The 2023/24 World Darts Championship – The Draw and More

by Roy Brindley, 29 November 2023

Dennis Priestley and Phil Taylor made the draw for the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship on Monday. The playing legends drew reigning champion Michael Smith against either Dutchman Kevin Doets or American Stowe Buntz. These underdogs will clash in the tournament’s opening game, and the winner will meet Smith later in the evening on December 15th.

Smith clinched his maiden World Championship crown with a history-making victory over Michael van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace in January. En-route he landed an extraordinary nine-dart finish in what has since been described as the sport’s ‘greatest leg’.

Dennis Priestley, winner of the first PDC World Championship in 1994, and 14-time winner Phil Taylor conducted the draw for the 2023/24 competition live on Sky Sports. ©Taylor Lanning/PDC

Unlike last year, 2023 has not been a great season for the 33-year-old from St Helens. Since the World Championships he has not reached the final of a televised major. Nevertheless, ‘Bully Boy’ maintains his world number one ranked status, meaning he sits in the top bracket of the draw.

The bookies have Smith on 10/1 to retain his crown. With doubts over his form and mindful that only three players have retained the World Championship’s Sid Wadell Trophy, savvy darts punters will probably invest their money elsewhere.

Format and Slots for Top Six

The 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship features 96 players. The top 32 players on the PDC’s Order of Merit are seeded and automatically join the competition in round two. The first-round action will see the ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers play International Representatives as they battle for the right to take on the seeded stars.

Three-time champion Michael van Gerwen – the number two seed this year – will open his challenge against former UK Open semi-finalist Keane Barry or debutant Reynaldo Rivera. Luke Humphries, seeded three, arrives at Alexandra Palace having won three of the sport’s last four televised ranking events. He will face either Lee Evans or Sandro Eric Sosing for a place in round three.

Two-time champion Peter Wright is seeded four. In round two, he will face either Jim Williams or Guyana’s Norman Madhoo. Fifth seed Gerwyn Price – who took the title in 2021 – will meet debutant Connor Scutt or Poland’s Krzysztof Kciuk. And Ricky Evans or Africa’s Simon Adams will take on the sixth seed, World Matchplay winner Nathan Aspinall.

The World Darts Championship Draw

Bracket 1

• (1) Michael Smith v Kevin Doets/Stowe Buntz
• (32) Madars Razma v Mike De Decker/Dragutin Horvat
• (16) Ross Smith v Niels Zonneveld/Darren Webster
• (17) Chris Dobey v William O’Connor/Bhav Patel
• (8) Rob Cross v Mario Vandenbogaerde/Thibault Tricole
• (25) Jose de Sousa v Ritchie Edhouse v Jeffrey de Graaf
• (9) Jonny Clayton v Steve Lennon/Owen Bates
• (24) Krzysztof Ratajski v Jamie Hughes/David Cameron

Bracket 2

• (4) Peter Wright v Jim Williams/Norman Madhoo
• (29) Raymond van Barneveld v Radek Szaganski/Marko Kantele
• (13) James Wade v Matt Campbell/Lourence Ilagan
• (20) Andrew Gilding v Christian Kist/Luke Littler
• (5) Gerwyn Price v Connor Scutt/Krzysztof Kciuk
• (28) Brendan Dolan v Mickey Mansell/Xiaochen Zong
• (12) Dirk van Duijvenbode v Keegan Brown/Boris Krcmar
• (21) Gary Anderson v Simon Whitlock/Paolo Nebrida

Bracket 3

• (2) Michael van Gerwen v Keane Barry/Reynaldo Rivera
• (31) Kim Huybrechts v Richard Veenstra/Ben Robb
• (15) Dimitri Van den Bergh v Dylan Slevin/Florian Hempel
• (18) Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce/Alex Spellman
• (7) Danny Noppert v Scott Williams/Haruki Muramatsu
• (26) Martin Schindler v Jermaine Wattimena/Fallon Sherrock
• (10) Damon Heta v Martin Lukeman/Haupai Puha
• (23) Josh Rock v Luke Woodhouse/Berry van Peer

Bracket 4

• (3) Luke Humphries v Lee Evans/Sandro Eric Sosing
• (30) Callan Rydz v Ricardo Pietreczko/Mikuru Suzuki
• (14) Joe Cullen v Jules van Dongen/Darren Penhall
• (19) Ryan Searle v Ian White/Tomoya Goto
• (6) Nathan Aspinall v Ricky Evans/Simon Adams
• (27) Daryl Gurney v Steve Beaton/Wessel Nijman
• (11) Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies/Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
• (22) Gabriel Clemens v Gian van Veen/Man Lok Leung

*Brackets indicate players seeding.

How Do the Bookmakers See It?

2023 Players Championship Finals winner, Luke Humphries has reached the World Championship quarter-finals three times during his relatively short career. This year, he is 7/2 to win an additional three games and, therefore, take the title. On a winning sequence of 13, he is in irresistible form.

📊 Luke Humphries is the 3rd player in PDC history, after Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen, to win 3 TV ranking titles in the same calendar year 👀

He started 2023 as a player who hadn’t won one. He will end it in one of the most exclusive clubs. pic.twitter.com/ayzijL8tcR

— Darts Orakel (@DartsOrakel) November 28, 2023

World Darts Championship betting sites are unanimous in their view that Michael van Gerwen can land his fourth World title. The Dutchman is quoted on 4/1 by most firms. The odds make him the second favourite, a point bigger than Gerwyn Price.

The next three in the betting are all former World Champions. Gary Anderson – who took the title in 2015 and 2016 – is 16/1 with event sponsors Paddy Power. At the same odds is the 2018 winner, Rob Cross. He will begin his campaign against Belgian debutant Mario Vandenbogaerde or Thibault Tricole.

Winning the event in 2020 and 2022 and seeded number four, Peter Wright is quoted on a surprisingly generous 20/1. Another World Champion, 2007 scorer Raymond van Barneveld, is quoted on 250/1.

What Chance Do the Underdogs Have?

Bookies offer 11/10 odds on the 2023 World Championships having a first-time winner. As well as the favourite, this bet gives punters 33/1 shots, Josh Rock, Nathan Aspinall, 40/1 underdogs Stephen Bunting, Jonny Clayton, and Dave Chisnall, plus many more at big odds.

Any major upsets are likely to happen at the early stages of the competition. At this stage of proceedings, matches have a shorter structure. A sprint format is always conducive to shock results.

World Darts Championship Format:

Amongst the opening round matches, Fallon Sherrock – returning to the scene of her ground-breaking success at the World Championship four years ago – could easily make a mockery of her 7/4 match odds against quick-fire Dutchman Jermaine Wattimena.

Steve Beaton – competing in his 33rd consecutive World Championship – locks horns with Dutch youngster Wessel Nijman. His considerable experience may see the veteran overcome his ‘outsider’ tag in this contest. The fun and games will begin on December 15th.