THE international qualifiers for the 2012 Ladbrokes World Darts Championship have been confirmed.
The £1 million tournament, darts' biggest event, will see 72 players take part at Alexandra Palace in London from December 15 2011-January 2 2012.
The PDC's top 32 players will qualify automatically for the tournament, alongside the top 16 non-qualified players from the Players Championship Order of Merit after the final PDC ProTour events on November 27.
Additionally, the top four non-qualified players from the European Order of Merit will qualify and earn a place in the first round, alongside the leading non-qualified North American player from the PDC Order of Merit.
The winner of the PDPA Qualifier, to be held on Monday November 28 in Wigan, will join them in the first round draw, alongside Sean Reed, the DPA Australian Grand Prix champion and the Oceanic Masters winner.
A further 16 places in the Preliminary Round have been awarded to a combination of international qualifiers, as well as the PDPA Qualifier Runner-Up and the PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit winner.
Qualifiers will come from across Europe, Scandinavia and Asia, as well as from the South African Masters and the new South Asia Qualifier, featuring players from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Shane O'Connor and Connie Finnan will battle for the place reserved for the winner of the Tom Kirby Memorial Irish Matchplay event when they contest the final at the Citywest Hotel, Dublin on Sunday October 9 ahead of the World Grand Prix final, while Warren French has already qualified through the New Zealand rankings.
Tickets for the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship can be purchased by visiting www.seetickets.com/darts or by calling 0844 871 8807 (calls cost 6p per minute from a BT landline plus standard network charge).
Hospitality Packages are also available and can be purchased via the PDC Head Office on 08712 501 180.
Ladbrokes World Darts Championship
First Round Qualifiers
PDC Order of Merit Top 32 (at November 28)
Top 16 non-qualified players from Players Championship Order of Merit
Top four non-qualified players from European Order of Merit
DPA Australian Grand Prix champion (Sean Reed)
Oceanic Masters Winner
PDPA Qualifier Winner
Leading non-qualified North American player from PDC Order of Merit
Preliminary Round Qualifiers
Chinese Qualifier
Danish Qualifier
East European Qualifier
Finnish Qualifier
German Qualifier
Irish Matchplay Winner
Japanese Qualifier
New Zealand Qualifier (Warren French)
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit Winner
PDPA Qualifier Runner-Up
Philippines Qualifier
South African Masters Winner
South Asia Qualifier (Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore)
South European Qualifier
Swedish Qualifier
West European Qualifier
Further information about the individual qualifying events will follow in due course.