We're ready to go. Nathan Aspinall will throw first...

Mr Brightside blares out as Nathan Aspinall walks out. He gets a decent reception considering he's up against one of the home favourites.

Could just be the fans are enjoying singing along to The Killers, of course...

We're almost ready to go in Den Bosch and first up tonight it's Nathan Aspinall, beaten by Luke Littler at the quarter-final stage in Bahrain last weekend.

He's up against Danny Noppert, ranked number seven in the world. This could be a cracking match.

While we wait for the players to emerge for the first match of the night, let's quickly go through how things will work tonight.

We've got eight first-round matches tonight and they'll all be best of 11 legs.

Then tomorrow it heats up with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

This should be a good, fun couple of days!

Image source, Kelly Deckers/PDC

There is obviously plenty of Dutch talent on show tonight at De Maaspoort but Michael van Gerwen remains the standout name.

The three-time PDC world champion is the headline act as takes on Vincent van der Voort in the evening's final match.

“It’s probably one of the closest venues you can get to my house, so I’m really looking forward to it,” said Van Gerwen.

“It is always really special to play in front of your home crowd, and I’m feeling very confident.

“I think the way I performed in Bahrain was quite impressive. I was disappointed with the way I played in the final, but that’s how darts goes sometimes.

“You have to learn from it, but I’m feeling good and I think the crowd can help me a lot, although you still have to perform yourself!”

Image source, Getty Images

Understandably perhaps, the focus has largely been on the teenage runner-up rather than the winner since the World Championship.

However, that triumph was the culmination of a brilliant run from Luke Humphries, himself only 28.

Defeat in Bahrain ended an incredible 20-match winning streak for Humphries and he'll be out to start another string of victories when he takes on Jermaine Wattimena in the night's penultimate contest.

One of the games of the night sees 2018 world champion Rob Cross take on Raymond van Barneveld, himself a five-time world champion across the BDO and PDC.

The 56-year-old Dutchman is a huge fan favourite wherever he plays but in front of a home crowd, that support is likely to be even more fervent.

“I was struggling for many years with my darts, with my flights, but hopefully, with this set-up, this is it now," Van Barneveld told the PDC website.

"There is no doubt in my head anymore, and I really believe I’m going to do good things this year.”

Image source, Getty Images

Dimitri Van den Bergh is the reigning Dutch Masters champion and he's been handed a tough draw in the first round.

The Belgian will take on Wales' Gerwyn Price in the third match of the evening to start his title defence.

Having won the World Championship in 2021, Price is currently ranked fifth in the world with Van den Bergh 14th.

“Me and Gezzy have played so often against each other," Van den Bergh said. "We’ve had so many great games, so I know what I need to do.

“I’m not afraid of anybody, because I know what I am capable of, and I would love to lift the Toon Greebe Trophy this weekend."

Good question.

Like in Bahrain last week, the winner will take home £20,000. The runner-up wins £10,000.

Semi-finalists get £5,000, while a win tonight earns each player £2,500.

Everyone gets £1,250 for taking part.

What a few weeks it has been for Luke Littler, who has recently turned 17.

A dream run to the World Championship final, a first PDC senior win in Bahrain and he's even played darts against a few Manchester United players.

“I was happy to go out to Bahrain and win it,” he said.

“It was a good experience, it was different to Ally Pally, you could hear everything in the crowd and it was good to see so many youngsters at the live draw.

“Eight of us (seeded players) took pictures and signed autographs. The world has gone mad.

“I didn’t expect to beat those players, I know I have got my own ability and I believe in my ability and that is what gets me over the line."

Image source, Kelly Deckers/PDC

After all the excitement that came with his run to the PDC World Championship final, it was always going to be interesting to see how Luke Littler performed in the following weeks and months.

Well, he got off to a pretty good start by winning the Bahrain Masters last weekend.

The teenager beat Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the final to claim his first PDC senior title.

Can he make it two event wins in a row this weekend?

We've got eight matches to bring you tonight as eight PDC stars take on eight Benelux players - that's Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - in the first round.

Here's the order of play with Luke Littler due up in the evening's sixth match and a tasty all-Dutch encounter between Michael van Gerwen and Vincent van der Voort to finish.

• Nathan Aspinall v Danny Noppert
• Peter Wright v Kevin Doets
• Gerwyn Price v Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Michael Smith v Gian van Veen
• Rob Cross v Raymond van Barneveld
• Luke Littler v Dirk van Duijvenbode
• Luke Humphries v Jermaine Wattimena
• Michael van Gerwen v Vincent van der Voort

Image source, Kelly Deckers/PDC

Hello! Who's ready for an evening of arrows?

Luke Littler has taken the darts world by storm and captured the imagination of sports fans everywhere with his fairytale run to the PDC World Championship final.

Just three weeks on, he is now looking for back-to-back PDC titles as he competes against a strong field in the Dutch Masters.

The action begins shortly so let's get to it...