Jonny Clayton: Welshman ready to defend Masters title in Milton Keynes | Darts News

Jonny Clayton will be defending his title at the £220,000 tournament, which will once again see 24 players in action at the Marshall Arena, with the first round featuring players ranked 9-24 on the PDC Order of Merit

Jonny Clayton will be out to defend his Masters title in Milton Keynes later this month

Jonny Clayton will begin his Masters title defence later this month after the draw for the tournament in Milton Keynes was confirmed.

Friday’s opening night will see all eight first-round ties take place as former semi-finalist Nathan Aspinall takes on debutant Luke Humphries and former quarter-finalist Joe Cullen faces Daryl Gurney in another high-profile contest.

Last year’s runner-up Mervyn King takes on debutant Ryan Searle, while Dirk van Duijvenbode takes on Simon Whitlock after original opponent Danny Noppert withdrew to remain with his partner in the Netherlands for the birth of their first child.

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Clayton and Michael Smith hit three consecutive ton-plus finishes in an epic sixth set of their last-16 clash at the World Championship

Under PDC rules, Noppert’s place in the draw is now taken by the next player from the PDC Order of Merit, meaning that former European Championship winner Whitlock steps into the field.

The second round is split across two sessions on Saturday, January 29, with 2014 champion James Wade and 2017 runner-up Gary Anderson starring in the afternoon session before Clayton begins his title defence in the evening.

A star-studded evening session will also see Peter Wright make his first appearance as a two-time world champion, with world No 1 Gerwyn Price and five-time Masters winner Michael van Gerwen also taking to the stage.

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William Borland, Darius Labanauskas & Gerwyn Price all hit incredible nine-darters at the Worlds!

2022 Masters

Friday, January 28 (1900 GMT)
First Round
Krzysztof Ratajski v Gabriel Clemens
Dave Chisnall v Stephen Bunting
Ryan Searle v Mervyn King
Rob Cross v Brendan Dolan
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ian White
Joe Cullen v Daryl Gurney
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Simon Whitlock
Nathan Aspinall v Luke Humphries

Saturday, January 29
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Jose de Sousa v Cross/Dolan
Gary Anderson v Cullen/Gurney
Michael Smith v Ratajski/Clemens
James Wade v Chisnall/Bunting

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Jonny Clayton v Van den Bergh/White
Gerwyn Price v Searle/King
Peter Wright v Van Duijvenbode/Whitlock
Michael van Gerwen v Aspinall/Humphries

Sunday January 30
Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)
Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals
Final

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