Masters day one Preview: Cross, Van den Bergh and Humphries headline on night one.

Day one at the 2022 Ladbrokes Masters will see seeds 9-24 compete for a place in the second round.

We have just one session today which starts at 7pm GMT time, with all first round games the best of 11 legs. The short sharp format could see plenty of upsets during the eight games.

Here’s what to look out for on day one of the 2022 Masters.

Contenders for Premier League compete on Day One

With the Premier League announcement just days away, a number of players will know picking up silverware this weekend could cement their place in the eight man field.

Rob Cross is certainly a name in the mix after winning the European Championship in 2021. Voltage knows can enhance his chances with a good weekend and he gets underway tonight against Brendan Dolan. It’s a difficult start for Cross but a victory here would see him set up a tie with the out of form Jose De Sousa.

Another player hoping to throw his name into the mix is Luke Humphries.  When the initial field was announced Cool Hand was expecting to Nathan Aspinall. Just days ago The Asp withdrew and it opened up a free hit for Devon Petersen. The South African star currently finds himself in poor form, but a late call up to the opening event of 2022 could be the perfect thing for Dancing Devon. The winner will take on MvG.

The dancing on the MK stage will be in full force on Friday evening with Dimitri Van den Bergh also entering at the first round stage. Dimitri is another player who hasn’t been in the best of form recently, but after runs to two finals last year he will be hoping to make his mark early this year and he starts his campaign against Ian White.

Chisnall, Searle and Cullen begin 2022 campaigns on day one

One of the standout ties in round one sees, the ever improving Ryan Searle take on the evergreen Mervyn King. After his run to the Players Championship final the end of 2021, Searle will be looking to go one further on ITV this weekend but will need to at his best from the start to get past the King.

The first round is full of outstanding games and that continues with the next two games, with Dave Chisnall a player who is slowly slipping down the rankings, face a man who is only looking up in The Bullet.

Also Joe Cullen plays Daryl Gurney in round one in a match which screams 180s, Gary Anderson awaiting the winner of that clash.

Also on Night one, The Masters will get underway with a game between Krzysztof Ratajski and Gabriel Clemens. The penultimate game of round one, sees Dirk van Duijvenbode take on  Simon Whitlock.

Masters 2022 Tournament preview

2022 Ladbrokes Masters Order of Play

Friday January 28 (1900 GMT)

First Round

Krzysztof Ratajski v Gabriel Clemens

Dave Chisnall v Stephen Bunting

Ryan Searle v Mervyn King

Rob Cross v Brendan Dolan

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Ian White

Joe Cullen v Daryl Gurney

Dirk van Duijvenbode v Simon Whitlock

Devon Petersen v Luke Humphries