Schedule Saturday evening session 2024 Masters including Van Gerwen-Dobey, Smith-Van den Bergh, Humphries and Aspinall

Saturday night sees a first this season at least for now as the whole Premier League Darts line-up will not be playing at the 2024 Masters unlike Bahrain and Den Bosch. Four of the stars of the weekly darting roadshow will be though.

The on-running saga on social media has been fans not realising that Luke Littler isn't playing who brought new eyes aplenty onto the sport during the World Championship. But four of the top names including the World Champion are involved.

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The World Champion too in Luke Humphries likely won't have to deal with whistling like he did against Littler, albeit he may not get the fans favourite reaction with him facing Stephen Bunting who came through a dramatic tie with Ross Smith on Friday night. The darling of the crowd at the Ally Pally after becoming a social media star, he will aim to stir up the crowd in Milton Keynes again.

While Michael van Gerwen will aim to reclaim a crown in his collection that he has won five times, but not since 2019 with a myriad of different winners sealing it since his dominance was broken during the COVID era. He won it five times on the spin, but not in five years. He starts his campaign though against a thorn in his side as of late in Chris Dobey. The defending champion may see a route through if he can dump out the Dutch Machine again.

While before the crowd go Bunting Mental, Nathan Aspinall as ever with his Mr Brightside walk-on will aim to act as a starter to the night. Not at his best himself, he faces Dirk van Duijvenbode though who exclaimed a roar after taking down Ryan Searle after really suffering with injury. Van Duijvenbode likely now sees it as a free hit and that could be dangerous for 'The Asp'. But as we know, never count him out.

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Same can be said for Michael Smith who will be full of confidence after winning the night in Cardiff. He faces Dimitri van den Bergh who showed glimmers of form in Den Bosch and took that into Friday when he wiped the floor with James Wade. A shock incoming or can 'Bully Boy' continue his Premier League confidence boost into Milton Keynes.

No longer the warm-up for the big roadshow, the season really begins here on Saturday night albeit for the big guns, it is already a third tournament. Darts eh? The shortest off season in sport strikes again.

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Evening session (from 7 p.m.)

Second round

Nathan Aspinall v Dirk van Duijvenbode

Luke Humphries v Stephen Bunting

Michael van Gerwen v Chris Dobey

Michael Smith v Dimitri Van den Bergh