Unibet Masters Darts 2014: Dates, Draw, Live Stream, TV Info and Prize Money
Phil Taylor will be looking to retain his Masters crown in the 2014 event as The Power heads to Edinburgh this weekend having won the inaugural edition last year.
However, he joins an elite field of 16 players at the Royal Highland Centre, any of whom could be crowned champion on Sunday evening.
There is no doubt about the form man going into this weekend's action. Michael van Gerwen is set to be the player to beat, having won the European Championship and the World Grand Prix back-to-back in October.
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Read on for a full examination of the vital tournament info ahead of two days of top-class darts.
Dates: Nov. 1-2
TV Info: ITV4 (UK only)
Live Stream: ITV Player (UK only)
Prize Fund: £160,000
Dutch Clash Heads Opening Round
Raymond van Barneveld will be looking to put the favourite Van Gerwen out of action in the very first round on Saturday when the two Dutchmen meet.
Not only will the ever-popular Van Barneveld be looking for national supremacy, he will be hoping to avenge his semi-final loss to the same opponent at last weekend's European Championship.
Barney was sporting a new look in Germany, wearing glasses to the oche, a tactic he is set to continue with, per the Professional Darts Corporation:
While the Dutch pair's clash will likely be the highlight on Saturday, there are plenty of other cracking first-round matches to look forward to:
| Saturday Session | Fixture |
| Afternoon | Peter Wright vs. Justin Pipe |
| Afternoon | Dave Chisnall vs. Robert Thornton |
| Afternoon | Simon Whitlock vs. Mervyn King |
| Afternoon | Adrian Lewis vs. Kim Huybrechts |
| Evening | James Wade vs. Brendan Dolan |
| Evening | Phil Taylor vs. Wes Newton |
| Evening | Michael van Gerwen vs. Raymond van Barneveld |
| Evening | Gary Anderson vs. Andy Hamilton |
The afternoon session begins at 12:45 p.m. GMT, the evening session commences at 7 p.m. GMT.
Taylor gets the defence of his title going against Wes Newton on Saturday, as he looks to bounce back from a narrow second-round loss to Stephen Bunting in Mulheim, Germany, last week.
Newton himself was ousted at the first hurdle at the European Championship and will be desperate to make it a step further in Edinburgh.
Mervyn King showed some very good form in Germany, as he reached the semi-finals and will give Simon Whitlock yet another first-round headache on Saturday—the Aussie having been knocked out by Van Barneveld last weekend—but the Wizard is clearly raring to go:
The resurgent James Wade is set to take on Brendan Dolan, while in-form home favourite Gary Anderson faces Andy Hamilton to finish things off on Saturday night.
Adrian Lewis needs to bounce back from a first-round loss in Germany, but he faces a tough opener against Kim Huybrechts, while Dave Chisnall faces Robert Thornton.
Another Scotsman, Peter Wright, kicks the whole thing off on Saturday afternoon with his match against Justin Pipe.
The Masters is a truly elite event with the top 16 in the PDC Order of Merit battling it out over two days of top-quality darts.
Van Gerwen is the form player and the favourite, but with so much talent on display in Edinburgh, it's really anyone's guess who will make the quarter-finals, let alone who will triumph on Sunday.
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