Luke Littler will have the chance to avenge his 2023 defeat to Adam Gawlas when the Premier League champion returns to action at the Poland Darts Masters.
Littler lost to the Czech player in their last televised meeting at the 2023 UK Open, but has since taken the darting world by storm, reaching the World Darts Championship final before going on to triumph in the Premier League.
The 17-year-old Briton is participating in the 16-player tournament in Gliwice for the first time, with the opening-round matches taking place on Friday before the final three stages follow on Saturday.
Michael van Gerwen will begin his defence of his title at the World Series of Darts event against Czech star Karel Sedlacek.
Van Gerwen produced averages of 110, 104 and 113 to triumph in the tournament’s inaugural staging in Warsaw last year, and the Dutch supremo will play Czech World Cup star Sedlacek on his return to Polish soil.
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Littler won the Premier League in his debut campaign after defeating world No 1 Humphries 11-7 in the final
The draw also pitted world No 1 Luke Humphries against Hungarian newcomer Gyorgy Jehirszki, as the world champion continues his bid for a maiden World Series of Darts crown.
Poland’s No 1 Krzysztof Ratajski will also take centre stage on home soil this weekend, and the former World Matchplay semi-finalist kicks off his challenge against Masters champion Stephen Bunting.
Newly-crowned US Darts Masters champion Rob Cross begins his bid for a second World Series title in the space of a fortnight against home favourite Sebastian Bialecki – a UK Open quarter-finalist in 2022.
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Littler hit a nine-darter during the Premier League Play-Off final at London’s O2 arena
Michael Smith, the 2023 world champion, will also face Polish opposition in Radek Szaganski, who regained his PDC Tour Card earlier this year after winning a Players Championship title in 2023.
Elsewhere, World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall plays Croatian trailblazer Boris Krcmar, while two-time world champion Peter Wright meets Poland’s big-stage debutant Jacek Krupka.
What’s next on Sky Sports?
The World Cup of Darts will take place from June 27-30 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany.
Wales’ Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton are the defending champions and they will be determined to fend off 39 other nations to retain their title.
Humphries and Smith are in line to represent England but Littler will not feature because the two highest-ranked English players in the PDC Order of Merit are picked. ‘The Nuke’ is currently 25th in the Order of Merit.
Fans are able to stream the entire action on NOW TV through their mobile device or table.
World Cup of Darts: Fixtures
Thursday, June 27 (6pm BST)
Group Stage – Opening Matches
Friday, June 28
Afternoon Session (11am BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches
Evening Session (6pm BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches
Saturday, June 29
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)
Second Round x4
Evening Session (6pm BST)
Second Round x4
Sunday, June 30
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (6pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Final
What is the format?
- Group Stage – Best of seven legs
- Second Round – Best of 15 legs
- Quarter-Finals – Best of 15 legs
- Semi-Finals – Best of 15 legs
- Final – Best of 19 legs
All matches will be played in a doubles format
