Melbourne Darts Masters 2017: Draw, schedule, odds, TV coverage details & player profiles

The fifth of this season's eight World Series of Darts tournaments took place from August 18-20 with the inaugural Melbourne Darts Masters, as the PDC's top players looked to bounce back after being humbled in Auckland last week.

Both Peter Wright and Phil Taylor fell to rising Aussie star Corey Cadby during his route to the final, where he'd lose a thrilling battle 11-10 to fellow unseeded compatriot Kyle Anderson, but this time it was the Snakebite and the Power who would renew their rivalry with the title on the line.

The tournament did not feature Michael van Gerwen or Adrian Lewis due to their respective partners recently giving birth.

You can look back on how the action unfolded with the results and reviews while we have details of the Sky Bet odds and prize money plus player profiles and the full World Series of Darts calendar. 

Melbourne Darts Masters Draw & Tournament Bracket

Scroll down for schedule & results
Click here to place your bets

The eight PDC representatives were paired up against the eight Oceanic players in the first round

Gary Anderson (1) v Justin Thompson
Daryl Gurney v Dave Marland
Peter Wright (4) v Rhys Mathewson
Michael Smith v David Platt
Raymond van Barneveld (2) v Corey Cadby
Phil Taylor v Cody Harris
James Wade (3) v Koha Kokiri
Simon Whitlock v Kyle Anderson

Melbourne Darts Masters: Daily Schedule & Results

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Friday August 18 (7pm local time, 1000 BST)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
Daryl Gurney 6-0 Dave Marland
Peter Wright 6-2 Rhys Mathewson
James Wade 6-3 Koha Kokiri
Michael Smith 6-3 David Platt
Phil Taylor 6-3 Cody Harris
Raymond van Barneveld 4-6 Corey Cadby
Gary Anderson 6-2 Justin Thompson
Simon Whitlock 6-1 Kyle Anderson
Click here for a full review

Saturday August 19 (7pm local time, 1000 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
Gary Anderson 8-10 Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright 10-9 Michael Smith
Corey Cadby 9-10 Phil Taylor
James Wade 9-10 Simon Whitlock
Click here for a full review

Sunday August 20 (7pm local time, 1000 BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 21 legs)
Peter Wright 11-4 Daryl Gurney
Phil Taylor 11-4 Simon Whitlock

Final (Best of 21 legs)
Peter Wright 8-11 Phil Taylor
Click here for a full review

What channel is the Melbourne Darts Masters on?

ITV4 will be broadcasting delayed coverage of all three days, starting at 1900 BST on Friday, 1800 BST start on Saturday and 2000 BST start on Sunday. Presented by Adam Peacock, with commentary by Stuart Pyke, Rod Harrington and Mark Bosnich.

Melbourne Darts Masters: Betting odds

In the absence of Michael van Gerwen, following the recent birth of his daughter, Sky Bet's tournament favourite is Gary Anderson at 5/2 even though he was knocked out by Kyle Anderson in the first round in Auckland last week.

Next in the running at 3/1 apiece are World Matchplay champion Phil Taylor and UK Open winner Peter Wright, who both fell victim to eventual runner-up Corey Cadby in Auckland, while fellow PDC stars Daryl Gurney and Raymond van Barneveld are 10/1 and 12/1 respectively.

Cadby's impressive run last week means he's now 14/1 to triumph in Melbourne - a shorter price than both Michael Smith (16/1) and James Wade (20/1) which underlines his talents - and it could surprise punters to learn that Auckland champion Kyle Anderson is as big as 25/1 to triumph for the second event running.

He also won his first PDC ranking title by landing a Players Championship event the weekend earlier so he's certainly a man bang in form and full of confidence - not to mention having the benefit of the home crowd to cheer him on.

Interestingly, Cadby and Kyle Anderson were priced at 50/1 ahead of the Auckland Darts Masters.

Simon Whitlock can also be backed at 25/1 but the other Oceanic representatives are 200/1 or bigger.

Click here to place your pre-tournament and in-play bets!

Melbourne Darts Masters: PDC player profiles

* Michael van Gerwen and Adrian Lewis are absent from this event after both their partners recently gave birth.

