Taylor to face Jenkins

Darts

PHIL TAYLoR will take on Terry Jenkins in the first round of The Masters next friday, while Scottish pair Robert Thornton and Peter Wright face tough tests as the inaugural tournament begins at the Royal Highland Centre.

The Masters features the top 16 players from the PDC order of Merit, with Scottish duo Thornton and Wright set to appear on home soil in Edinburgh. Scotland’s former Premier League Darts champion Gary Anderson, however, missed out on qualification, having needed to win one of last weekend’s Players Championship tournaments in Killarney to return to the world’s top 16.

World champion Taylor, also the world No 1, takes on 16th seed Jenkins when the tournament begins with the eight firstround matches in one bumper session of darts. The pair’s last meeting came in July’s World Matchplay, when Taylor edged to a 14-12 victory in an epic contest in Blackpool before going on to win a record-breaking sixth successive title in the event.

World No 2 Michael van Gerwen, the reigning Premier League Darts champion and World Championship runnerup, takes on West Lothian-born Wright, who has moved up to a career-high 15th in the rankings this year. Ayrshire’s Thornton, the 2012 UK open champion, is seeded 11th and plays Andy Hamilton, the world No 6.

European champion Adrian Lewis comes up against Belgium’s Kim Huybrechts.