World Darts Championship draw LIVE: Luke Littler could face Fallon Sherrock in huge clash – stream FREE, updates
THE draw for the World Darts Championship has concluded - and there are some mouthwatering ties in store!
Luke Littler has been drawn a huge opening clash against Fallon Sherrock, if she defeats Ryan Meikle.
While reigning champion Luke Humphries - who is in the same half of the draw as Little - will face Thibault Tricole or Joe Comito.
- Start time: 4.30pm GMT
- TV channel: Sky Sports News
- FREE live stream:
CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Follow our live blog below...
Last four Ally Pally places taken today
PDC Tour Card Holders had their final chance today to book places for the World Championships.
And the final fortunate foursome to clinch a spot at the Ally Pally were: Matt Campbell, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Dylan Slevin and Rhys Griffin.
The Ontario oche star, 35, reached the World Championship third-round a year ago.
Dutchman De Zwaan, 28, a one-time World Matchplay semi-finalist, saw off Germany’s Paul Krohne to earn an Ally Pally spot for the first time in four years.
Irishman Dylan Slevin, 22, will be back for a second year in a row at darts’ top event.
Meanwhile, Welshman Rhys Griffin will be in London at the end of the year for his Ally Pally debut.
Nicknamed Happy Gilmore, the 27-year-old made his first appearance in a major PDC tournament aged just 17.
Taylor claims nothing can stop Littler dominating
Phil Taylor believes Luke Littler is sure to dominate the future of darts.
The now-retired Power, 64, is rated the greatest oche ace ever after 16 world titles and 65 major crowns in all.
Taylor reckons the Nuke, 17, can not only land Ally Pally glory but can also become world No 1 within a year.
Credit: Rex He told : The World Championships is going to tell us a lot (on if he can do it).
“He definitely has the ability, and he’s got the age and youth on his side.
Luke isn’t motivated by money; he just likes winning, so he will go into the World Championships and £500,000 for the winner won’t even enter his head.”
And asked if anyone can stop Littler dominating, Talor replied: Not really.
“With what he is doing, some people agree with it, and some don’t in the way he chills out.
“Luke does his 10 or 15 minutes of practice before a game and then he is done. If it suits him then carry on because whatever he is doing is working for him.”
Odds
Who is your money on to take home the Sid Waddell Trophy?
- Luke Littler 7/4
- Luke Humphries 11/4
- Gary Anderson, Michael van Gerwen 10/1
- Mike De Decker 22/1
- Gian van Veen 28/1
- Gerwyn Price, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting, Wessel Nijman 33/1
- Chris Dobey, Ross Smith 40/1
- Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall 50/1
- Damon Heta, Dave Chisnall, Dimitri Van den Berg, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Jonny Clayton, Peter Wright, Ryan Searle 66/1
- James Wade, Ritchie Edhouse 80/1
- Cameron Menzies 100/1
Via .
Analysing the draw
The 32 seeds have already been placed and we will find out where the rest of the players come in today.
Fans reckon the draw is "uneven" with the top half much stronger than the bottom.
The top includes Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting and Nathan Aspinall.
On the other side, an out of form Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen are the biggest hitters.
Gary Anderson, Dave Chisnall and Dimitri van den Bergh are the other top players.
Could this year be open for an unseeded star?
Legends lose tour cards
Two-time world champion Adrian Lewis will not hold a tour card next year after not competing in the qualifier today.
The same goes for Vincent van der Voort as he did not compete this afternoon due to appendicitis.
2010 runner-up Simon Whitlock failed to make it through and will lose his tour card should Wesley Plaisier win his first round game.
It is a similar story for former semi-finalist Mervyn King. He lost at the qualifying event in Wigan to Matt Campbell, failing to make it to Ally Pally for the first time in 27 years.
Ex-world champ Steve Beaton was denied the chance to end his career on the biggest stage after also suffering defeat today. He has officially now retired.
