Luke Humphries will begin his defence of the BoyleSports World Grand Prix title against Stephen Bunting, with the draw for next week’s double-start event now confirmed.
Humphries, who claimed his maiden televised ranking title at this event 12 months ago, will renew his rivalry against Masters champion Bunting – a two-time World Grand Prix semi-finalist.
The unique double-start event – which will be played at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena from October 7-13 – will see a star-studded line-up battling it out across seven days of action in the East Midlands.
Teenage sensation Luke Littler will be one of five debutants in the 32-player field, and the Premier League champion opens his title challenge with a showdown against fourth seed Rob Cross.
World number two Michael Smith will play 2016 finalist Gary Anderson in another blockbuster tussle, as six-time winner Michael van Gerwen faces 2017 champion Daryl Gurney.
Peter Wright – a runner-up in 2018 – kicks off his campaign against two-time champion James Wade, while 2020 winner Gerwyn Price locks horns with Dutch number two Danny Noppert.
2021 champion Jonny Clayton will meet debutant Ritchie Edhouse for a place in round two, as two-time finalist Dave Chisnall goes up against another newcomer Cameron Menzies.
Fifth seed Nathan Aspinall – a runner-up in 2022 – makes his big stage return against Ryan Searle, with Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen set to collide in a repeat of their quarter-final tie 12 months ago.
Former finalists Raymond van Barneveld and Brendan Dolan will take on German duo Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler, as emerging Dutchman Gian van Veen plays world number ten Ross Smith.
UK Open champion Dimitri Van den Bergh meets Luke Woodhouse, with Van den Bergh’s compatriot Mike De Decker handed an opening round assignment against Australian number one Damon Heta.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock has been pitted against the returning Ryan Joyce, with the winner advancing to a second round clash against Aspinall or Searle.
The BoyleSports World Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV (excluding UK, Germany, Austria & Switzerland based subscribers).
The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course, with the first round being played across the first two days of action on October 7-8.
2024 BoyleSports World Grand Prix
Draw Bracket
(1) Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting
Raymond van Barneveld v Ricardo Pietreczko
(8) Jonny Clayton v Ritchie Edhouse
Gian van Veen v Ross Smith
(4) Rob Cross v Luke Littler
Brendan Dolan v Martin Schindler
(5) Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
Josh Rock v Ryan Joyce
(2) Michael Smith v Gary Anderson
Mike De Decker v Damon Heta
(7) Gerwyn Price v Danny Noppert
Peter Wright v James Wade
(3) Michael van Gerwen v Daryl Gurney
Chris Dobey v Joe Cullen
(6) Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies
Luke Woodhouse v Dimitri Van den Bergh
—–ENDS—–
Images: PDC
