World Series of Darts Finals 2021 Day One preview and order of play | Arrows action commences in Amsterdam

The 2021 World Series of Darts Finals commence in Amsterdam on Friday as the qualifiers and wildcards vie to reach Round Two.

The £300,000 invitational features 24 leading players, including eight PDC invites, the next four highest players from the PDC Order of Merit, four international invites and four Dutch invites.

The AFAS Live in Amsterdam plays host to the event for the first time, with the opening night’s action featuring the qualifiers and wildcards battling it out for the right to face one of the eight seeds on Saturday.

James Wade is one of only three different winners of this title since the event was introduced in 2015 and he opens up with a clash against fellow stalwart Mervyn King in a repeat of the 2014 Masters final.

Wade has claimed the UK Open title this season, climbing back into the world’s top four, while King remains on the periphery of the top 16 with final appearances at both the Players Championship Finals and Masters within the last 12 months.

An all-Dutch show-down sees 2020 World Grand Prix finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode take on former World Matchplay semi-finalist Jeffrey de Zwaan.

World number 17 Van Duijvenbode enjoyed a welcome return to form in the recent Super Series, reaching a Semi-Final and a Quarter-Final in successive days, and will be keen to replicate that form on the televised stage.

De Zwaan, meanwhile, is a somewhat unexpected wildcard selection, having dropped to 38th in the PDC Order of Merit after going almost 12 months without reaching a ranking Quarter-Final.

Having recently become a father, Dave Chisnall is back to business on the oche and facing a First Round tie against Tour Card holder qualifier Niels Zonneveld.

Quarter-finalist at the recent World Grand Prix, ‘Chizzy’ also reached the Semi-Finals of Players Championship 24 in Barnsley last week and is a two-time semi-finalist in this event.

Former World Series event winner Nathan Aspinall aims to silence the partisan Dutch crowd by overcoming home favourite Vincent van der Voort.

Aspinall heads to Amsterdam in a rich vein of form, having made the Semi-Finals of the European Championship and the Last Four of Players Championship 26 the following week.

Van der Voort was also a quarter-finalist in Players Championship 26 and will be relishing the warm reception from his home crowd.

The opening match of tournament sees two resurgent natural talents collide as Michael Smith meets Kim Huybrechts.

Both players impressed during the recent Super Series, with Smith picking up the Players Championship 27 title, defeating Huybrechts in the Quarter-Finals in the process.

Huybrechts was a semi-finalist in Event 24 the day after he came through the Tour Card holder qualifier to secure his place in this event for the first time since 2016.

Another tasty tussle sees Polish number one Krzysztof Ratajski take on German number one Gabriel Clemens.

Ratajski has excelled in televised ranking majors this season, reaching two Quarter-Finals and a Semi-Final, but that consistent run was ended by a First Round exit at the European Championship.

Clemens’ wait for a first PDC title goes on after he was beaten by Callan Rydz in the final of Players Championship 25 last week, but the ‘German Giant’ will surely feel it is only a matter of time based on his recent performances.

World Cup winner John Henderson returns to the televised stage to take on Tour Card holder qualifier Maik Kuivenhoven.

Henderson was selected as one of the four ‘International Representatives’ and will be looking to replicate the nerveless finishing which led Scotland to World Cup glory last month alongside Peter Wright.

Kuivenhoven has gained a reputation as somewhat of a giant-killer on the ProTour, defeating the likes of Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Joe Cullen and Adrian Lewis, with a run to the Semi-Finals along the way.

The final match of the night sees Grand Slam champion Jose de Sousa take on an in-form Danny Noppert.

De Sousa’s form has dipped slightly of late amid various health complications, but the Portuguese star still managed to reach the Quarter-Finals of the European Championship, as well as four consecutive Last 16 runs at Super Series 7.

Noppert, on the other hand, has been in blistering form in recent months, following up a landmark Semi-Final appearance at the World Grand Prix by reaching the Quarter-Finals of the European Championship to climb into the elite top 16.

The action gets under way from 6pm BST, with First Round ties to be contested over the best of 11 legs.

WATCH THE WORLD SERIES OF DARTS FINALS STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)

World Series of Darts Finals 2021 Day One Schedule of Play

All times BST (local time one hour ahead)

Friday October 29

First Round

Kim Huybrechts v Michael Smith
Krzysztof Ratajski v Gabriel Clemens
Maik Kuivenhoven v John Henderson
James Wade v Mervyn King
Niels Zonneveld v Dave Chisnall
Jeffrey de Zwaan v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Nathan Aspinall v Vincent van der Voort
Jose de Sousa v Danny Noppert