GARY ANDERSON
Nickname: The Flying Scotsman
Date of Birth: December 22 1970
Nationality: Scottish
World Ranking (August 7): 2
Walk-on music: Jump Around, House of Pain
Notable Achievements: 2x World Champion (2015, 2016), 2x Premier League champion (2011, 2015), Players Championship Finals champion (2014), over 30 other PDC titles, runner-up in eight other major finals

PETER WRIGHT
Nickname: Snakebite
Date of Birth: March 10 1970
Nationality: Scottish
World Ranking (August 7): 3
Walk-on music: Don't Stop The Party, Pitbull
Notable Achievements: UK Open champion (2017), World Championship runner-up (2014), Premier League runner-up (2017), 16 non-televised PDC titles and four more televised final appearances.

PHIL TAYLOR
Nickname: The Power
Date of Birth: August 13 1960
Nationality: England
World Ranking (August 7): 4
Walk-on music: I've Got The Power, Snap
Notable Achievements: 14x PDC World Champion (1995-2002, 2004-2006, 2009, 2010, 2013), 2x BDO World Champion (1990, 1992), 15x World Matchplay champion (1995, 1997, 2000-2004, 2006, 2008-2014), 11x World Grand Prix champion (1998-2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013), 5x UK Open champion (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013), 6x Grand Slam of Darts champion (2007-2009, 2011, 2013, 2014), 6x Premier League champion (2005-2008, 2010, 2012), 4x European Champion (2008-2011), 3x Players Championship Finals champion (2009, 2011, 2012), Masters champion (2013), Champions League of Darts champion (2016), 4x World Cup winner (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016), over 100 other PDC titles

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD
Nickname: Barney
Date of Birth: April 20 1967
Nationality: Dutch
World Ranking (August 7): 8
Walk-on music: Eye of The Tiger, Survivor
Notable Achievements: PDC World Champion (2007), 4x BDO world champion (1998, 1999, 2003, 2005), 2x UK Open champion (2006, 2007), Premier League champion (2014), Grand Slam of Darts champion (2012), 3x World Cup winner (2010, 2014, 2017), 20 other PDC titles, runner-up in eight majors

MICHAEL SMITH
Nickname: Bully Boy
Date of Birth: September 18 1990
Nationality: England
World Ranking (August 7): 9
Walk-on music: Shut Up & Dance, Walk The Moon
Career highlights: World Youth Champion (2013), winner of seven non-televised PDC titles

JAMES WADE
Nickname: The Machine
Date of Birth: April 6 1983
Nationality: English
World Ranking (August 7): 10
Walk-on music: The Boys Are Back In Town, Thin Lizzy
Notable Achievements: World Matchplay champion (2007), 2x World Grand Prix champion (2007, 2010), Premier League champion (2009), 2x UK Open champion (2008, 2011), Masters champion (2014), 20 non-televised PDC titles, runner-up in 11 televised majors 

DARYL GURNEY
Nickname: SuperChin
Date of Birth: March 23 1986
Nationality: Northern Ireland
World Ranking (August 7): 12
Walk-on music: Sweet Caroline, Neil Diamond
Notable Achievements: World Matchplay semi-finalist (2017), UK Open semi-finalist (2017), World Championship quarter-finalist (2017)

SIMON WHITLOCK
Nickname: The Wizard
Date of Birth: March 3 1969
Nationality: Australia
World Ranking (August 7): 18
Walk-on music: Down Under, Men at Work
Career highlights: European champion (2012), World Championship runner-up (2010), Premier League runner-up (2012), winner of 16 non-televised TV titles

Melbourne Darts Masters: Prize money

Winner: £20,000
Runner-up: £10,000
Semi-finals: £5,000
Quarter-final: £2,500
First-round losers: £1,250

World Series of Darts: Tournament calendar

Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters (May 24-25) - Gary Anderson

Shanghai Darts Masters (July 13-15) - Michael van Gerwen

US Darts Masters (Last Vegas) - July 14-15 - Michael van Gerwen

Auckland Darts Masters - August 11-13 - Kyle Anderson

Melbourne Darts Masters - August 18-20

Perth Darts Masters - August 25-27

German Darts Masters - October 20-21

World Series Finals (Glasgow) - November 3-5

Click here now for the full PDC tournament calendar for 2017