Announcements

THE schedule of play has been confirmed for the 2021 Ladbrokes Masters featuring three St Helens darts players.

The tournament will commence on Friday, January 29 in Milton Keynes.

The £220,000 tournament has been expanded to feature 24 players this year, with the first round seeing the players ranked from 9-24 on the PDC Order of Merit facing off.

The action will begin as Ian White plays Mensur Suljovic on Friday January 29, before Premier League champion Glen Durrant meets Players Championship Finals runner-up Mervyn King.

World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh then plays Chris Dobey, before Krzysztof Ratajski takes on Simon Whitlock and two former Masters finalists - Michael Smith and Adrian Lewis - then face off.

Daryl Gurney then meets Jeffrey de Zwaan, while Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa takes on World Cup winner Jonny Clayton, before Joe Cullen's tie with Stephen Bunting completes the first round.

The second round is split across two sessions on Saturday January 30, with former champion James Wade starring in the afternoon session before Peter Wright begins his title defence in the evening, when Gerwyn Price steps out as World Champion for the first time.

Five-time winner Michael van Gerwen also opens his challenge on Saturday night, and is the 9/4 pre-tournament favourite with sponsors Ladbrokes, ahead of Price (5/2) and Wright (7/1).

The Ladbrokes Masters will conclude on Sunday January 31, with the quarter-finals in the afternoon session and the semi-finals and final in the evening session.

Worldwide coverage will be led by host broadcaster ITV4 in the UK and Ireland, as well as through RTL7 in the Netherlands and DAZN in various global territories, as well as through the PDC's global broadcasters, for PDCTV Rest of the World Subscribers and through matchroom.live.

2021 Ladbrokes Masters

Friday January 29 (1900 GMT)

First Round x8

Ian White v Mensur Suljovic

Glen Durrant v Mervyn King

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chris Dobey

Krzysztof Ratajski v Simon Whitlock

Michael Smith v Adrian Lewis

Daryl Gurney v Jeffrey de Zwaan

Jose de Sousa v Jonny Clayton

Joe Cullen v Stephen Bunting

Saturday January 30

Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)

Second Round x4

Rob Cross v Durrant/King

James Wade v Van den Bergh/Dobey

Nathan Aspinall v White/Suljovic

Dave Chisnall v Gurney/De Zwaan

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Second Round x4

Gary Anderson v Smith/Lewis

Peter Wright v Ratajski/Whitlock

Gerwyn Price v Cullen/Bunting

Michael van Gerwen v De Sousa/Clayton

Sunday January 31

Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Semi-Finals

Final

Format

First Round - Best of 11 legs

Second Round - Best of 19 legs

Quarter-Finals - Best of 19 legs

Semi-Finals - Best of 21 legs

Final - Best of 21 legs