World Darts Championship draw throws up tricky tests for big names

Michael Smith will begin the defence of his world title on the opening night (Picture: Getty Images)

The 2024 World Darts Championship is less than three weeks away and the draw has been made ahead of the action at Alexandra Palace beginning.

The first darts will be thrown on 15 December, with defending champion Michael Smith playing on the opening night, and the trophy will be lifted on 3 January.

The top 32 players in the world come in at the second round so all their draws are either/or affairs as they take on players who have qualified through the Pro Tour or various international events.

Smith’s first outing at Alexandra Palace as world champion will be against either Dutchman Kevin Doets or the American Stowe Buntz, who shone at the recent Grand Slam of Darts, topping his group and going on to reach the quarter-finals.

‘They’re both playing really well,’ Smith told Sky Sports. ‘At the Grand Slam he [Buntz] played really good, beat [Peter] Wright and [Stephen] Bunting, so I know he can play. I get to sit back and watch it when they play. Whoever wins it’s going to be a tough game, but I need that push.’

Man of the moment Luke Humphries, who has recently won a hat-trick of major titles at the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals, will be a huge favourite against either Lee Evans or Sandro Eric Sosing.

Michael van Gerwen will face either Keane Barry or Reynaldo Rivera, while Gary Anderson may well meet former finalist Simon Whitlock, with the Australian playing Paolo Nebrida first up.

Peter Wright will play Jim Williams or Norman Madhoo, while Gerwyn Price has Connor Scutt or Krzysztof Kciuk.

2024 World Darts Championship draw

First Quarter

(1) Michael Smith vs Kevin Doets or Stowe Buntz

(32) Madars Razma vs Mike De Decker or Dragutin Horvat

(16) Ross Smith vs Niels Zonneveld or Darren Webster

(17) Chris Dobey vs William O’Connor or Bhav Patel

(8) Rob Cross vs Mario Vandenbogaerde or Thibault Tricole

(25) Jose de Sousa vs Richie Edhouse or Jeffrey De Graaf

(9) Jonny Clayton vs Steve Lennon or Owen Bates

(24) Krzysztof Ratajski vs Jamie Hughes or David Cameron

Second Quarter

(4) Peter Wright vs Jim Williams or Norman Madhoo

(29) Raymond van Barneveld vs Radek Szaganski or Marko Kantele

(13) James Wade vs Matt Campbell or Lourence Ilagan

(20) Andrew Gilding vs Christian Kist or Luke Littler

(5) Gerwyn Price vs Connor Scutt or Krzysztof Kciuk

(28) Brendan Dolan vs Mickey Mansell or Xiaochen Zong

(12) Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Keegan Brown or Boris Krcmar

(21) Gary Anderson vs Simon Whitlock or Paolo Nebrida

Third Quarter

(2) Michael van Gerwen vs Keane Barry or Reynaldo Rivera

(31) Kim Huybrechts vs Richard Veenstra or Ben Robb

(15) Dimitri van den Bergh vs Dylan Slevin or Florian Hempel

(18) Stephen Bunting vs Ryan Joyce or Alex Spellman

(7) Danny Noppert vs Scott Williams or Haruki Muramatsu

(26) Martin Schindler vs Jermaine Wattimena or Fallon Sherrock

(10) Damon Heta vs Martin Lukeman or Haupai Puha

(23) Josh Rock vs Luke Woodhouse or Berry Van Peer

Fourth Quarter

(3) Luke Humphries vs Lee Evans or Sandro Eric Sosing

(30) Callan Rydz vs Ricardo Pietreczko or Mikuru Suzuki

(14) Joe Cullen vs Jules van Dongen or Darren Penhall

(19) Ryan Searle vs Ian White or Tomoya Goto

(6) Nathan Aspinall vs Ricky Evans or Simon Adams

(27) Daryl Gurney vs Steve Beaton or Wessel Nijman

(11) Dave Chisnall vs Cameron Menzies or Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

(22) Gabriel Clemens vs Gian Van Veen or Man Lok Leung

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