Luke Littler joined by ex-world champion on opening night of PDC World Championship as full schedule released
Luke Littler will begin his World Darts Championship title defence on the opening night of this year’s tournament alongside Michael Smith.
The 18-year-old will hope to become the first player since Gary Anderson in 2016 to win consecutive titles at the darts showpiece.
Littler has been drawn against Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas in the first round of Section 1 at Alexandra Palace.
And the world no. 1 has now learned that he will play in one of the first matches of the World Championship on December 11.
Play in the evening sessions is scheduled to being at 7pm, with Kim Huybrechts facing Arno Merk.
Smith, who won his first and to date only world title in 2023, will then take on Lisa Ashton before Littler comes up against Labanauskas.
Madars Razma vs Jamai van den Herik is then set to be the last match on day one.
From December 12 onwards, fans can watch five consecutive days of afternoon and evening sessions at the World Championship.
All first round matches will be played up until December 20, and then the second round begins.
The final will then take place on January 3, with the action scheduled to start at 8pm.
When does Luke Humphries play his first match?
Former world no.1 Luke Humphries, who triumphed at Alexandra Palace in 2024, will be eyeing his second crown in the coming weeks.
He opens his campaign in the evening session on December 13 with a clash against Ted Evetts.
When does Michael van Gerwen play his first match?
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen last won the title in 2019 and was runner-up to Littler last time out.
Mitsuhiko Tatsunami is his first round opponent in the evening on December 18.
When does Stephen Bunting play his first match?
Stephen Bunting is a two-time semi-finalist at the World Championship and one of the most popular players on the tour.
He has been drawn against Sebastian Bialecki, and their first round clash will come in the evening session on December 14.
When does Beau Greaves play her first match?
Rising star Beau Greaves will make just her second ever appearance at the World Championship this year.
She will meet two-time PDC singles title winner Daryl Gurney on the final day of the first round matches on December 19.
Full PDC World Darts Championship schedule
December 11 – 7pm
- Kim Huybrechts vs Arno Merk
- Michael Smith vs Lisa Ashton
- Luke Littler vs Darius Labanauskas
- Madars Razma vs Jamai van den Herik
December 12 – 12:30pm
- Niels Zonneveld vs Haupai Puha
- Ian White vs Mervyn King
- Ryan Searle vs Chris Landman
- Rob Cross vs Cor Dekker
December 12 – 7pm
- Ross Smith vs Andreas Harrysson
- Ricky Evans vs Man Lok Leung
- Gian van Veen vs Cristo Reyes
- Damon Heta vs Steve Lennon
December 13 – 12:30pm
- Mario Vandenbogaerde vs David Davies
- Andrew Gilding vs Cam Crabtree
- Luke Woodhouse vs Boris Krcmar
- Gary Anderson vs Adam Hunt
December 13 – 7pm
- Jeffrey de Graaf vs Paul Lim
- Wessel Nijman vs Karel Sedlacek
- Luke Humphries vs Ted Evetts
- Gabriel Clemens vs Alex Spellman
December 14 – 12:30pm
- Ritchie Edhouse vs Jonny Tata
- Dom Taylor vs Oskar Lukasiak
- Richard Veenstra vs Nitin Kumar
- Joe Cullen vs Bradley Brooks
December 14 – 7pm
- Lukas Wenig vs Wesley Plaisier
- Dimitri Van den Bergh vs Darren Beveridge
- Stephen Bunting vs Sebastian Bialecki
- James Hurrell vs Stowe Buntz
December 15 – 12:30pm
- Brendan Dolan vs Tavis Dudeney
- Cameron Menzies vs Charlie Manby
- Mensur Suljovic vs David Cameron
- Peter Wright vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven
December 15 – 7pm
- Martin Lukeman vs Max Hopp
- Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Andy Baetens
- Jonny Clayton vs Adam Lipscombe
- Connor Scutt vs Simon Whitlock
December 16 – 12:30pm
- Alan Soutar vs Teemu Harju
- Nick Kenny vs Justin Hood
- Scott Williams vs Paolo Nebrida
- Chris Dobey vs Xiaochen Zong
December 16 – 7pm
- Ricardo Pietreczko vs Jose de Sousa
- Danny Noppert vs Jurjen van der Velde
- Gerwyn Price vs Adam Gawlas
- Niko Springer vs Joe Comito
December 17 – 7pm
- Matt Campbell vs Adam Sevada
- Raymond van Barneveld vs Stefan Bellmont
- James Wade vs Ryusei Azemoto
- Martin Schindler vs Stephen Burton
December 18 – 12:30pm
- Callan Rydz vs Patrik Kovacs
- Thibault Tricole vs Motomu Sakai
- Ryan Joyce vs Owen Bates
- Mike De Decker vs David Munyua
December 18 – 7pm
- Jermaine Wattimena vs Dominik Gruellich
- Dave Chisnall vs Fallon Sherrock
- Michael van Gerwen vs Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
- Krzysztof Ratajski vs Alexis Toylo
December 19 – 12:30pm
- Kevin Doets vs Matthew Dennant
- Ryan Meikle vs Jesus Salate
- Mickey Mansell vs Leonard Gates
- Josh Rock vs Gemma Hayter
December 19 – 7pm
- William O’Connor vs Krzysztof Kciuk
- Daryl Gurney vs Beau Greaves
- Nathan Aspinall vs Lourence Ilagan
- Keane Barry vs Tim Pusey
December 20 – 12:30pm
- 4x round two matches
December 20 – 7pm
- 4x round two matches
December 21 – 12:30pm
- 4x round two matches
December 21 – 7pm
- 4x round two matches
December 22 – 12:30pm
- 4x round two matches
December 22 – 7pm
- 4x round two matches
December 23 – 12:30pm
- 4x round two matches
December 23 – 7pm
- 4x round two matches
December 27 – 12:30pm
- 3x round three matches
December 27 – 7pm
- 3x round three matches
December 28 – 12:30pm
- 3x round three matches
December 28 – 7pm
- 3x round three matches
December 29 – 12:30pm
- 3x round three matches
December 29 – 7pm
- 3x round three matches
- 2x round four matches
December 30 – 12:30pm
- 3x round four matches
December 30 – 7pm
- 3x round four matches
January 1 – 12:30pm
- 2x quarter-finals matches
January 1 – 7pm
- 2x quarter-finals matches
January 2 – 7:30pm
- 2x semi-finals matches
January 3 – 8pm
- Final
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