ST HELENS ace Michael Smith will face champion and favourite Gerwyn Price when the world's biggest darts tournament returns on New Year's Day.

Smith defeated Jonny Clayton in a humdinger of a match in the last round to reach the quarter finals.

He will have most of the Ally Pally crowd on his side against the reigning champion.

The tournament is being broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK, through the PDC's worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and RTL7, and on PDCTV (excluding UK and Netherlands based subscribers).

2021/22 William Hill World Darts Championship Schedule of Play.

Saturday January 1:

Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).

2x Quarter-Finals; James Wade v Mervyn King, Luke Humphries v Gary Anderson.

Evening Session: (1930 GMT)

2x Quarter-Finals; Peter Wright v Callan Rydz, Gerwyn Price v Michael Smith.

William Hill Tournament Outright Odds:  Gerwyn Price 2/1, Peter Wright 10/3, Michael Smith 4/1, Gary Anderson 6/1, Callan Rydz 9/1, James Wade 12/1, Luke Humphries 12/1, Mervyn King 25/1