Poland Darts Masters 2023 | Day One Preview and Order of Play
The inaugural Poland Darts Masters commences on Friday as the PDC stars and East European representatives collide in Warsaw.
The 16-player invitational is the latest new addition to the World Series schedule, with a sell-out crowd of 5,000 fans expected for each session at the COS Torwar.
The opening round sees the eight PDC representatives each face off against an East European representative for a place in Saturday’s Quarter-Finals.
Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski looks to raise the roof on home soil when he takes on former World Champion Rob Cross in one of the stand-out ties of the opening night.
Ratajski is the most decorated darer Poland has ever produced, following up his 2017 World Masters triumph with nine PDC ranking titles, as well as a run to the Semi-Finals of the 2021 World Matchplay.
Cross, meanwhile, is bidding to end a five-year wait for a World Series title, with his sole triumph to date coming at the 2018 Brisbane Masters.
The former World Matchplay and European Champion picked up his first European Tour title in May and has also claimed a Players Championship title this season.
Reigning World Champion Michael Smith opens up with a tricky tie against Polish number two Krzysztof Kciuk.
Smith followed up his historic Ally Pally triumph with winning the Bahrain Masters little over a week later, and has also picked up titles on the ProTour and European Tour this term.
The world number one, who switched darts manufacturers last weekend, will be wary of the threat posed by Kciuk – who represented Poland alongside Ratajski at the recent World Cup of Darts and together achieved a world record doubles match average of 118.10.
Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen looks to return to winning ways at the expense of UK Open semi-finalist Adam Gawlas.
Van Gerwen is the most successful player in World Series history with 18 titles, the most recent of which coming at the US Masters in New York in June.
The three-time World Champion missed the recent World Cup of Darts following dental surgery and was beaten by Raymond van Barneveld in the European Matchplay last weekend.
Former World Youth finalist Gawlas enjoyed a sensational run to the Semis at the UK Open in March but has struggled to find form since, suffering ten First Round exits in Players Championship events and two on the Euro Tour.
Luke Humphries aims to pick up from where he left off in winning the European Matchplay last Sunday as he faces TV debutant Nándor Major.
Humphries defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode in a dramatic final to claim his fifth Euro Tour crown, and the 2021 UK Open runner-up is now in search of maiden World Series silverware.
Major, 31, came through the Hungarian qualifier in June to seal a dream World Series debut, defeating Patrik Kovács 5-3 in the final.
World Series Finals champion Gerwyn Price aims to avoid a banana skin at the hands of TV debutant Lukasz Waclawski.
Price has reached the final in five of his last seven World Series events and returns to action after winning a second World Cup of Darts title alongside Jonny Clayton for Wales last month.
Waclawski came through a field of 175 players to win the Polish qualifying event and briefly competed on the Challenge Tour in 2019.
Premier League star Nathan Aspinall faces a tough opening test against Croatia’s Boris Krcmar.
Aspinall’s, whose sole World Series title to date came at the 2019 US Masters in Las Vegas, finished fifth in this year’s Premier League and was runner-up in the German Darts Grand Prix back in April.
Krcmar, the world number 55, competed in the recent World Cup of Darts and reached the Quarter-Finals of Players Championship 12 in May.
Former World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh kicks off the night’s action with a clash against Czech star Karel Sedlacek, before former UK Open champion Danny Noppert faces Tour Card holder Radek Szaganski – who reached the Semi-Finals of a Players Championship event in May.
The action gets under way from 6pm BST, with First Round matches to be contested over the best of 11 legs.
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Poland Darts Masters 2023 Day One Schedule
All times BST (local time +1 hour)
Friday July 7
First Round
6pm-10pm
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Karel Sedlacek
Danny Noppert v Radek Szaganski
Luke Humphries v Nándor Major
Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar
Gerwyn Price v Lukasz Waclawski
Michael van Gerwen v Adam Gawlas
Rob Cross v Krzysztof Ratajski
Michael Smith v Krzysztof Kciuk
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