Smith, MVG and Sherrock learn World Championship opponents

Michael Smith will begin the defence of his World Darts Championship title against Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz, while Fallon Sherrock will have to get past Jermaine Wattimena before a potential meeting with Martin Schindler.

Smith, who got his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy for the first time, beat Michael van Gerwen in a memorable final in which he won the ‘greatest leg of all-time’ as he landed a nine-darter after his opponent missed double 12 for a perfect leg.

The St Helens thrower is expected to headline the opening night of Friday, December 15 – live on Sky Sports Darts.

Three-time winner Michael van Gerwen, who has not won the title since 2019, will take on Ireland’s Keane Barry or Filipino thrower Reynaldo Rivera, while Gerwyn Price faces Connor Scutt or Krzysztof Kciuk.

There are so many capable of winning. Joe Cullen, Nathan Aspinall, Chizzy (Dave Chisnall). These are all players who are on the very, very short list and then you’ve got Luke Littler and ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries. He can’t do anything wrong. Littler is someone in the draw you don’t want to mess with. He can turn you over and think ‘this is what I do’. There are going to be players will be playing for their career.

Wayne Mardle on the World Championship draw

Luke Humphries, who has scooped a hat-trick of televised ranking titles over the last seven weeks, has been drawn to face Lee Evans or Sandro Eric Sosing with two-time champion Peter Wright set to play the winner of Jim Williams and Norman Madhoo.

Fallon Sherrock, who made history in 2020 when she became the first woman to win a World Championship match, is back at the Palace for a fourth time and will face Wattimena in the first round, with German star Schindler waiting in the second round.

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Wayne Mardle breaks down the World Darts Championship draw and picks out the tough games for the seeded players

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Take a look at how the world watched on as Michael Smith hit a nine-darter in the 2023 World Championship Final and Wayne Mardle lost his voice!

World Darts Championship Draw

First quarter
(1) Michael Smith vs Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz
(32) Madars Razma vs Mike De Decker or Dragutin Horvat
(16) Ross Smith vs Niels Zonneveld or Darren Webster
(17) Chris Dobey vs William O’Connor or Bhav Patel
(8) Rob Cross vs Mario Vandenbogaerde or Thibault Tricole
(25) Jose de Sousa vs Richie Edhouse or Jeffrey De Graaf
(9) Jonny Clayton vs Steve Lennon or Owen Bates
(24) Krzysztof Ratajski vs Jamie Hughes or David Cameron

Second quarter
(4) Peter Wright vs Jim Williams or Norman Madhoo
(29) Raymond van Barneveld vs Radek Szaganski or Marko Kantele
(13) James Wade vs Matt Campbell or Lourence Ilagan
(20) Andrew Gilding vs Christian Kist or Luke Littler
(5) Gerwyn Price vs Connor Scutt or Krzysztof Kciuk
(28) Brendan Dolan vs Mickey Mansell or Xiaochen Zong
(12) Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Keegan Brown or Boris Krcmar
(21) Gary Anderson vs Simon Whitlock or Paolo Nebrida

Third quarter
(2) Michael van Gerwen vs Keane Barry or Reynaldo Rivera
(31) Kim Huybrechts vs Richard Veenstra or Ben Robb
(15) Dimitri van den Bergh vs Dylan Slevin or Florian Hempel
(18) Stephen Bunting vs Ryan Joyce or Alex Spellman
(7) Danny Noppert vs Scott Williams or Haruki Muramatsu
(26) Martin Schindler vs Jermaine Wattimena or Fallon Sherrock
(10) Damon Heta vs Martin Lukeman or Haupai Puha
(23) Josh Rock vs Luke Woodhouse or Berry Van Peer

Fourth quarter
(3) Luke Humphries vs Lee Evans or Sandro Eric Sosing
(30) Callan Rydz vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Mikuru Suzuki
(14) Joe Cullen vs Jules van Dongen or Darren Penhall
(19) Ryan Searle vs Ian White or Tomoya Goto
(6) Nathan Aspinall vs Ricky Evans or Simon Adams
(27) Daryl Gurney vs Steve Beaton or Wessel Nijman
(11) Dave Chisnall vs Cameron Menzies or Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
(22) Gabriel Clemens vs Gian Van Veen or Man Lok Leung

The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course.

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Mardle also picks out the names he believes could perform well at the World Darts Championship, and adds that some players will be playing for their careers

When is the World Darts Championship?

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The World Darts Championship starts on Friday, December 15 – live on Sky Sports!

The sport’s biggest event will be held from December 15, 2023 to January 3, 2024 as 96 players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace.

You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.

Watch the World Darts Championship from December 15, 2023 to January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports. Stream your favourite sports and more with NOW