International and other qualifiers
The last 32 making up the draw:
- PDC China Championship Winner - Xiaochen Zong
- PDCNB ProTour Winner - Robert Owen
- PDCNB ProTour Runner-Up - Darius Labanauskas
- Steel Darts Japan Tour Winner - Tomoya Goto
- DPA ProTour Champion - Joe Comito
- CDC Main Tour Top American - Leonard Gates
- CDC Main Tour Top Canadian - Jim Long
- CDC Top-Ranked Non-Qualified Player - Stowe Buntz
- African Darts Group Qualifier - Cameron Carolissen
- PDC Asian Tour OOM 1 - Alexis Toylo
- PDC Asian Tour OOM 2 - Lourence Ilagan
- PDC Asian Tour OOM 3 - Paolo Nebrida
- PDC Asian Tour OOM 4 - Ryusei Azemoto
- DPNZ Qualifier Winner - Ben Robb
- CLDC Tour OOM Winner - Rashad Sweeting
- Winmau Development Tour Qualifier 1 - Niko Springer
- Winmau Development Tour Qualifier 2 - Keane Barry
- PDC Asian Championship Runner-Up Sandro Eric Sosing
- PDC Asian Championship Qualifier - Lok Yin Lee
- DPA Oceanic Masters Winner - Gordon Mathers
- Women's Series Qualifier 1 - Noa-Lynn van Leuven
- Women's Series Qualifier 2 - Fallon Sherrock
- Indian Qualifier - Nitin Kumar
- Winmau Challenge Tour Qualifier 1 - Christian Kist
- Winmau Challenge Tour Qualifier 2 - Alexander Merkx
- PDC Europe Super League Champion - Kai Gotthardt
- West Europe Qualifier - Stefan Bellmont
- East Europe Qualifier - Romeo Grbavac
- Tour Card Holder Qualifiers - Rhys Griffin, Jeffrey de Zwaan, Dylan Slevin, Matt Campbell
Pro Tour qualifiers
The next top 32 in the Pro Tour Order of Merit go into the first round alongside the same amount of international and other qualifiers.
The Pro Tour 32 are:
Cameron Menzies, Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena, Ricardo Pietreczko, Luke Woodhouse, Ryan Joyce, Niels Zonneveld, Alan Soutar, Madars Razma, Callan Rydz, Wesley Plaisier, Martin Lukeman
Kevin Doets, Richard Veenstra, Scott Williams, Kim Huybrechts, William O'Connor, Karel Sedlacek, Stephen Burton, Thibault Tricole, Connor Scutt, Mensur Suljovic, Ian White, Jeffrey de Graaf,
Jim Williams, Florian Hempel, Ryan Meikle, Chris Landman, Nick Kenny, James Hurrell, Mickey Mansell, Ricky Evans
Who are the seeds?
The following all get a bye into the second round:
Luke Humphries (1), Michael Smith (2), Michael van Gerwen (3), Luke Littler (4), Rob Cross (5), Dave Chisnall (6), Jonny Clayton (7), Stephen Bunting (8), Damon Heta (9), Gerwyn Price (10)
Dimitri Van den Bergh (11), Nathan Aspinall (12), Danny Noppert (13), Gary Anderson (14), Chris Dobey (15), James Wade (16), Peter Wright (17), Josh Rock (18), Ross Smith (19), Ryan Searle (20)
Andrew Gilding (21), Martin Schindler (22), Joe Cullen (23), Mike De Decker (24), Dirk van Duijvenbode 25), Daryl Gurney (26), Gabriel Clemens (27), Gian van Veen (28), Ritchie Edhouse (29), Brendan Dolan (30), Krzysztof Ratajski (31), Raymond van Barneveld (32)
Key Dates
Before we get going, put these dates in your diary...
The World Championship begins on December 15.
There is darts everyday until a break over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
It returns on December 27 for three days before a rest day on New Year’s Eve.
January 1 is the quarter-finals, the semi-finals is on January 2 and the grand final on Friday January 3.
What a way to start the new year!
Countdown to Ally Pally!
Here we go then, the countdown to the World Darts Championships has officially started!
The Players Championship is the penultimate tournament on the calendar before the darts roadshow heads to Alexandra Palace for the World Champs - and what a competition we are expecting this year.
The final Order of Merit has been set and the players know their seedings.
The likes of defending champ Luke Humphries and beaten finalist Luke Littler now await the draw at 4.30pm to find out who they will face on December 15.
We'll have all the build-up, the draw and the reaction right here.
Credit: Rex
