Schedule Players Championship Finals on Saturday afternoon with headline act of Humphries v Van Barneveld

Saturday we continue with the second round of the 2024 Players Championship Finals after 32 players managed to survive the opening day. It will be a full day on Saturday, as the afternoon session will feature the second round before the eighth finals are scheduled in the evening.

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.

The first round followed the trend of the last few majors. Many big names already lost including Michael van Gerwen, Chris Dobey, Stephen Bunting, Ryan Searle, Gary Anderson, Jonny Clayton, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, James Wade, Gerwyn Price, Peter Wright, Dimitri van den Bergh and Rob Cross all failed to reach the last 32.

The defending champion is still in it. Luke Humphries started his tournament with a 6-2 victory over Gabriel Clemens, forcing a top tie against Raymond van Barneveld. The 57-year-old had a good start in Minehead with a 6-1 win against Chris Landman. Van Barneveld boasts a good record against 'Cool Hand Luke'. 'Barney' is ahead 4-3 and managed to win both of the last two clashes.

The other top favorite Luke Littler also qualified for the second round. 'The Nuke' impressed with a 6-0 win over Rob Cross thanks to an average of 112. It earned Littler a duel with European Championship winner Ritchie Edhouse.

Nathan Aspinall will face Niels Zonneveld after the Dutchman's victory over William O'Connor, who defeated number one seed Chris Dobey. Danny Noppert will take on Stephen Burton after Noppert survived a matchdart in his first match against James Hurrell (6-5).

Jeffrey de Graaf faces Thibault Tricole after his shock win against Ryan Searle. The Frenchman also caused a huge surprise himself by eliminating Gerwyn Price. Wesley Plaisier defeated Mensur Suljovic in his debut at the Players Championship Finals and now faces Ross Smith. 'Smudger' won the first round convincingly 6-1 against Dimitri van den Bergh.

Jermaine Wattimena after his victory over Alan Soutar (6-4) will face Josh Rock, who himself outplayed Ricky Evans (6-1). Dirk van Duijvenbode faces off with Florian Hempel. The latter eliminated Jonny Clayton (6-3) from the tournament, while Van Duijvenbode dealt with Callan Rydz (6-1).

World Grand Prix champion Mike de Decker defeated Richard Veenstra 6-1 and will face Ian White on Saturday afternoon. 'The Diamond' was responsible for the elimination of Michael van Gerwen. With an average of 102.68 and a finishing percentage of 60 percent, he showed his absolute top form in the first round.

Where many had expected a new clash between Gian van Veen and Wessel Nijman in the second round, Scott Williams and Kim Huybrechts are now in the same spot in the bracket. Huybrechts surprisingly won handsomely 6-1 from Nijman, while Van Veen lost to Scott Williams (6-5). Mario Vandenbogaerde reached the second round at the expense of Stephen Bunting (6-2) and will now play Connor Scutt. The Sniper defeated Martin Lukeman (6-4) in the opening round.

Another interesting duel is the showdown between former major-winners Daryl Gurney and Michael Smith. Gurney put in a convincing performance in the first round by winning against Peter Wright (6-1) with an average of almost 109. Smith survived two match darts in his duel against Nick Kenny (6-5).

Damon Heta, the number three seed at the Players Championship Finals, has been paired with Krzysztof Ratajski in the second round. Heta conceded just one leg in his first match against Mervyn King, and Ratajski eliminated Madars Razma 6-4. Other familiar names such as Dave Chisnall, Andrew Gilding and Cameron Menzies will also be in action Saturday afternoon.

The Players Championship Finals will be broadcast in the UK on ITV4. All matches during both the afternoon and evening sessions can be seen on this channel with Stage 2 updates.

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 will start at 12:50 p.m., while the evening sessions over the weekend will begin at 7 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

Kim Huybrechts v Scott Williams

Nathan Aspinall v Niels Zonneveld

Damon Heta v Krzysztof Ratajski

Daryl Gurney v Michael Smith

Raymond van Barneveld v Luke Humphries

Josh Rock v Jermaine Wattimena

Luke Littler v Ritchie Edhouse

Cameron Menzies v Ryan Joyce

Dave Chisnall v Andrew Gilding

Jeffrey de Graaf v Thibault Tricole

Florian Hempel v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Mario Vandenbogaerde v Connor Scutt

Danny Noppert v Stephen Burton

Mike De Decker v Ian White

Ryan Meikle v Martin Schindler

Ross Smith v Wesley Plaisier