FOUR St Helens darters are included in the Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals which return to Butlin's Minehead Resort.

Michael Smith, Stephen Bunting, Dave Chisnall and Alan Tabern are in the 64-player field.

They have qualified from the Players Championship following 30 one-day events this year and will compete across two stages in the hunt for the £100,000 title from November 26-28.

Six-time champion Michael van Gerwen begins his title defence on Friday night as one of eight first round ties on the Main Stage, taking on fellow Dutchman Kevin Doets.

Sunday's Grand Slam of Darts champion Gerwyn Price faces Jason Lowe and Jonny Clayton opens his challenge for a fifth TV title of 2021 against Alan Tabern.

A high-profile opening night also features former World Champions Peter Wright, Rob Cross, Gary Anderson and Raymond van Barneveld on the Main Stage.

Nathan Aspinall, who tasted UK Open glory in Minehead in 2019, is amongst the stars in action on the Main Stage on Friday afternoon, alongside the likes of James Wade, Michael Smith, Dimitri Van den Bergh and Adrian Lewis.

The Stage Two action in Reds - which will be streamed worldwide through PDCTV - will begin as former Lakeside Champion Scott Mitchell faces Martijn Kleermaker.

Two-time Players Championship Finals runner-up Mervyn King and Austrian brothers Rowby-John and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez are also in action, while German number one Gabriel Clemens meets Steve Beaton.

The evening session's Stage Two action includes World Cup runner-up Mensur Suljovic, UK Open finalist Luke Humphries and 2018 champion Daryl Gurney.

Friday's first round winners progress to compete in two further games on Saturday, with the second round in the afternoon session ahead of the evening's third round.

The tournament then concludes on Sunday November 28, with the afternoon's quarter-finals followed by the semi-finals and final in the evening session.

Sunday will also see the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship take place, with the 32-player event being played down to the semi-finals in Reds from 1100 GMT. The final will be held on the Main Stage before the final of the Players Championship Finals.

The Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals will be broadcast on ITV4, through DAZN in various worldwide territories, via RTL7 in the Netherlands and the PDC's global broadcast partners.

PDCTV coverage on Friday and Saturday from Stage Two will be available worldwide.

2021 Ladbrokes Players Championship Finals

Friday, November 26

First Round; Afternoon Session (1245 GMT)

Ryan Searle v Simon Whitlock

Krzysztof Ratajski v Ron Meulenkamp

Michael Smith v William Borland

Joe Cullen v Andy Boulton

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Madars Razma

James Wade v Ricky Evans

Nathan Aspinall v Jeff Smith

Adrian Lewis v Kim Huybrechts

Scott Mitchell v Martijn Kleermaker

Ryan Joyce v Luke Woodhouse

Martin Schindler v Ian White

Mervyn King v Darius Labanauskas

Brendan Dolan v Chas Barstow

Ross Smith v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Danny Noppert v Rowby-John Rodriguez

Gabriel Clemens v Steve Beaton

Evening Session (1900 GMT)

Stephen Bunting v Gary Anderson

Raymond van Barneveld v Maik Kuivenhoven

Rob Cross v Jermaine Wattimena

Jose de Sousa v Devon Petersen

Gerwyn Price v Jason Lowe

Michael van Gerwen v Kevin Doets

Peter Wright v Keane Barry

Jonny Clayton v Alan Tabern

Vincent van der Voort v Jamie Hughes

Daryl Gurney v Alan Soutar

Damon Heta v Steve Lennon

Callan Rydz v Mensur Suljovic

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Ryan Meikle

Luke Humphries v Jason Heaver

Chris Dobey v William O'Connor

Dave Chisnall v Ritchie Edhouse