Schedule opening day US Darts Masters including stateside debut of Luke Littler

It will be alarm calls or long nights for fans who want to watch the first day of play at the US Darts Masters 2024 on Saturday night. The first round of the World Series tournament kicks off at 00:00 UK time.

Like the past two years, this event will be played at the Hulu Theater at New York's iconic Madison Square Garden. The eight best players in North America will have a chance to compete against eight absolute PDC stars.

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Former world champion Rob Cross is the first of the world's elite to get to showcase himself to the predominantly American audience. The losing finalist of the 2018 US Darts Masters will take on Adam Sevada, who makes his debut at a televised tournament this weekend. After that, it's Nathan Aspinall's turn. For 'The Asp,' winner of the 2019 US Darts Masters, a duel with Stowe Buntz is scheduled. Buntz already presented himself to the darts world last year by qualifying for the Grand Slam of Darts and the World Darts Championship. At the Grand Slam, Buntz surprisingly made it to the quarterfinals after wins over Peter Wright, Stephen Bunting and Andrew Gilding. So Aspinall has been warned about the qualities of his American opponent.

Peter Wright faces off with Alex Spellman, who was also on display at Alexandra Palace in December. Spellman won last year's CDC ranking, the continental ranking for darters from North America. He was also the best at the CDC Continental Cup, forcing participation for this event. Former world champion Gerwyn Price will compete with Jules van Dongen, who will compete at the US Darts Masters for the third time. Last year Price and Van Dongen also faced each other in the first round. Then 'The Iceman' won 6-2 thanks to an average of 105.62. 

Michael van Gerwen is up against Danny Lauby in the fifth match of the session. The Dutchman will take on Danny Lauby, who is ranked as the fastest professional dart player in the world. Van Gerwen is the defending champion at the US Darts Masters after an 8-0 victory over Jeff Smith in last year's final. 'Mighty Mike' is the only player who has already won this tournament twice, as he also captured the title at this event in 2017. Reigning world champion Luke Humphries lays on against Canadian veteran David Cameron in the opening round.

Teenage sensation Luke Littler will make his debut at the US Darts Masters against Matt Campbell. 'The Ninja' is not an unfamiliar opponent for 'The Nuke,' as the two players also met at the World Darts Championship in December. Then the win went 4-1 in sets to Littler, who would later reach the World Cup final and now also holds the Premier League title. The last match of the first round is between Michael Smith and Jeff Smith, a meeting between the winner of the 2023 US Darts Masters and last year's losing finalist.

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TV and live stream

PDCTV will show the action live. An annual subscription is needed for that at £49.99 or a monthly/tournament pass. Select bookmakers also show the tournament with a deposit needed. As well as ITV4 who will show delayed coverage at 5pm after the opening day and 11:25am straight after the final on Sunday for those wanting to watch it in the UK. It will be shown on DAZN also in the US as well as other territories as well as Viaplay.

The first round of the US Darts Masters will get underway on Saturday, June 1, at 01:00 a.m. ET. The eight winners of the first round may return to the stage of the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden a day later. Then the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played consecutively.

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Distribution of prize money

The prize pool for this event includes £60,000. This amount is the same at all regular World Series tournaments. All participants are guaranteed 1250 pounds of prize money.

This amount increases further upon winning matches. The losing finalist collects a check for 10,000 pounds, while the winner of the US Darts Masters gets to take home the top prize of 20,000 pounds. By the way, the money does not count toward the PDC Order of Merit.

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Playing schedule US Darts Masters 2024

Saturday, June 1 (from 00:00 a.m.)

First round

Rob Cross v Adam Sevada

Nathan Aspinall v Stowe Buntz

Peter Wright v Alex Spellman

Gerwyn Price v Jules van Dongen

Michael van Gerwen v Danny Lauby

Luke Humphries v David Cameron

Luke Littler v Matt Campbell

Michael Smith v Jeff Smith