World Championship Countdown Underway

Alexandra Palace (PDC)

THE countdown to the William Hill World Darts Championship is now underway ahead of the completion of the field and the tournament's draw - plus the release of additional tickets for the event.

The sport's biggest event will be held from December 14-January 1 at London's Alexandra Palace, with live coverage on Sky Sports and worldwide through the PDC's series of international broadcast partners.

This weekend's Players Championship Finals is the last tournament for players to secure a place in the world's top 32 for automatic qualification and a seeded position in the first round draw.

A further 16 qualify from the ProTour Order of Merit, while the field of 24 international players will be finalised following the PDC Unicorn World Youth Championship final on Sunday night and Monday's PDPA Qualifier.

With the winner of the World Youth Championship guaranteed an Alexandra Palace spot, Josh Payne enters his clash with Dimitri Van den Bergh with an added incentive as he chases that title.

Van den Bergh's ranking on the ProTour Order of Merit means that he has already qualified for a World Championship spot, meaning that if he defeats Payne then a third place will be available in the PDPA Qualifier.

The winner of the PDPA Qualifier will secure a spot in the first round of the World Championship, with the runner-up (and third-placed player if applicable) going into the preliminary round draw.

The draw for the preliminary round will be made on Sunday night following the World Youth Championship final, with the tournament's first round draw to be made at approximately 6.30pm on Monday November 27 live on Sky Sports News.

Monday's PDPA Qualifier will be available worldwide for fans to watch through PDCTV-HD at www.pdc.tv as well as through the Sky Sports Facebook Live page.

Fans wishing to secure tickets for the 2017/2018 William Hill World Darts Championship have received an early Christmas present after the PDC were able to increase the capacity for the Alexandra Palace event.

A limited number of extra tickets for all sessions will be available from 10am on Friday November 24, and will be available through SeeTickets.

A limited number of Hospitality Packages remain available for the World Championship and can be purchased via this link.