PDC Masters Darts 2017: Scores, Results, Updated Schedule After Saturday

Darts World Champion Michael van Gerwen got his 2017 season off to a fine start at the PDC Masters, as he beat Australia's Simon Whitlock in the first round on Saturday.

Mighty Mike wasn't at his best but dominated anyway, winning 10-6. Mensur Suljovic grabbed a win over Jelle Klaasen, and Robert Thornton knocked out James Wade in a thriller. In the final match of the day, Adrian Lewis beat Kim Huybrechts.

Here's a look at Saturday's results:

Mensur Suljovic	10-4	Jelle Klaasen
James Wade	9-10	Robert Thornton
Michael van Gerwen	10-6	Simon Whitlock
Adrian Lewis	10-6	Kim Huybrechts

The schedule for Sunday:

Afternoon session
Evening Session
Phil Taylor	vs.	Peter Wright
Gary Anderson	vs.	Raymond van Barneveld
Robert Thornton	vs.	Adrian Lewis
Michael van Gerwen	vs.	Mensur Suljovic
Semi-finals
Final

Recap

Whitlock took the opening leg with an 11-darter and back-to-back 180s, but Van Gerwen soon shifted into gear, winning four straight legs with an average over 107 before the interval.

Mighty Mike kept up his great play, and as shared by PDC Darts, he quickly moved in to striking distance of the win:

But his form deteriorated during the final legs, allowing Whitlock to get back into the match and push the Order of Merit Leader. Van Gerwen missed several darts for the match before hitting double 10 after Whitlock wasted several darts of his own.

Van Gerwen remains the favourite to win just about every tournament he enters this season, but with Gary Anderson and Peter Wright impressing on Friday and in seemingly better form to start the season, the Dutchman might suffer an upset on Sunday.

The evening started with a bang, as Suljovic and Klaasen put on a show in the opening match. The former took a quick three-leg lead before the Dutchman hit back, and as shared by PDC Darts, he did so in emphatic fashion:

Klaasen leveled, but Suljovic pulled off another quick sprint ahead of the interval and carried his momentum into the next session.

The final four legs went his way as well, as the Austrian booked his spot in the next round.

Wade and Thornton were up next, and the two put on one of the most exciting matches of darts fans will see all year.

Dan Mullan/Getty Images

The Thorn took a 3-0 lead before the Machine hit back with four straight for his first lead of the match. Thornton answered with a magnificent 116 checkout, and the two kept things close the rest of the way.

As shared by PDC Darts, the Machine saved his skin in miraculous fashion to force a decider:

Thornton kept his cool in the decider, however, using his experience to great effect when he needed the most.

Per Live Darts, the veteran is keen to prove what he can do in 2017:

The final match of the day saw Huybrechts go head-to-head with Lewis, and the two continued the high level of play we saw on Saturday. 

Huybrechts took the opening leg and kept the tempo high, running out to a 4-2 lead before Jackpot started finding his rhythm. Lewis tied things up at 5-5 with a beautiful 136 finish and cruised from that point onward, winning 10-6.