World Darts Championship draw LIVE: Michael Smith, Luke Humphries and Fallon Sherrock discover first and second round opponents
Michael Smith is the current World Champion and will enter the draw in the second round
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
The World Darts Championship returns in December as 96 international stars head to Alexandra Palace to compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and claim the title of World Champion.
England’s Michael Smith is the current champion having defeated Michael van Gerwen 7-4 in the 2022/23 showpiece back in January this year. Smith will face either Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz when he enters the tournament in the second round whil Van Gerwen is set for a clash against Keane Barry or Reynaldo Rivera.
Fallon Sherrock has qualified for the tournament yet again and plays Jermaine Wattimena in the opening round ahead of a potential second round tie versus Martin Schindler.
Relive the World Darts Championship draw live below:
What is the format?
The World Darts Championship is a set-play tournament. Sets are won by the player who is first to three legs, with opponents taking it in turns to throw first in each set.
First and second round matches are the best-of-five sets. Third and fourth round matches are the best-of-seven sets. Quarter-finals are the best-of-nine sets, semi-finals are the best-of-11 sets and the final is best-of-13 sets.
World Darts Championship draw
The World Darts Championship is the highest-profile tournament on the PDC circuit. It was founded in 1994 following the World Darts Council’s split from the BDO.
The Worlds traditionally starts in mid-December, with the final being played in the New Year. Officially, it is the first PDC tournament of the calendar year.
What is the tournament prize money?
As well as the Sid Waddell Trophy, there is £2.5m in prize money on offer for the World Darts Championship with the champion netting £500,000.
The runner-up earns a cool £200,000 while semi-finalist will pocket £100,000 each and those that reach the quarter-finals winning £50,000.
Fourth round and third round losers earn themselves £35,000 and £25,000 respectively while there is £15,000 on offer for the 32 players knocked out in the second round and the 32 first round losers will take away £7,500.
Who is in the draw?
International Qualifiers
- Luke Littler (England)
- Wessel Nijman (Netherlands)
- Berry van Peer (Netherlands)
- Owen Bates (England)
- Fallon Sherrock (England)
- Mikuru Suzuki (Japan)
- Marko Kantele (Finland)
- Jeffrey de Graaf (Sweden)
- Haruki Muramatsu (Japan)
- Sandro Eric Sosing (Philippines)
- Lourence Ilagan (Philippines)
- Tomoya Goto (Japan)
- Paolo Nebrida (Philippines)
- Reynaldo Rivera (Philippines)
- Man Lok Leung (Hong Kong)
- Darren Penhall (Australia)
- Ben Robb (New Zealand)
- Haupai Puha (New Zealand)
- Alex Spellman (USA)
- David Cameron (Canada)
- Stowe Buntz (USA)
- Thibault Tricole (France)
- Krzysztof Kciuk (Poland)
- Dragutin Horvat (Germany)
- Simon Adams (South Africa)
- Xiaochen Zong (China)
- Norman Madhoo (Guyana)
- Bhav Patel (India)
- Florian Hempel (Germany)
- Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (Austria)
- Darren Webster (England)
- Boris Krcmar (Croatia)
Who is in the draw?
ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers
- Ricardo Pietreczko (Germany)
- Gian van Veen (Netherlands)
- Ryan Joyce (England)
- Luke Woodhouse (England)
- Mike De Decker (Belgium)
- Ian White (England)
- Jim Williams (Wales)
- Mario Vandenbogaerde (Belgium)
- Radek Szaganski (Poland)
- Richard Veenstra (Netherlands)
- Steve Beaton (England)
- Keane Barry (Ireland)
- Simon Whitlock (Australia)
- Kevin Doets (Netherlands)
- Matt Campbell (Canada)
- Connor Scutt (England)
- Martin Lukeman (England)
- Mickey Mansell (Northern Ireland)
- Dylan Slevin (Ireland)
- Steve Lennon (Ireland)
- William O’Connor (Ireland)
- Scott Williams (England)
- Christian Kist (Netherlands)
- Ricky Evans (England)
- Cameron Menzies (Scotland)
- Lee Evans (England)
- Ritchie Edhouse (England)
- Jermaine Wattimena (Netherlands)
- Jules van Dongen (USA)
- Jamie Hughes (England)
- Niels Zonneveld (Netherlands)
- Keegan Brown (England)
Who is in the draw?
Top 32 seeded players
- Michael Smith (England)
- Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
- Luke Humphries (England)
- Peter Wright (Scotland)
- Gerwyn Price (Wales)
- Nathan Aspinall (England)
- Danny Noppert (Netherlands)
- Rob Cross (England)
- Jonny Clayton (Wales)
- Damon Heta (Australia)
- Dave Chisnall (England)
- Dirk van Duijvenbode (Netherlands)
- James Wade (England)
- Joe Cullen (England)
- Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium)
- Ross Smith (England)
- Chris Dobey (England)
- Stephen Bunting (England)
- Ryan Searle (England)
- Andrew Gilding (England)
- Gary Anderson (Scotland)
- Gabriel Clemens (Germany)
- Josh Rock (Northern Ireland)
- Krzysztof Ratajski (Poland)
- Jose de Sousa (Portugal)
- Martin Schindler (Germany)
- Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
- Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland)
- Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
- Callan Rydz (England)
- Kim Huybrechts (Belgium)
- Madars Razma (Latvia)
World Darts Championship draw
The World Darts Championship will be held from December 15, 2023 to January 3, 2024 at Alexandra Palace in London. The draw for the tournament will air on Sky Sports News from 4.30pm and can be streamed live on the Sky Sports website.
World Darts Championship draw
Good afternoon darts fans. Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s draw for the World Darts Championship 2023/24 as the 96 players involved in the tournament learn their fates.
There are 32 seeded players, based on the world rankings among other factors, who have protected status meaning they will enter the competition in the second round.
Meanwhile, the first round will be played between 32 Pro Tour players and 32 international qualifiers. The draw takes place at 4.30pm and will be shown live on Sky Sports News.
We’ll have all the updates from the draw so stick with us.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments