Daryl Gurney starts defence of Unibet World Grand Prix title against John Henderson

DARYL GURNEY will begin his defence of the Unibet World Grand Prix title against John Henderson, while Michael van Gerwen has drawn Irish talent Steve Lennon for the Dublin darts extravaganza.
Daryl Gurney.Daryl Gurney.
Daryl Gurney.

The Unibet World Grand Prix will take place at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin from September 30-October 6 and will be shown live on Sky Sports with tickets available at www.ticketmaster.ie.

The £400,000 tournament will begin with a clash between World Matchplay semi-finalist Jeffrey de Zwaan and Kim Huybrechts, with reigning champion Gurney beginning the defence of his title against Henderson later on the opening night.

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Scottish ace Henderson knocked out world number one Michael van Gerwen to begin his run to the semi-finals in Dublin last year, where he eventually lost out 4-1 to Gurney - giving an added edge to their tie on September 30.

The opening night will also see three-time champion Van Gerwen face rising Irish talent Steve Lennon, the Carlow ace who is making his World Grand Prix debut, and 2016 finalist Gary Anderson take on Jonny Clayton.

World Champion Rob Cross will begin his quest for the £100,000 star prize against Steve Beaton on Monday night, which will also see arguably the pick of the first round ties take place as world number nine Michael Smith faces former finalist Adrian Lewis.

Two-time winner James Wade will play sixth seed Mensur Suljovic in another tasty tie, while world number two Peter Wright will take on Steve West and last year's finalist Simon Whitlock will meet James Wilson.

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The second round of the double-start tournament will be split across Tuesday and Wednesday, with the quarter-finals on Thursday night and semi-finals on Friday night.

The final, on Saturday October 6, will be preceded by the Tom Kirby Memorial between Kevin Burness and Mick McGowan, as they battle for the top domestic honour and a place in the William Hill World Darts Championship.