ROB CROSS will begin the defence of his William Hill World Darts Championship title against Jeffrey de Zwaan or Nitin Kumar.

The draw for the 2018/2019 William Hill World Darts Championship was made on Monday for darts' biggest-ever event, which will see 96 players compete from December 13-January 1 for £2.5 million in prize money and the Sid Waddell Trophy live on Sky Sports.

Under the new, expanded format, the top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit are seeded and enter at the second round stage.

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

Reigning champion Cross, who shocked the world at last year's event by taking glory on his Alexandra Palace debut, will face a second round test against either World Matchplay semi-finalist De Zwaan or Indian Qualifer Nitin Kumar.

World number one Michael van Gerwen will meet Alan Tabern or Australian qualifier Raymond Smith, while two-time champion Gary Anderson will play former Players Championship Finals winner Paul Nicholson or Northern Ireland's Kevin Burness.

Back-to-back World Champion Adrian Lewis will meet Simon Stevenson or rising star Ted Evetts, Peter Wright takes on Spain's Toni Alcinas or New Zealand's Craig Ross, and former champion Raymond van Barneveld will play Matthew Edgar or Lithuania's Darius Labanauskas.

UK and Ireland Women's Qualifier Lisa Ashton will face Dutchman Jan Dekker for the right to play Mervyn King, while Rest of the World Women's Qualifier Anastasia Dobromyslova will take on Ryan Joyce, with the winner to play Simon Whitlock.

The William Hill World Darts Championship will be broadcast through the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel, which will also feature exclusive documentaries and classic footage alongside the Ultra HD coverage of the tournament.

A limited number of tickets remain available for sale through pdc.seetickets.com.

Click here for full ticket and hospitality information.

2018 William Hill World Darts Championship

Draw Bracket

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



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

The schedule of matches will be confirmed later this week.

Schedule of Play

Thursday December 13

Evening Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Friday December 14

Afternoon Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Evening Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Saturday December 15

Afternoon Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Evening Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Sunday December 16

Afternoon Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Evening Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Monday December 17

Evening Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Tuesday December 18

Afternoon Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Evening Session

2x First Round matches

2x Second Round matches

Wednesday December 19

Afternoon Session

3x First Round matches

1x Second Round match

Evening Session

4x Second Round matches

Thursday December 20

Afternoon Session

4x Second Round matches

Evening Session

4x Second Round matches

Friday December 21

Afternoon Session

4x Second Round matches

Evening Session

4x Second Round matches

Saturday December 22

Afternoon Session

3x Third Round matches

Evening Session

3x Third Round matches

Sunday December 23

Afternoon Session

3x Third Round matches

Evening Session

3x Third Round matches

Thursday December 27

Afternoon Session

3x Third Round matches

Evening Session

1x Third Round match

2x Fourth Round matches

Friday December 28

Afternoon Session

3x Fourth Round matches

Evening Session

3x Fourth Round Matches

Saturday December 29

Afternoon Session

2x Quarter-Finals

Evening Session

2x Quarter-Finals

Sunday December 30

Evening Session

Semi-Finals

Tuesday January 1

Evening Session

Final