The draw for the first round of Players Championship 2 has been released, setting up a series of high-stakes clashes just a day after Players Championship 1 concluded in Hildesheim. The standout tie sees Michael van Gerwen face Michael Smith in a heavyweight opener, with van Gerwen arriving after a semi-final loss to James Wade in PC1 and Smith seeking consistency. Another eye-catching fixture pairs Beau Greaves against Rob Cross, testing Greaves' composure after her impressive debut run on Monday.
Elsewhere, former world champions are under pressure to respond. Gerwyn Price meets Kim Huybrechts after an early PC1 exit despite elite scoring, while Peter Wright faces Tom Sykes following a worrying first-round defeat. PC1 champion James Wade opens against Christian Kist, testing his ability to reset, and finalist Nathan Aspinall begins against Niall Culleton. Gian van Veen faces Madars Razma and Ryan Searle meets Darius Labanauskas, both carrying unfinished business from early PC1 exits.
Players who built momentum in PC1 also feature, with Adam Gawlas taking on Mike De Decker and Wesley Plaisier facing Ryan Meikle. The full draw includes Karel Sedlacek vs Cristo Reyes, Jeffrey De Graaf vs Stefaan Henderyck, Keane Barry vs Stephen Burton, Niko Springer vs Dominik Gruellich, Richard Veenstra vs Ian White, Luke Woodhouse vs Martijn Dragt, Adam Lipscombe vs David Sharp, Arno Merk vs Ricky Evans, Chris Dobey vs Charlie Manby, Jimmy van Schie vs Tom Bissell, Niels Zonneveld vs Thomas Lovely, James Hurrell vs Maik Kuivenhoven, Jermaine Wattimena vs Jeffrey De Zwaan, Shane McGuirk vs Dimitri Van den Bergh, Ricardo Pietreczko vs Gabriel Clemens, Sietse Lap vs Darryl Pilgrim, Rob Owen vs Adam Warner, Pero Ljubic vs Bradley Brooks, Danny Noppert vs Stefan Bellmont, Callan Rydz vs Lukas Wenig, Mario Vandenbogaerde vs Oskar Lukasiak, Martin Schindler vs Cam Crabtree, Adam Paxton vs Jack Tweddell, Krzysztof Ratajski vs Matthias Ehlers, Greg Ritchie vs Adam Leek, Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Marvin Kraft, Benjamin Pratnemer vs Thibault Tricole, Kevin Doets vs Tyler Thorpe, Max Hopp vs Rhys Griffin, Connor Scutt vs Nick Kenny, William O'Connor vs Dennie Olde Kalter, Marvin van Velzen vs Joe Hunt, Tavis Dudeney vs Maximilian Czerwinski, Daryl Gurney vs Martin Lukeman, Jurjen van der Velde vs Scott Williams, Damon Heta vs Mickey Mansell, Alan Soutar vs Stephen Rosney, Dave Chisnall vs Andy Boulton, Jim Long vs Chris Landman, Kai Gotthardt vs Steve Lennon, Andrew Gilding vs Cor Dekker, Leon Weber vs Mervyn King, Wessel Nijman vs Viktor Tingstrom, Brendan Dolan vs Samuel Price, Ryan Joyce vs Filip Bereza, Tommy Morris vs Jeffrey Sparidaans, Gary Anderson vs Pascal Rupprecht, Justin Hood vs Sebastian Bialecki, Raymond van Barneveld vs Yorick Hofkens, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez vs Owen Bates, Ross Smith vs Carl Sneyd, Joe Cullen vs Mensur Suljovic, Cameron Menzies vs Tytus Kanik, and Alexander Merkx vs Ritchie Edhouse.
