Luke Humphries is the defending champion at Alexandra Palace (Picture: Getty Images)
The World Darts Championship gets underway this weekend at Alexandra Palace, with the best players on the planet battling it out for the sport’s biggest prize.
The annual festive tungsten extravaganza was as popular as ever a year ago as Luke Littler stormed into the final on debut at just 16 years old.
Luke Humphries beat him in that showpiece in north London and won the World Championship for the first time at the climax of a brilliant event.
Those two players are heavily fancied to do well again, but in the same half of the draw they cannot meet in the final this time round.
That gives plenty of other players a great chance to make the final in the bottom half of the draw, but it is not as though they are plucky underdogs, with former champions Michael van Gerwen, Gary Anderson and Michael Smith all lurking on the opposite side of the draw to the Lukes.
How to watch the World Darts Championship
As ever Sky Sports will be showing all the action from Alexandra Palace from 15 December until the final on 3 January.
Luke Littler is widely tipped for more Ally Pally success (Picture: Getty Images)
PDC World Darts Championship draw and schedule
Sunday 15 December
7pm
Thibault Tricole v Joe Comito (R1)
Jermaine Wattimena v Stefan Bellmont (R1)
Kim Huybrechts v Keane Barry (R1)
Luke Humphries v Tricole/Comito (R2)
Monday 16 December
12.30pm
Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
James Wade v Wattimena/Bellmont (R2)
7pm
Niels Zonneveld v Robert Owen (R1)
Connor Scutt v Ben Robb (R1)
Cameron Menzies v Leonard Gates (R1)
Gerwyn Price v Huybrechts/Barry (R2)
Tuesday 17 December
12.30pm
James Hurrell v Jim Long (R1)
Kevin Doets v Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
Ryan Joyce v Darius Labanauskas (R1)
Mike De Decker v Woodhouse/Ilagan (R2)
Mike De Dekker has emerged as a force this season (Picture: Getty Images)
7pm
Jeffrey de Graaf v Rashad Sweeting (R1)
Ricardo Pietreczko v Xiaochen Zong (R1)
Ryan Meikle v Fallon Sherrock (R1)
Peter Wright v Plaisier/Azemoto (R2)
Wednesday 18 December
7pm
Jim Williams v Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Madars Razma v Christian Kist (R1)
Ricky Evans v Gordon Mathers (R1)
Nathan Aspinall v Menzies/Gates (R2)
Thursday 19 December
12.30pm
Chris Landman v Lok Yin Lee (R1)
Callan Rydz v Romeo Grbavac (R1)
Martin Lukeman v Nitin Kumar (R1)
Gabriel Clemens v Zonneveld/Owen (R2)
7pm
Nick Kenny v Stowe Buntz (R1)
Mensur Suljovic v Matt Campbell (R1)
Scott Williams v Niko Springer (R1)
Michael Smith v Doets/Van Leuven (R2)
Friday 20 December
12.30pm
Stephen Burton v Alexander Merkx (R1)
Wessel Nijman v Cameron Carolissen (R1)
Ian White v Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
Stephen Bunting v Soutar/Gotthardt (R2)
7pm
Mickey Mansell v Tomoya Goto (R1)
Florian Hempel v Jeffrey De Zwaan (R1)
William O’Connor v Dylan Slevin (R1)
Michael van Gerwen v Hurrell/Long (R2)
Michael van Gerwen is bidding for a fourth world title (Picture: Getty Images)
Saturday 21 December
12.30pm
Karel Sedlacek v Rhys Griffin (R1)
Richard Veenstra v Alexis Toylo (R1)
Brendan Dolan v Landman/Lee (R2)
Chris Dobey v Burton/Merkx (R2)
7pm
Danny Noppert v Joyce/Labanauskas (R2)
Raymond van Barneveld v Kenny/Buntz (R2)
Luke Littler v Meikle/Sherrock (R2)
Damon Heta v Scutt/Robb (R2)
Sunday 22 December
12.30pm
Ryan Searle v Suljovic/Campbell (R2)
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Razma/Kist (R2)
Joe Cullen v Nijman/Carolissen (R2)
Ritchie Edhouse v White/Sosing (R2)
7pm
Martin Schindler v Rydz/Grbavac (R2)
Ross Smith v J Williams/Nebrida (R2)
Gary Anderson v De Graaf/Sweeting (R2)
Dimitri Van den Bergh v O’Connor/Slevin (R2)
Monday 23 December
12.30pm
Krzysztof Ratajski v Veenstra/Toylo (R2)
Andrew Gilding v Lukeman/Kumar (R2)
Josh Rock v Sedlacek/Griffin (R2)
Jonny Clayton v Mansell/Goto (R2)
7pm
Gian van Veen v Pietreczko/Zong (R2)
Daryl Gurney v Hempel/De Zwaan (R2)
Dave Chisnall v Evans/Mathers (R2)
Rob Cross v S Williams/Springer (R2)
27-29 December: Third round
29-30 December: Fourth round
1 January: Quarter-finals
2 January: Semi-finals
3 January: Final
World Darts Championship prize money
Winner: £500,000
Runner-up: £200,000
Semi-finalists: £100,000
Quarter-finalists: £50,000
Fourth round losers: £35,000
Third round losers: £25,000
Second round losers: £15,000
First round losers: £7,500
Nine-dart finish: £60,000
World Darts Championship odds
Luke Littler 15/8
Luke Humphries 3/1
Gary Anderson 10/1
Michael van Gerwen 11/1
Mike de Decker 25/1
Michael Smith 25/1
Wessel Nijman 28/1
Wessel Nijman is in fine form of late (Picture: Getty Images)
Gerwyn Price 28/1
Chris Dobey 33/1
Gian van Veen 40/1
Ross Smith 40/1
Rob Cross 40/1
Stephen Bunting 50/1
Josh Rock 66/1
Nathan Aspinall 66/1
Dave Chisnall 66/1
Jonny Clayton 80/1
Dimitri van den Bergh 80/1
Damon Heta 80/1
Dirk van Duijvenbode 80/1
Ryan Searle 100/1
Martin Schindler 100/1
James Wade 100/1
Peter Wright 125/1
Danny Noppert 125/1
Ritchie Edhouse 150/1
Ritchie Edhouse was a shock winner of the European Championship this season (Picture: Getty Images)
Jermaine Wattimena 150/1
Raymond van Barneveld 150/1
Cameron Menzies 150/1
Daryl Gurney 150/1
Connor Scutt 150/1
Gabriel Clemens 150/1
Krzysztof Ratajski 150/1
Joe Cullen 200/1
Martin Lukeman 200/1
Ricardo Pietreczko 200/1
Andrew Gilding 250/1
Ryan Joyce 250/1
Scott Williams 250/1
Odds courtesy of Paddy Power, full list available here.