PDC Home Tour - Peter Wright & Gerwyn Price among darts stars to play from own homes
- Published
Peter 'Snakebite' Wright won the PDC World Championship for the first time in January
World champion Peter Wright and players including Gerwyn Price and Dave Chisnall will star in the opening games of a new tournament from their homes.
With most sport suspended in the UK, 'Snakebite' Wright will help launch the event which starts on Friday.
The PDC Home Tour sees all players with a tour card given the chance to feature across 32 consecutive nights.
"It's going to be a bit weird, but I'm looking forward to it," Wright told BBC Radio 5 live.
Four players will be in action each evening in a league format before the knockout stage of the competition.
Each match will be broadcast via video calls - filmed on a mobile phone on a tripod - on the PDC's own TV channel and can be watched free by registered users.
Scotland-born Wright will take on Yorkshireman Peter Jacques in the opening game of the tournament, with Welsh former World Championship semi-finalist Jamie Lewis and Dutch youngster Niels Zonneveld also lining up in Group One.
"It's going to be done on Skype on a mobile phone and away we go. I've used Skype once in my whole life, so it's a new experience for me," said Wright.
He has been practising against Belgium's two-time world youth champion Dimitri van den Bergh, who has been lodging at his house.
"I've got a room in the house that I've made into a pub with a bar and a pool table so that's where my board is - it's just like going down the local. It's millimetre perfect, it's been set up by laser so it's spot on," added Wright.
Saturday will see Welshman Price, a two-time Grand Slam of Darts champion, meet Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez in Group Two's opening match.
Former Development Tour champion Ted Evetts, who was one of nine players to take part in the successful 'Darts At Home' trial nights, will face rising star Luke Woodhouse.
Sunday's Group Three has multiple televised finalist Chisnall taking on PDC newcomer Scott Waites - a former BDO world champion and Grand Slam of Darts winner.
Former Players Championship Finals quarter-finalist Jan Dekker will also compete in Group Three along with Welshman Jonathan Worsley.
Monday will once again see elite level darts brought from the living rooms of the pros to fans, as the first female Tour Card winner Lisa Ashton faces 2019 UK Open quarter-finalist Ross Smith in Group Four's opening game.
Former Players Championship event winner Mickey Mansell will also join the live video call from Northern Ireland, along with young Dutch talent Geert Nentjes.
"This will provide a regular supply of live sport to fans," said PDC chairman Barry Hearn.
"The event will also give players a chance to play competitive darts in this down period in preparation for the return to normal action, whenever that may be."