BROTHERS Kim and Ronny Huybrechts will meet in the first round of the Ladbrokes World Darts Championship, while reigning champion Phil Taylor has drawn either New Zealands Rob Szabo or qualifier Ian Moss as he begins the defence of his title at Alexandra Palace. The Belgian duo will meet for a third time in a PDC competition when the £1 million Ladbrokes World Championship kicks off later this month, after being paired in Mondays first round draw. Elder brother Ronny took victory earlier this year in a PDC ProTour semi-final, while Kim gained revenge as he reached the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals last month in Wolverhampton. Reigning and 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor will begin his bid to retain the title when he plays the winner of a preliminary round clash between New Zealand National Champion Rob Szabo and English debutant Ian Moss, the PDPA Qualifier runner-up last week. Dutch ace and number two seed Michael van Gerwen, the runner-up 12 months ago who has won the Premier League and Players Championship Finals titles this year, will also play a preliminary round winner as he faces either Austrias Zoran Lerchbacher or PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit runner-up Ben Ward. Adrian Lewis, the two-time World Champion in 2011 and 2012, plays experienced Dennis Smith, while fellow former champions Raymond van Barneveld drew Welshman Jamie Lewis and John Part takes on Hollands Mareno Michels. Number four seed Simon Whitlock, the 2010 finalist, takes on Challenge Tour winner Ross Smith, 2012 runner-up Andy Hamilton takes on either Spanish debutant Julio Barbero or Germanys Andree Welge, and three-time semi-finalist James Wade, seeded sixth, is draw with Norfolks Darren Webster. Octobers World Grand Prix runner-up Dave Chisnall takes on Scotlands John Henderson, number eight seed Wes Newton has drawn either Hollands Gino Vos or Hong Kongs Ting Chi Royden Lam and Robert Thornton plays German teenager Max Hopp. Justin Pipe, who is seeded 11th, will meet former World Youth Champion Arron Monk, 2004 finalist Kevin Painter is drawn with Germanys Tomas Seyler, Mervyn King takes on top American left-hander Darin Young and Brendan Dolan faces either Danish qualifier Dennis Lindskjold or Philippines champion Edward Santos. Peter Wright, whose progress this year has seen him move up to 16th in the world, has draw Joe Cullen, while Terry Jenkins will meet either Northern Irelands Colin McGarry or Denmarks Per Laursen. Two former finalists will clash as 2011 runner-up Gary Anderson takes on 2005 finalist Mark Dudbridge, who has returned from shoulder and elbow surgery 12 months ago to ensure a World Championship return. Ronnie Baxter meets World Youth Championship runner-up Ricky Evans, Paul Nicholson drew Stuart Kellett and Ian White plays Kyle Anderson - the Australian number one whose brother Beau, the Oceanic Masters winner, will take on Colin Lloyd. Steve Beaton will meet the winner of the preliminary round tie between South African ace Devon Petersen or Malaysias Mohammed Latif Sapup, with Jamie Caven drawing Jelle Klaasen and Mark Webster up against top Austrian Mensur Suljovic. Andy Smith takes on Bristols Steve Brown, Richie Burnett takes on Dean Winstanley, who hit a nine-darter last year, Mark Walsh plays Finlands Jarkko Komula, Vincent van der Voort meets PDPA Qualifier winner Matt Clark and Wayne Jones takes on Kevin McDine. World Youth Champion Michael Smith, the number 32 seed, completes the draw as he faces either Japanese number one Morihiro Hashimoto or Singapores veteran thrower Paul Lim, who is appearing in his 20th World Championship. The Ladbrokes World Darts Championship will be held from December 13 2013-January 1 2014 at Alexandra Palace in London, featuring 72 players from around the world and a record first prize of £250,000 from over £1 million in prize money.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 15:02:32 +0000
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