​Former champions headline the opening night of World Matchplay darts at Winter Gardens

Last year's runner-up Price will take on Stephen Bunting when the £800,000 tournament begins on Saturday July 15 at Blackpool's iconic Winter Gardens.

Former champions Cross and Anderson will also be in action on the opening night as they face Daryl Gurney and Dave Chisnall respectively in exciting ties.

A mouth-watering opening Saturday night in Blackpool will begin with a meeting between 2018 quarter-finalist Joe Cullen – the 2022 Masters champion – and Belgian debutant Mike De Decker.

Sunday's afternoon session will be headlined by 2007 champion James Wade as he takes on Premier League star Chris Dobey, and World Youth Champion Josh Rock makes his debut against Damon Heta.

Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his title against Brendan Dolan in Sunday's evening session, which will also see World Champion Michael Smith - the top seed as world number one - taking on Steve Beaton.

The first round concludes on Monday, as 2021 champion Peter Wright who takes on Andrew Gilding, while Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld makes his first Blackpool appearance in five years against Ryan Searle.

The second round will take place across Tuesday July 18 and Wednesday July 19, before the quarter-finals are staged across Thursday July 20 and Friday July 21.

Saturday July 22 will see the semi-finals take place, before the final is held on Sunday July 23 when the champion will lift the Phil Taylor Trophy and pocket the £200,000 star prize.

This year's visit to the Winter Gardens will once again feature the Betfred Women's World Matchplay, which will see eight players competing on Sunday July 23 in an action-packed afternoon session.

Tickets for the Betfred World Matchplay are available through SeeTickets.com.

The Betfred World Matchplay will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV.

First round draw: Cullen v De Decker, Cross v Gurney, Price v Bunting, Chisnall v Anderson, Noppert v Schindler, Van Duijvenbode v Huybrechts, Heta v Rock, Wade v Dobey, Aspinall v Ratajski, Humphries v De Sousa, Van Gerwen v Dolan, Smith v Beaton, Van den Bergh v Smith, Searle v Van Barneveld, Wright v Gilding, Clayton v Clemens.