Schedule Players Championship Finals 2024 on Friday night including Littler, Humphries, Van Gerwen and Dobey-Aspinall

We continue Friday night with the first round at the 2024 Players Championship Finals in Minehead. Seven matches will be played on the main stage, the remaining nine duels on the second stage.

This event is taking place for the sixteenth year. Michael van Gerwen is the record winner with seven titles. Phil Taylor, with three titles, is the only other player to have won the Players Championship Finals more than once. Gary Anderson, Kevin Painter, Paul Nicholson, Daryl Gurney, Peter Wright and Luke Humphries are the other former winners. In 2023, the title went to Humphries, who was too strong for Van Gerwen in the final, 11-9.

Most of the big names play on the main stage. There, the session kicked off with a meeting between Daryl Gurney and Peter Wright, before Gerwyn Price takes on Thibault Tricole. Chris Dobey plays against Nathan Aspinall, after which Michael van Gerwen takes the stage for his opening match against Ian White.

Luke Littler next begins his debut at the Players Championship Finals against former world champion Rob Cross. Defending champion Luke Humphries faces off with Gabriel Clemens, before Gary Anderson and Ryan Meikle conclude the program on the main stage.

On the second stage, there are also a lot of fun matches scheduled, starting with a friendly between Damon Heta and Mervyn King. Jonny Clayton will be in action against Florian Hempel, after which Danny Noppert will battle James Hurrell. The fourth match on court 2 is a Dutch clash between Raymond van Barneveld and Chris Landman.

Mario Vandenbogaerde next meets Stephen Bunting, before Mike de Decker faces Richard Veenstra. Michael Smith plays Nick Kenny, Dom Taylor's replacement. The latter was removed from the field for this tournament at the last minute because Taylor tested positive in a doping test.

Former World Youth Champion Josh Rock will take on Ricky Evans, the fastest darter in the world, in the first round. The final match on the second stage will be between former European Championship winner Ross Smith and reigning UK Open champion Dimitri van den Bergh.

The Players Championship Finals will be broadcast in full in the UK on ITV4. A second stage will be used during the first two days of play. The matches on this stage can be seen on PDC TV. The afternoon sessions kick off at 1:50 p.m., while the evening sessions over the weekend begin at 8 p.m.

During the Players Championship Finals, 600,000 pounds of prize money will be distributed. This event is taking place for the sixteenth time. The first edition was in 2009, when a total of 200,000 pounds was made available. Then the winner went home with the top prize of 50,000.

Meanwhile, the winner of the Players Championship Finals gets more than double. All 64 participants in the Players Championship Finals are guaranteed a starting premium of 3,000 pounds. This amount eventually rises to a £120,000 reward for the winner of the tournament.

First round: Best of 11 legs

Second round: Best of 11 legs

Third round: Best of 19 legs

Quarterfinals: Best of 19 legs

Semifinals: Best of 21 legs

Final: Best of 21 legs

Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price v Thibault Tricole

Chris Dobey v Nathan Aspinall

Michael van Gerwen v Ian White

Luke Littler v Rob Cross

Luke Humphries v Gabriel Clemens

Gary Anderson v Ryan Meikle

Damon Heta v Mervyn King

Jonny Clayton v Florian Hempel

Danny Noppert v James Hurrell

Raymond van Barneveld v Chris Landman

Stephen Bunting v Mario Vandenbogaerde

Mike De Decker v Richard Veenstra

Michael Smith v Nick Kenny

Josh Rock v Ricky Evans

Ross Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh