THE field of players for the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship has been confirmed following last weekend's Rileys Qualifiers.
The event at Crawley's K2 Centre will see the Last 64 play down to the Final, which will then take place on Thursday May 17 2012 during the Premier League Darts Play-Offs at The O2 in London.
The leading 28 players from the final PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit qualified by right to compete in the World Youth Championship, alongside a field of ten International Qualifiers which was completed by Holland's John de Kruijf.
In addition, 26 Rileys Qualifiers have been held across the UK, with hundreds of young players taking part in a bid to win places in the World Youth Championship.
Oxford winner Richard North also qualified for the Speedy Hire UK Open earlier this year, while several players have experience on the Youth Tour, including Marc Evans, Aden Kirk, Daniel King-Morris, Brandon Walsh, Ryan Hogarth, Matt Gallett and Matthew Dicken.
Chester winner Evans, the son of PDC professional Steve, and Norwich qualifier James Hubbard - whose father Vic is a former professional - are hoping to emulate their parents by winning through to compete in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
The finalists of the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship will receive a two-year PDC ProTour Card and an invitation to compete in November's William Hill Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.
The top eight players from the final Youth Tour order of Merit are seeded - with four-time event winner Michael van Gerwen the number one seed, Paul Barham seeded two and Joe Cullen, Shaun Griffiths, Michael Smith, Reece Robinson, Chris Aubrey and Ricky Evans also seeded.
The full list of qualifiers is:
PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit - Top 28
| 1 | Michael van Gerwen |
| 2 | Paul Barham |
| 3 | Joe Cullen |
| 4 | Shaun Griffiths |
| 5 | Michael Smith |
| 6 | Reece Robinson |
| 7 | Chris Aubrey |
| 8 | Ricky Evans |
| 9 | Adam Smith-Neale |
| 10 | Co Stompe Jnr |
| 11 | Ryan Harrington |
| 12 | Adam Hunt |
| 13 | Steve Haggerty |
| 14 | Josh Jones |
| 15 | Dirk van Duijvenbode |
| 16 | Curtis Hammond |
| 17 | David Coyne |
| 18 | Arron Monk |
| 19 | Sam Hill |
| 20 | Gino Vos |
| 21 | Ash Khayat |
| 22 | David Pallett |
| 23 | Jamie Lewis |
| 24 | Jamie Landon |
| 25 | Jonathan Mulley |
| 26 | Jimmy Hendricks |
| 27 | Darren Whittingham |
| 28 | Nick Kenny |
International Qualifiers
| Australia | Robbie King |
| Australia | Guy Holland |
| Ireland | Ryan Maher |
| Canada | Shaun Narain |
| Finland | Teemu Harju |
| Sweden | Oskar Lukasiak |
| Austria | Franz Schrammel |
| Spain | Sergio Garcia |
| Germany | Max Hopp |
| Holland | John de Kruijf |
Rileys Qualifiers
| Aberdeen | Jamie Reid |
| Birkenhead | Lee Hodson |
| Bolton | James Hajdar |
| Bournemouth | Joe Hunt |
| Brighton | Benjamin Songhurst |
| Bristol | David Williams |
| Cardiff | Kurt Parry |
| Chester | Marc Evans |
| Chesterfield | Aden Kirk |
| Colchester | Daniel King-Morris |
| Edinburgh | Michael Airnes |
| Exeter | Thomas Humphrey |
| Gillingham | Michael Finch |
| Gloucester | Liam Deveries |
| Hull | Leon Bailey |
| Leicester | James Thompson |
| Norwich | James Hubbard |
| Oxford | Richard North |
| Reading | Rhys Dudley |
| Scunthorpe | Brandon Walsh |
| Stirling | Ryan Hogarth |
| Sunderland | Steven Addison |
| London, Victoria | Nicholas Ellis |
| Wigan | Matt Howard |
| Wolverhampton | Matt Gallett |
| Worcester | Matthew Dicken |
Competing players have been issued with a Players' Brief of information via email. Any player who has not received this should contact the PDC Head Office on 08712 501 180.
Competing players must register between 9.30am-11am. The draw will be made at 11am, with the top eight players from the final PDC Unicorn Youth Tour Order of Merit seeded.
All games up to, and including, the semi-finals will be the best of nine legs. The final will be the best of 11 legs.
Prize Fund
Winner £10,000
Runner-Up £5,000
Semi-Finalists £2,500
Quarter-Finalists £1,250
Last 16 Losers £625
In addition, the finalists are invited to compete in the 2011 Grand Slam of Darts as well as being invited to become a PDC ProTour Card Holder for 2012 and 2013, with entry fees paid for.