Krzysztof Ratajski will take on former World Champion Rob Cross on the opening night of the Superbet Poland Darts Masters, with the draw and schedule for this week’s inaugural World Series of Darts event in Warsaw now confirmed.
The PDC’s World Series of Darts will visit Poland for the first time on July 7-8, with the fourth of six international events in 2023 taking place in front of a sell-out crowd at COS Torwar in Warsaw.
Friday’s first round will see the eight PDC stars take on eight East Europe representatives, which includes Poland’s number one Ratajski – a winner of nine PDC ranking titles.
Ratajski will take centre stage on home soil, and he begins his campaign against fourth seed Cross, who has reached two semi-finals on his World Series of Darts return in 2023.
World Champion Michael Smith will open his title challenge against another home star, Krzysztof Kciuk – who combined with Ratajski to produce a world record Pairs average of 118.10 for Poland at last month’s World Cup of Darts.
Top seed Gerwyn Price – the reigning World Series of Darts Finals winner – has been pitted against TV debutant Lukasz Waclawski, who won through a field of 175 players in last weekend’s Polish qualifier.
US Darts Masters champion Michael van Gerwen will kick off his bid for back-to-back World Series titles against Czech youngster Adam Gawlas, who was a semi-finalist in March’s UK Open.
Gawlas’ Czech compatriot Karel Sedlacek will play Belgian number one Dimitri Van den Bergh, with Premier League star Nathan Aspinall up against Croatian trailblazer Boris Krcmar.
World number six Luke Humphries – fresh from lifting his fifth European Tour title in Trier last weekend – will meet newcomer Nándor Major, the winner of last month’s Hungarian qualifier.
Elsewhere, former UK Open champion Danny Noppert will make his first World Series appearance of 2023 with a tie against the fourth Polish representative, PDC Tour Card holder Radek Szaganski.
Following Friday’s opening night, the Poland Darts Masters concludes on Saturday with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in one bumper session.
The tournament will be broadcast live on Viaplay in Poland and through the broadcaster’s other territories, including the Netherlands and Nordic & Baltic region.
Further global coverage will include DAZN and PDCTV (excluding subscribers based in Germany, Austria & Switzerland).
Coverage on ITV4 in the UK will be from 2100 BST on Friday and Saturday.
2023 Superbet Poland Darts Masters
Draw Bracket
(1) Gerwyn Price v Lukasz Waclawski
Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar
(4) Rob Cross v Krzysztof Ratajski
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Karel Sedlacek
(2) Michael Smith v Krzysztof Kciuk
Danny Noppert v Radek Szaganski
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Adam Gawlas
Luke Humphries v Nándor Major
Friday July 7 (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
First Round
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Karel Sedlacek
Danny Noppert v Radek Szaganski
Luke Humphries v Nándor Major
Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar
Gerwyn Price v Lukasz Waclawski
Michael van Gerwen v Adam Gawlas
Rob Cross v Krzysztof Ratajski
Michael Smith v Krzysztof Kciuk
Saturday July 8 (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Price/Waclawski v Aspinall/Krcmar
Cross/Ratajski v Van den Bergh/Sedlacek
Smith/Kciuk v Noppert/Szaganski
Van Gerwen/Gawlas v Humphries/Major
Semi-Finals
Price/Waclawski/Aspinall/Krcmar v Cross/Ratajski/Van den Bergh/Sedlacek
Smith/Kciuk/Noppert/Szaganski v Van Gerwen/Gawlas/Humphries/Major
Final
v
Format
First Round – Best of 11 legs
Quarter-Finals – Best of 11 legs
Semi-Finals – Best of 13 legs
Final – Best of 15 legs
—–ENDS—–
Image: PDC
