GERWYN Price will begin the defence of his BoyleSports World Grand Prix title against St Helens darter Michael Smith, with the draw confirmed.

World number one Price, who lifted the World Grand Prix title for the first time in 2020, has been handed the toughest possible draw on paper against Smith, the highest ranked unseeded player.

Conversely, nobody has a tougher draw than the Clock Face-based thrower.

The draw for the double-start event, which will be played at the Morningside Arena in Leicester from October 3-9, pits five-time champion Michael van Gerwen against fellow Dutchman Danny Noppert.

World number two Peter Wright will face Rob Cross, while 2020 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode will take on UK Open finalist Luke Humphries, one of six debutants in the field.

Two-time winner James Wade will play Australia's Damon Heta, 2017 champion Daryl Gurney will meet Stephen Bunting and two-time runner-up Dave Chisnall comes up against Mensur Suljovic.

Premier League champion Jonny Clayton has drawn debutant Callan Rydz, while 2011 finalist Brendan Dolan - who hit the historic first double-start nine-darter - takes on Darius Labanauskas, the first Lithuanian to compete in the event.

The full draw bracket is listed below.

The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course.

Tickets for the 2021 BoyleSports World Grand Prix are available now, although some sessions have now sold out.

The tournament will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, as well as through the PDC's international broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7, and through PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers.

2021 BoyleSports World Grand Prix

Draw Bracket.

(1) Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith.

Martijn Kleermaker v Mervyn King.

(8) Dave Chisnall v Mensur Suljovic.

Joe Cullen v Ross Smith.

(4) James Wade v Damon Heta.

Stephen Bunting v Daryl Gurney.

(5) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ryan Searle.

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Luke Humphries.

(2) Peter Wright v Rob Cross.

Nathan Aspinall v Krzysztof Ratajski.

(7) Jose de Sousa v Glen Durrant.

Callan Rydz v Jonny Clayton.

(3) Michael van Gerwen v Danny Noppert.

Vincent van der Voort v Gabriel Clemens.

(6) Gary Anderson v Ian White.

Darius Labanauskas v Brendan Dolan.