The 2024 Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters begins in Copenhagen on Friday, as the Danish capital plays host to the fourth staging of the World Series of Darts event.
Following events in Bahrain, Den Bosch and New York, the World Series of Darts continues at Forum Copenhagen on June 7-8, as a 16-player field compete across two days of action.
Reigning champion Peter Wright headlines a high-quality line-up, which also includes World Champion Luke Humphries and newly crowned US Darts Masters champion Rob Cross.
Wright toppled Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price to triumph in Copenhagen last January, and the Scot is hoping for a repeat performance on his return to Scandinavian soil.
“I’ve got good memories of Copenhagen. To win the title last year was brilliant,” reflected the two-time World Champion, who faces Sweden’s Johan Engstrom for a place in the quarter-finals.
“I felt really good in New York last week, but I think I’ve just forgotten how to win.
“Over the last couple of months it feels like I’ve been punished for every mistake, but that’s just the way the game goes sometimes.
“Mentally I feel great. I believe I’ve still got the game to beat everybody. It’s just got to click – and if it clicks, then I’ll win!”
Friday’s first round will see the eight PDC superstars taking on eight Nordic and Baltic challengers, with world number one Humphries pitted against home favourite Benjamin Drue Reus.
Emerging talent Drue Reus became Denmark’s newest PDC Tour Card Holder in January and progressed to the fifth round of March’s UK Open, where he was beaten 10-3 by a ruthless Humphries.
However, the World Champion is still bidding to claim a first World Series of Darts title, after succumbing in the semi-finals of last week’s US Darts Masters to eventual champion Cross.
Cross will open his challenge for back-to-back World Series titles against Jeffrey de Graaf, a winner of three Nordic & Baltic ProTour titles in 2024.
The 2018 World Champion also defeated the Dutch-born Swede in their third-round clash at the World Darts Championship in December, and Cross is full of confidence ahead of their latest showdown.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well all year,” insisted the 33-year-old, who also celebrated a European Tour triumph in Kiel last month.
“I just need to be a little bit more disciplined because the game is changing. Everyone is progressing, and if I need to be better at my job then I need to put the work in.
“The World Series has been a catalyst for me. I believe it’s changed me as a player.
“If you want to be the best in the world I think it’s very important to be involved in the World Series, because you’re taking the game all over the world, and darts is as big as it’s ever been.”
Top seed Gerwyn Price – the runner-up at last weekend’s US Darts Masters – faces a tough opening assignment against Latvia’s Madars Razma, the top-ranked Nordic & Baltic representative in this year’s field.
World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall meets Finland’s World Cup veteran Marko Kantele, while fourth seed Michael Smith also faces Finnish opposition after being drawn against debutant Paavo Myller.
Elsewhere, UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh – the Nordic Darts Masters winner in 2022 – makes his first World Series appearance of 2024 against former Swedish strongman Dennis Nilsson.
The field of PDC superstars also features Masters champion Stephen Bunting, who returns to the World Series circuit following a near ten-year hiatus.
Bunting’s last World Series appearance saw him finish runner-up to Phil Taylor at the Sydney Masters in August 2014, and the St Helens star is relishing his return to the spotlight.
The 39-year-old meets four-time World Championship qualifier Daniel Larsson in his opener on Friday night, as he aims to build on his breakthrough victory at the Masters in February.
“I’m so excited to be back,” admitted Bunting, who will also star in next week’s Superbet Poland Darts Masters in Gliwice.
“I’ve put a lot of work in over the last few years to try and get myself back in these events, and my efforts have been rewarded.
“I believe consistently I’m one of the best players in the world now. I’m playing really well and hopefully I can show that in Copenhagen.
“I feel really confident, but Daniel Larsson is a very good player. He’s got a lot of experience on the European Tour so it will be a tough game, but I hope I can bring my A-game and get over the line.”
Following Friday’s first round, the event will conclude in a bumper evening session on Saturday, which will feature the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final at Forum Copenhagen.
The Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters will be broadcast on ITV3 in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
2024 Mr Vegas Nordic Darts Masters
Draw Bracket
(1) Gerwyn Price v Madars Razma
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Dennis Nilsson
(4) Michael Smith v Paavo Myller
Nathan Aspinall v Marko Kantele
(2) Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Graaf
Stephen Bunting v Daniel Larsson
(3) Luke Humphries v Benjamin Drue Reus
Peter Wright v Johan Engstrom
Session Schedule
Friday June 7 (1900 local time)
First Round x8
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Dennis Nilsson
Nathan Aspinall v Marko Kantele
Gerwyn Price v Madars Razma
Stephen Bunting v Daniel Larsson
Peter Wright v Johan Engstrom
Michael Smith v Paavo Myller
Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Graaf
Luke Humphries v Benjamin Drue Reus
(Best of 11 legs)
Saturday June 8 (1900 local time)
Quarter-Finals
Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals
Best of 13 legs
Final
Best of 15 legs
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
