ST HELENS darter Michael Smith will begin his Paddy Power World Darts Championship title defence on the opening night of the 2023/24 tournament, with the schedule of play for the first and second rounds now confirmed.
The pre-Christmas period in the sport's flagship event will feature a festive feast of darts at London's Alexandra Palace, as the first and second rounds are played across nine days from December 15-23.
The tournament’s opening night will see world number one Smith begin his title defence against Dutchman Kevin Doets or Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finalist Stowe Buntz, who will kick off this year's showpiece on Friday December 15.
2021 semi-finalist Dave Chisnall takes centre stage on Saturday afternoon (December 16) when he faces Cameron Menzies or Rusty-Jake Rodriguez.
The second round will conclude across two sessions on Saturday December 23, including 2021 semi-finalist Stephen Bunting against Ryan Joyce or Alex Spellman.
Following a three-day Christmas break, the third and fourth rounds will be held from December 27-30, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final taking place from January 1-3.
2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship.
Schedule of Play.
Friday December 15 (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Kevin Doets v Stowe Buntz (R1).
Cameron Menzies v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (R1).
Simon Whitlock v Paolo Nebrida (R1).
Michael Smith v Doets/Buntz (R2).
Saturday December 16.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Lee Evans v Sandro Eric Sosing (R1).
Connor Scutt v Krzysztof Kciuk (R1).
Jules van Dongen v Darren Penhall (R1).
Dave Chisnall v Menzies/Rodriguez (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Jamie Hughes v David Cameron (R1).
Keane Barry v Reynaldo Rivera (R1).
Scott Williams v Haruki Muramatsu (R1).
Gary Anderson v Whitlock/Nebrida (R2).
Sunday December 17.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Ricky Evans v Simon Adams (R1).
Jim Williams v Norman Madhoo (R1).
Matt Campbell v Lourence Ilagan (R1).
Joe Cullen v Van Dongen/Penhall (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Dylan Slevin v Florian Hempel (R1).
Niels Zonneveld v Darren Webster (R1).
Jermaine Wattimena v Fallon Sherrock (R1).
Luke Humphries v Evans/Eric Sosing (R2).
Monday December 18 (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Mario Vandenbogaerde v Thibault Tricole (R1).
Gian van Veen v Man Lok Leung (R1).
Martin Lukeman v Haupai Puha (R1).
Gerwyn Price v Scutt/Kciuk (R2).
Tuesday December 19.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Ian White v Tomoya Goto (R1).
Ritchie Edhouse v Jeffrey de Graaf (R1).
Keegan Brown v Boris Krcmar (R1).
James Wade v Campbell/Ilagan (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Steve Beaton v Wessel Nijman (R1).
Mike De Decker v Dragutin Horvat (R1).
Ricardo Pietreczko v Mikuru Suzuki (R1).
Michael van Gerwen v Barry/Rivera (R2).
Wednesday December 20.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Radek Szaganski v Marko Kantele (R1).
Steve Lennon v Owen Bates (R1).
William O'Connor v Bhav Patel (R1).
Ross Smith v Zonneveld/Webster (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
3x First Round, 1x Second Round.
Ryan Joyce v Alex Spellman (R1).
Richard Veenstra v Ben Robb (R1) Christian Kist v Luke Littler (R1).
Peter Wright v J Williams/Madhoo (R2).
Thursday December 21.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
2x First Round, 2x Second Round.
Mickey Mansell v Xiaochen Zong (R1).
Luke Woodhouse v Berry van Peer (R1).
Madars Razma v De Decker/Horvat (R2).
Rob Cross v Vandenbogaerde/Tricole (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
4x Second Round.
Andrew Gilding v Kist/Littler (R2).
Danny Noppert v S Williams/Muramatsu (R2).
Gabriel Clemens v Van Veen/Leung (R2).
Damon Heta v Lukeman/Puha (R2).
Friday December 22.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
4x Second Round.
Brendan Dolan v Mansell/Zong (R2).
Jose de Sousa v Edhouse/De Graaf (R2).
Krzysztof Ratajski v Hughes/Cameron (R2).
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Brown/Krcmar (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
4x Second Round.
Dimitri Van den Bergh v Slevin/Hempel (R2).
Martin Schindler v Wattimena/Sherrock (R2).
Raymond van Barneveld v Szaganski/Kantele (R2).
Chris Dobey v O’Connor/Patel (R2).
Saturday December 23.
Afternoon Session (1230 GMT).
4x Second Round.
Kim Huybrechts v Veenstra/Robb (R2).
Callan Rydz v Pietreczko/Suzuki (R2).
Jonny Clayton v Lennon/Bates (R2).
Daryl Gurney v Beaton/Nijman (R2).
Evening Session (1900 GMT).
4x Second Round.
Ryan Searle v White/Goto (R2).
Josh Rock v Woodhouse/Van Peer (R2).
Stephen Bunting v Joyce/Spellman (R2).
Nathan Aspinall v Evans/Adams (R2).
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