The opening competition of the men's event, which forms part of the International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup calendar, will open with qualification before the official competition starts a day later.

Following the first leg in Oberstdorf, the series continues on January 1 at another German hill, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The Four Hills will then move to Austria for competitions in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen on January 4 and 6 respectively.

A record 126,000 fans attended the Four Hills tournament during the 2015-16 campaign, and organisers expect arenas to once again be full this time around.

The winner will be crowned based on the overall results from the four famous venues, with Slovenia's Peter Prevc, a double Olympic medallist, the defending champion.

However, last season’s overall World Cup victor has struggled so far this campaign, with younger brother Domen currently atop the standings by 158 points.

Norway's Daniel Andre Tande currently sits in second on 382 while Stefan Kraft of Austria completes the top three with a total of 331.

Organisers recently gave the green light for the annual tournament to take place as planned after all four venues passed their respective snow inspections.

Each event will go ahead as a result of low temperatures and constant snowfall.

"We were able to produce enough snow at all four venues and the hill preparation already started in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Bischofshofen," said Michael Maurer, President of the Four Hills Tournament and head of the Skiclub Partenkirchen.

Jernej Damjan arrives at the Four Hills tournament in fine form after he upset the odds to beat World Cup leader Domen Prevc to the Slovenian National Championships men’s title on the large hill in Planica last week.

The 33-year-old, who had to undergo two knee operations this year, produced the best jumps in both rounds - 135 metres and 135.5m - and won the competition with 268.4 points.