ian White
Magnus Caris
Arron Monk
Martin Phillips
James Hubbard
DRAW GROUPS
Group A
Scott Waites (1)
Mark Walsh
Tony O'Shea
Michael van Gerwen
Group B
Raymond van Barneveld (8)
Dean Winstanley
Ted Hankey
Ian White
Group C
Gary Anderson (5)
Wayne Jones
Brendan Dolan
Nigel Heydon
Group D
James Wade (4)
Terry Jenkins
Justin Pipe
Dave Chisnall
Group E
Phil Taylor (2)
Mervyn King
Steve Beaton
James Hubbard
Group F
Wes Newton (7)
Paul Nicholson
Barrie Bates
Magnus Caris
Group G
Mark Webster (6)
Jan Dekker
John Part
Arron Monk
Group H
Adrian Lewis (3)
Vincent van der Voort
Co Stompe
Martin Phillips
The schedule of play will be announced on Tuesday, however the players in Groups A-D will play on Saturday night, Sunday night and Tuesday night, with the players in Groups E-H playing on Sunday afternoon, Monday night and Wednesday night.
The William Hill Grand Slam of Darts will be played from November 12-20, with tickets still available from the Wolves Civic Box Office or on 0870 320 7000.