Gary Anderson will begin the defence of his Champions League of Darts title against Michael Smith in the opening session on October 19.

The £250,000 tournament, which is screened live on the BBC, is exclusive to the top eight players in the PDC, and takes place at the Morningside Arena, in Leicester, next month.

Defending champion Anderson opens his title defence against World Championship and World Matchplay finalist Smith, while the other Group A tie in the first session sees world number one Michael van Gerwen take on James Wade.

The tournament begins with Daryl Gurney facing Peter Wright in Group B, before World Matchplay champion Rob Cross meets debutant Gerwyn Price in the other opening tie in Group B.

The winners from each group will then play each other in the evening session, while the losing players will also face off, before the group stage concludes with the remaining four fixtures the following day.

The top two players from each group progress into the final session on the Sunday (October 20) for the semi-finals and final, with the winner to pocket £100,000.

It will be the fourth staging of the invitational event, which has so far seen three different winners. Phil Taylor and Mensur Suljovic triumphed in 2016 and 2017, at the Motorpoint Arena, in Cardiff, while Anderson’s victory last year took place at the Brighton Centre.

2019 Champions League of Darts (October 19-20)
Group A Head-To-Heads (Overall, 2019)
Michael van Gerwen v Michael Smith (29-7, 4-1)
Michael van Gerwen v Gary Anderson (39-18-2,2-0)
Michael van Gerwen v James Wade (34-16-1, 1-1-1)
Michael Smith v Gary Anderson (6-9, N/A)
Michael Smith v James Wade (3-1-16, 0-4-1)
Gary Anderson v James Wade (33-16-4, N/A)

Group B Head-To-Heads (Overall, 2019)
Rob Cross v Daryl Gurney (9-5, 6-2)
Rob Cross v Peter Wright (10-5-2, 3-0-1)
Rob Cross v Gerwyn Price (5-4-1, 2-2-1)
Daryl Gurney v Peter Wright (9-15-3, 2-2-1)
Daryl Gurney v Gerwyn Price (2-8-2, 1-1-1)
Peter Wright v Gerwyn Price (12-4-1, 0-2)

Picture: PDC