PDC World Darts Championship draw live updates as fixtures and schedule decided

Sport

No sporting event is quite as synonymous with a time of year as the darts is with Christmas.

As trees are erected and lights are untangled up and down the country, another key annual event needs to take place.

This year, the draw for the Paddy Power PDC World Darts Championship is being conducted by two legends of the sport in Phil Taylor and Dennis Priestley.

They will determine who faces who in the annual Ally Pally darting bonanza.

Michael Smith comes in as the reigning champion, but it's Luke Humphries who has made waves in the past couple of months and is rightly the favourite for the crown, having taken all three of the latest majors.

But who will he face on his route to the final? Stick with us to find out!

Get your ultimate PDC World Darts Championship preview with our exclusive 40-page publication right here.

Full field confirmed

The final four players at the 2024 World Darts Championship have been confirmed in the last few moments!

Florian Hempel booked his place at Ally Pally with an impressive 7-5 win over Alan Soutar, who misses out for the first time in three years.

Rusty-Jake Rodriguez will also be in north London next month after beating George Killington, while Darren Webster is back for his 11th world championship appearance. He beat Daniel Klose 7-5.

Croatian star Boris Krcmar rounds out the quarter; he overcame Pascal Rupprecht 7-6 in a tense encounter.

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World Darts Championship Preview

It's not just this afternoon's draw we're counting down to, it's the World Darts Championship itself, too! Here at the Daily Star we've put together a bumper preview ahead of the tournament, complete with fun features, player interviews and much, much more.

You can read interviews with former walk-on girls, the 2024 crop of hopefuls and some of the sport's biggest characters in our unmissable guide. You know what else? It'll only cost you £3!

ORDER YOUR WORLD DARTS CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW FOR JUST £3 HERE

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One hour to go

There's around an hour to go until the draw gets underway – and the final field of players is still being decided. Eight players remain in Monday's Tour Card Holder Qualifier, with only half of them set to earn a spot at Ally Pally. We'll bring you news of who's qualified as and when they do.

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What happened last night?

Luke Humphries reeled off six legs on the bounce to stun Michael van Gerwen and win a third major TV title in seven weeks.

'Cool hand Luke' looked out for the count when clog almighty MVG led 9-5 in the Players Championship finals, including the Dutchman's fifth nine-darter on the Minehead stage.

But Humphries, who had already won the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam this autumn, climbed to No.3 in the PDC rankings with a remarkable fightback to bank another £120,000 in prize money.

After completing his breathtaking 11-9 heist in a high-class final, he said: “I'll have to watch it back, I don't know what happened there.

“This has been the toughest six weeks of my life – every day it's been darts, darts, darts and I felt so flat. To stand here with my third major title is incredible.

“I always wanted to beat Phil Taylor in a final but that wasn' possible, so to beat Michael is the next-best thing, especially when he had hit a nine-darter and he was playing so well.”

Bookies have now installed Humphries, 28, as favourite to win the PDC World Championship at Alexandra Palace which starts on December 15.

Shellshocked Van Gerwen said: “I made it incredibly difficult for myself – I had opportunities but Luke never gave up. My level is definitely close to my best.”

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