Announcements

REJUVENATED St Helens darter Alan Tabern will face number one seed Michael van Gerwen in round two of the 2018/2019 William Hill World Darts Championship, provided he beats Australian qualifier Raymond Smith in the opener.

Tabern joins fellow St Helens darters Michael Smith, Dave Chisnall and Stephen Bunting in the prestigious £2.5million tournament which runs from December 13-January 1.

Under the new, expanded format, the top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and enter at the second round stage, there 10th seed Michael Smith will play Ron Meulenkamp or Diogo Portela, Chisnall, seeded 12, will play either Josh Payne or Jeff Smith and Bunting, 18, will take on either Luke Humphries or Adam Hunt.

The first round will feature 32 qualifiers from the ProTour Order of Merit, including Tabern, based on prize money won across 41 non-televised events in 2018, and 32 international qualifiers.

2018 William Hill World Darts Championship.

First Round.

Alan Tabern v Raymond Smith

Danny Noppert v Royden Lam

Simon Stevenson v Ted Evetts

Matthew Edgar v Darius Labanauskas

Ryan Joyce v Anastasia Dobromyslova

Steve Lennon v James Bailey

Krzysztof Ratajski v Seigo Asada

Keegan Brown v Karel Sedlacek

Ross Smith v Paul Lim

Martin Schindler v Cody Harris

Josh Payne v Jeff Smith

Robert Thornton v Daniel Larsson

Paul Nicholson v Kevin Burness

Michael Barnard v Jose De Sousa

Vincent van der Voort v Lourence Ilagan

Chris Dobey v Boris Koltsov

Jeffrey de Zwaan v Nitin Kumar

Ricky Evans v Rowby-John Rodriguez

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Chuck Puleo

Luke Humphries v Adam Hunt

Ryan Searle v Stephen Burton

William O'Connor v Yordi Meeuwisse

Ron Meulenkamp v Diogo Portela

Gabriel Clemens v Aden Kirk

Nathan Aspinall v Geert Nentjes

Jeffrey de Graaf v Noel Malicdem

Wayne Jones v Devon Petersen

Richard North v Robert Marijanovic

Toni Alcinas v Craig Ross

Mickey Mansell v Jim Long

Brendan Dolan v Yuanjun Liu

Jan Dekker v Lisa Ashton

Seeded Players Enter In Second Round

(1) Michael van Gerwen v Alan Tabern/Raymond Smith

(32) Max Hopp v Danny Noppert/Royden Lam

(16) Adrian Lewis v Simon Stevenson/Ted Evetts

(17) Raymond van Barneveld v Matthew Edgar/Darius Labanauskas

(8) Simon Whitlock v Ryan Joyce/Anastasia Dobromyslova

(25) Alan Norris v Steve Lennon/James Bailey

(9) James Wade v Krzysztof Ratajski/Seigo Asada

(24) Jelle Klaasen v Keegan Brown/Karel Sedlacek

(5) Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith/Paul Lim

(28) Jamie Lewis v Martin Schindler/Cody Harris

(12) Dave Chisnall v Josh Payne/Jeff Smith

(21) Kim Huybrechts v Robert Thornton/Daniel Larsson

(4) Gary Anderson v Paul Nicholson/Kevin Burness

(29) Jermaine Wattimena v Michael Barnard/Jose De Sousa

(13) Darren Webster v Vincent van der Voort/Lourence Ilagan

(20) Steve Beaton v Chris Dobey/Boris Koltsov

(2) Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Zwaan/Nitin Kumar

(31) Cristo Reyes v Ricky Evans/Rowby-John Rodriguez

(15) Jonny Clayton v Dimitri Van den Bergh/Chuck Puleo

(18) Stephen Bunting v Luke Humphries/Adam Hunt

(7) Mensur Suljovic v Ryan Searle/Stephen Burton

(26) James Wilson v William O'Connor/Yordi Meeuwisse

(10) Michael Smith v Ron Meulenkamp/Diogo Portela

(23) John Henderson v Gabriel Clemens/Aden Kirk

(6) Gerwyn Price v Nathan Aspinall/Geert Nentjes

(27) Kyle Anderson v Jeffrey de Graaf/Noel Malicdem

(11) Ian White v Wayne Jones/Devon Petersen

(22) Steve West v Richard North/Robert Marijanovic

(3) Peter Wright v Toni Alcinas/Craig Ross

(30) Benito van de Pas v Mickey Mansell/Jim Long

(14) Joe Cullen v Brendan Dolan/Yuanjun Liu

(19) Mervyn King v Jan Dekker/Lisa Ashton

The full schedule of matches will be confirmed later this week.

The opening round begins on December 13 and the tournament runs until New Year's Day.

Saturday December 29, Quarter-Finals.

Sunday December 30, Semi-Finals.

Tuesday January 1, Final.