Raymond van Barneveld's final competitive tournament in New Zealand will begin with a first-round clash with home favourite Cody Harris in Hamilton on Friday.
The first-round matchup headlines the fifth instalment of the NZ Masters, which sees eight local qualifiers randomly pitted against one of the best players in the world at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton.
Van Barneveld, a five-time world champion, reached the final in New Zealand on two occasions but fell short in both to Adrian Lewis in 2015 and Michael van Gerwen in 2018.
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"This is my last World Series, so it would mean so much to me if I can lift this trophy," van Barneveld told Newshub.
"I should have won in 2015 when I missed five match darts against Adrian Lewis in the final, and I'm still not over that."
Other first-round matches will see defending NZ Darts Masters champion van Gerwen face 2017 winner Kyle Anderson.
Van Gerwen says he's confident he can become the first player to successfully defend the NZ Darts Masters title, after his triumph in Melbourne last weekend.
"Not anymore. We're keeping it the same this year," he told Newshub.
For Anderson, he knows he must lift his game if he is going to claim an upset win.
"Everyone is looking forward to this," he told Newshub. To come back here where I won my first TV title is great.
"It is a matter of how I come out on the night. You know what Michael brings to the table, but I hope he doesn't come out firing at the start."
Elsewhere, Australian number one Simon Whitlock faces Ben Robb in a repeat of last year's epic first-round clash.
Robb missed one match dart before Whitlock secured victory.
Top seed Peter Wright begins his campaign against Brisbane champion Damon Heta, whilst Gary Anderson takes on New Zealand World Cup representative Haupai Puha.
Brisbane runner-up Rob Cross will take on Warren Parry, who replaces Australian Corey Cady who withdrew for personal reasons.
Daryl Gurney, who made the final of the Melbourne Darts Masters last week will open his account against David Platt, and James Wade faces Craig Caldwell.
Schedule of Play
Friday, August 23
James Wade v Craig Caldwell
Simon Whitlock v Ben Robb
Daryl Gurney v David Platt
Rob Cross v Warren Parry
Gary Anderson v Haupai Puha
Peter Wright v Damon Heta
Michael van Gerwen v Kyle Anderson
Raymond van Barneveld v Cody Harris
Best of 11 legs
Saturday, August 24
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
All best of 15 legs
Newshub.
