The PDC’s Cash Converters Players Championship Finals is staged in Minehead this Friday and ITV4 will screen live free-to-air coverage of all three days.
Phil Taylor saw off the Belgian Kim Huybrechts in the final of last year’s first staging of the event in Minehead and after his recent triumph at The Masters and Grand Slam of Darts he certainly remains the man to beat.
The PDC’s top names are out in force in what is the last televised tournament before the start of the 2014 World Championships at Alexandra Palace, London, on December 13.
The £250,000 Players Championship Finals will be held across three days at the Somerset complex with 4,000 fans packing the Butlins Minehead Resort for an action-packed weekend of darts.
It features the top 32 players from the 2013 PDC ProTour Order of Merit, which is comprised of prize money won away from the big televised stage in a series of 32 European Tour events, as well a number of smaller Players Championships and UK Open Qualifiers.
The Minehead event begins on Friday, November 29, with the first round being held in the afternoon and evening sessions.
As the tournament uses the rankings from PDC’s ProTour Order of Merit, the Players Championship Finals features an unusual line-up of seeds and also features a number of new names who have all impressed away from the TV screens this year.
Reigning champion and 19th seed Taylor, who defeated the younger Huybrechts 13-6 in last year’s final to take the title for a third time, opens his challenge this time against Paul Nicholson, who memorably knocked out the Stoke legend on his way to the title in 2010.
Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen is the number one seed, winning an incredible £125,350 during the year as he took victory in five of the eight UK Open Qualifiers, two European Tour events and two Players Championships.
Van Gerwen takes on the number 32 seed Jamie Lewis, the emerging Welsh youngster, in Friday’s first round.
Dave Chisnall, who won his third title of the year in Saturday’s Players Championship, edged out Scotland’s Peter Wright to finish second.
Chisnall, who won his third tournament of the year in a Players Championship in Barnsley recently, will play resurgent Dutchman and 2006 BDO world champion Jelle Klaasen in their first round contest, while Peter Wright plays world youth champion Michael Smith.
Another Dutch ace, five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, is also in confident mood heading to Minehead, having enjoyed a fortnight’s break from playing since his first round defeat in the Grand Slam of Darts recently.
Number nine seed Wes Newton will face Andy Smith in their opener, only four days after helping to give birth to his second child after his partner went into labour earlier this week.
Belgian ace Kim Huybrechts, last year’s runner-up as he reached his first major final in Minehead, will play seven-time major finalist Terry Jenkins in their first round, with the 28-year-old having won his first three ranking events during 2013.
Other big names in the tournament include multiple PDC major winner James Wade, world champions John Part, Adrian Lewis and Steve Beaton, plus 2011 Players champion Kevin Painter.
ITV Sport will screen all three days of the 2013 Cash Converters Players Championship live from Minehead on ITV4.
Matt Smith presents the action alongside regular ITV pundits and former PDC professionals Chris Mason and Alan Warriner-Little.
Stuart Pyke and John Rawling will share commentary duties alongside Mason and Warriner-Little for the tournament, while Ned Boulting conducts the pre and post match interviews with the players.
The tournament continues on Saturday with the second round games split across two sessions.
The quarter-finals will be held on Sunday afternoon, before the event concludes with the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening.
All of ITV4′s live coverage will be available to watch in high-definition on ITV4 HD, plus online via itv.com/itv4.
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Friday 29th November DAY 1 – Round 1 (Best of 11 legs) LIVE: 12.45pm-5.00pm ITV4 / 7.00pm-11.30pm ITV4 Afternoon Session Ian White v Ronnie BaxterKim Huybrechts v Terry Jenkins
Wes Newton v Andy Smith
Gary Anderson v Stuart Kellett
Brendan Dolan v Wayne Jones
Jamie Caven v Colin Lloyd
Peter Wright v Michael Smith
Steve Beaton v James Wade Evening Session John Part v Andy Hamilton Simon Whitlock v Justin Pipe Robert Thornton v Richie Burnett Mervyn King v Raymond van Barneveld Adrian Lewis v Kevin Painter Paul Nicholson v Phil Taylor Michael van Gerwen v Jamie Lewis Dave Chisnall v Jelle Klaasen Saturday 30th November DAY 2 – Second Round (Best of 17 legs) LIVE: 12.45pm-5.00pm ITV4 / 7.00pm-11.30pm ITV4 Afternoon Session Dolan/Jones v Part/Hamilton Huybrechts/Jenkins v White/Baxter
Caven/Lloyd v Whitlock/Pipe
Beaton/Wade v Newton/A Smith Evening Session Chisnall/Klaasen v Anderson/Kellett
Thornton/Burnett v King/van Barneveld
Wright/M Smith v Nicholson/Taylor
van Gerwen/J Lewis v A Lewis/Painter Sunday 1st December DAY 3 – Quarter Finals, Semi Finals & Final LIVE: 12.45pm-5.00pm ITV4 / 7.00pm-11.00pm ITV4 Afternoon Session Quarter-Finals (Best of 17 legs) Evening Session Semi-Finals (Best of 19 legs) Final (Best of 21 legs)
Love the ITV coverage, though they need to brush up on some of the camera work!!