The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsThe first of a Oceanic World Series treble-header kicks off on Friday, and that is the Perth Darts Masters. Eight of the very best from the PDC to head-to-head with eight Oceanic representatives in the first round in a battle for vital World Series points ahead of the finals in November.
The draw was made in a pre-event launch on Wednesday in Perth, and it threw up some intriguing ties to say the least. Phil Taylor will begin the defence of his title against Gary Caldwell, whilst Michael van Gerwen kicks off his Perth campaign with a match against David Platt.
Kyle Anderson proved in the recent World Matchplay that he can compete with the best after playing against James Wade in Blackpool, and he will play against number eight seed Stephen Bunting in the first round. A potential upset?
New World number four Peter Wright has been drawn against former Players Champion Paul Nicholson, who will be desperate to recapture the form he showed in 2010, when he won the Players Championship Finals.
Simon Whitlock will give Raymond van Barneveld a good game no matter what. However, it will be interesting to see how Barney plays with his form dipping over the last couple of months. The Dutchman will be looking to bounce back after a first round defeat at the Matchplay to Andy Hamilton.
Adrian Lewis will be keen to snatch the World number four back off Peter Wright, and although this event does not count towards the World Rankings, this will be a perfect opportunity to try and get back to his best. He begins the tournament against Loz Ryder.
Current World and Premier League Champion Gary Anderson will play against one of the latest qualifiers for this event Kim Lewis. James Wade will go into battle against another one of the latest qualifiers in Adam Rowe.
First Round Draw & Tournament Draw Bracket
Phil Taylor (1) v Craig Caldwell
Stephen Bunting (8) v Kyle Anderson
Adrian Lewis (5) v Loz Ryder
Gary Anderson (4) v Kim Lewis
Michael van Gerwen (2) v David Platt
Raymond van Barneveld (7) v Simon Whitlock
James Wade (6) v Adam Rowe
Peter Wright (3) v Paul Nicholson
Schedule of Play
Friday August 14 (7pm-11pm Local Time)
First Round
James Wade v Adam Rowe
Gary Anderson v Kim Lewis
Adrian Lewis v Loz Ryder
Phil Taylor v Craig Caldwell
Stephen Bunting v Kyle Anderson
Peter Wright v Paul Nicholson
Raymond van Barneveld v Simon Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen v David Platt
Saturday August 15 (7pm-10.30pm)
Quarter-Finals
Best of 15 legs
Sunday August 16 (7pm-10.30pm)
Semi-Finals & Final
Semi-Finals best of 19 legs
Final best of 21 legs
Phil Taylor leads the World Series rankings after his win in the Japan Darts Masters, and the seedings have been compiled by this table, and then by World Rankings if players a level on points.
World Series Table
20 Phil Taylor
17 Michael van Gerwen
11 Peter Wright
10 Gary Anderson
8 Adrian Lewis
6 James Wade, Raymond van Barneveld, Stephen Bunting
1 Haruki Muramatsu, Morihiro Hashimoto, Sho Katsumi, Masumi Chino, Yuki Yamada, Chikari Fujimori, Shintaro Inoue, Katsuya Aiba
