The 31st annual World Matchplay Tournament is being held in Blackpool over the next eight days, with Monday's first round, a huge match between former champion Michael van Gerwen and debutant Luke Littler, adding to the anticipation... from anywhere with a VPN. You can watch the World Match Play Darts live stream.

The trophy, named after the legendary Phil Taylor, who won this Triple Crown event an astounding 16 times, will be awarded to the world's best thrower at the Winter Gardens' historic Empress Ballroom, where one of the PDC's most prestigious Open The best throwers in the world will be given the chance to win one of the PDC's most prestigious Opens.

Most notable will be Littler, who, although only 17 years old, was a huge success at the World Championships and later won the Premier League Darts in 2024. Unseeded in Blackpool, all eyes will be on his opening match against van Gerwen. World champion and number one ranked Luke Humphreys will also be looking to crash the teenager's party. Michael Smith, Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, and champion Nathan Aspinall are expected to go deep.

Krzysztof Rataisky beat Dave Chisnall 10-2 and Peter 'Snakebite' Wright lost to Andrew 'Goldfinger' Gilding. But perhaps the highlight of yesterday was a stunning 9-darter by 2020 champion Dimitri van den Bergh.

The World Match Play format is simple and straightforward. The goal is 10 in the first round, 11 in the second round, 16 in the quarterfinals, 17 in the semifinals, and a marathon 18 in the final on Sunday, July 21.

So, get ready to travel to Oake to watch the world's greatest darts showdown with a £200,000 first prize on the line. Here's how to watch the 2024 World Match Play Darts live stream online, no matter where you are in the world.

The other six players up on the oake today won't be too disappointed if they feel like their thunder is being stolen by Van Gerwen and Littler. That said, the matchup between the 2018 champions and Michael 'Bully Boy' Smith should also be a cracker.

Yesterday's match was brought forward to allow for live streaming of England vs Spain, but it is now back on the original schedule, with today's first round match starting at 7pm BST in Blackpool.

7pm BST / 2am ET

Sky Sports is the official broadcaster of PDC Darts in the UK, as is World Matchplay Darts, which runs from Saturday, July 13 to Sunday, July 21, with the first round of matches taking place at 7pm BST / 2am ET.

If you already have a Sky subscription that does not include Sports, you will need to pay £22 per month to add these channels. Darts will be shown on Sky Sports' Main Event, Action and Arena channels.

Another option is Sky Glass, a 4K TV with a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar that allows you to watch Sky TV without an antenna. Prices start at £6 per month for the TV, plus an additional Sky sub-channel.

If you don't want to shell out for a full Sky subscription, you could consider the Now Sports streaming service; if you subscribe to PDCTV, note that this platform does not air World Match Play Darts 2024 in the UK

If you are not in the UK, you can still follow the World Match Play Darts live stream with the best VPN services such as NordVPN.

I am currently away from home and cannot watch the darts with my usual subscription.

With a VPN (Virtual Private Network) you can watch World Match Play Darts 2024 live. With this software, no matter where you are in the world, your device will appear to be in your country. This makes it ideal for viewers who are away on vacation or business trips. Our favorite is NordVPN. Best on the market:

Specialty sports streaming service DAZN (pronounced "da-zone") is the place to live stream darts in the US.

Subscription to DAZN in the United States is $29.99 per month or $234.88 per year (paid monthly).

In addition to web browsers and smartphones, DAZN is available on a variety of the best streaming devices, including major platforms such as Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple tvOS, Chromecast, and many major smart TVs.

It is also available through PDC's own streaming platform.

I'm overseas and want to watch a live darts stream on DAZN or PDCTV, but it's geo-blocked; I need to use a VPN.

Curiously, DAZN is not offering coverage of the 2024 World Match Play Darts north of the border. This means that the only way to watch it in Canada is on a dedicated PDCTV platform on a laptop or smartphone.

Priced in GBP, the monthly fee is GBP 9.99 (about C$17.50) or GBP 59.99 (C$105) for one year. Low-cost multi-day passes are also available.

Overseas in Canada; you'll need to use a VPN to unblock PDC TV and watch your usual dart stream from anywhere.

Fox Sports and Foxtel have the rights in Canada to air World Match Play Darts 2024 beginning early Sunday morning, July 14.

I do not have Foxtel and do not wish to subscribe. Kayo Sports, a specialty streaming service, also airs auctions and offers live sports for cricket, AFL, rugby, F1, and many others for an affordable fee starting at only $25 per month.

For darts fans, PDCTV is another way to watch the tournament in Australia.

Saturday, July 13: First round: 7:30 p.m. BST / 2:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 14: Round 1: 12 p.m. BST / 7 a.m. ET

Monday, July 15 Round 1: 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET

Tuesday, July 16 Round 2: 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET

Wednesday, July 17 Second round: 7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET

Thursday, July 18 Quarterfinals: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

Friday, July 19 Quarterfinals: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

Saturday, July 20: Semifinals: 8 p.m. BST / 3 p.m. ET

Sunday, July 21 Finals: 7:30 p.m. BST / 2:30 p.m. ET