THE schedule of play for the William Hill World Darts Championship has been announced ahead of the sport's biggest tournament, which will be held from December 15-January 2 at London's Alexandra Palace. A 72-player field will be in action across the Christmas and New Year period as players battle to win the prestigious Sid Waddell Trophy and a record £1.65 million prize fund. Reigning champion Gary Anderson will be in action on the opening night on Thursday December 15, with the preliminary and first rounds spanning eight days. The second round will span the Christmas break, with the third round and quarter-finals also being held before the New Year, with the semi-finals on January 1 and the final on January 2. Alongside Anderson's clash with PDPA Qualifier Mark Frost on December 15, 2004 World Championship finalist Kevin Painter will take on Jamie Caven to open the tournament before Jamie Lewis meets Mick McGowan and Michael Smith faces Ricky Evans. The event's second night on Friday December 16 will see 2014 finalist Peter Wright take to the stage against either Jerry Hendriks or Warren Parry, who meet in the preliminary round, alongside the all-Welsh tie between Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton and the meeting of former Lakeside Champion Steve Beaton and South Africa's Devon Petersen. The first double session, on Saturday December 17, will include Benito van de Pas against either Malaysia's Tengku Shah or Japan's Masumi Chino, former semi-finalist Terry Jenkins against youngster Josh Payne and Scotland's John Henderson up against Andrew Gilding. World number one Michael van Gerwen headlines Saturday evening as he meets either Canada's Ross Snook or Finland's Kim Viljanen, with former Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting taking on Darren Webster and Spain's Cristo Reyes facing Belgium's Benito Van de Pas. Sunday afternoon includes another former Lakeside Champion, Mark Webster, taking on Joe Murnan, Justin Pipe's meeting with Chris Dobey and Ian White up against PDPA Qualifier Kevin Simm or Philippines' Gilbert Ulang. Phil Taylor, the 16-time World Champion, begins his bid for another title on Sunday evening as he plays either PDPA Qualifier John Bowles or Oceanic Masters winner David Platt, with Alan Norris playing Greece's John Michael and Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney meeting Dutch ace Jermaine Wattimena. Two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis, last year's runner-up, takes to the stage on Monday evening to face Sweden's Magnus Caris, with Mervyn King taking on Steve West and Joe Cullen set to face either China's Qiang Sun or Australia's Corey Cadby. Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld is in action against Robbie Green on Tuesday December 20, when Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan plays Dutchman Christian Kist and Australia's Simon Whitlock, the 2010 finalist, takes on either Russia's Boris Koltsov or German qualifier Dragutin Horvat. Number six seed James Wade is in action on Wednesday evening as he plays Belgium's Ronny Huybrechts, with number eight seed Mensur Suljovic meeting Ron Meulenkamp and number nine seed Robert Thornton facing either Austria's Zoran Lerchbacher or PDPA Qualifier Simon Stevenson. The first round concludes with the remaining four games on Thursday December 22, opening with the all-Dutch battle between former Lakeside Champion Jelle Klaasen and debutant Jeffrey de Graaf. Vincent van der Voort plays Germany's former World Youth Champion Max Hopp, number seven seed Dave Chisnall meets Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez and Belgian ace Kim Huybrechts plays Alexandra Palace debutant James Wilson. * The William Hill World Darts Championship will take place at Alexandra Palace, London from December 15-January 2, and will be shown live on the dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel as part of a festive season which includes Premier League football, EFL and Test match cricket. 2016/2017 William Hill World Darts Championship Schedule of Play - (P) denotes Preliminary Round Preliminary & First Round Thursday December 15 (7pm) Jamie Caven (29) v Kevin Painter Jamie Lewis (30) v Mick McGowan Gary Anderson (2) v Mark Frost Michael Smith (11) v Ricky Evans Friday December 16 (7pm) Jerry Hendriks v Warren Parry (P) Gerwyn Price (19) v Jonny Clayton Steve Beaton (27) v Devon Petersen Peter Wright (3) v Hendriks/Parry Saturday December 17 Afternoon Session (1pm) Tengku Shah v Masumi Chino (P) Terry Jenkins (18) v Josh Payne John Henderson (31) v Andrew Gilding Benito van de Pas (15) v Shah/Chino Evening Session (7pm) Ross Snook v Kim Viljanen (P) Cristo Reyes (32) v Dimitri Van den Bergh Stephen Bunting (16) v Darren Webster Michael van Gerwen (1) v Snook/Viljanen Sunday December 18 Afternoon Session (1pm) Kevin Simm v Gilbert Ulang (P) Justin Pipe (26) v Chris Dobey Mark Webster (25) v Joe Murnan Ian White (14) v Simm/Ulang Evening Session (7pm) John Bowles v David Platt (P) Daryl Gurney (24) v Jermaine Wattimena Alan Norris (21) v John Michael Phil Taylor (4) v Bowles/Platt Monday December 19 (7pm) Qiang Sun v Corey Cadby (P) Mervyn King (22) v Steve West Adrian Lewis (5) v Magnus Caris Joe Cullen (28) v Sun/Cadby Tuesday December 20 (7pm) Boris Koltsov v Dragutin Horvat (P) Brendan Dolan (23) v Christian Kist Raymond van Barneveld (12) v Robbie Green Simon Whitlock (17) v Koltsov/Horvat Wednesday December 21 (7pm) Zoran Lerchbacher v Simon Stevenson (P) Mensur Suljovic (8) v Ron Meulenkamp James Wade (6) v Ronny Huybrechts Robert Thornton (9) v Lerchbacher/Stevenson Thursday December 22 (7pm) Jelle Klaasen (10) v Jeffrey de Graaf Vincent van der Voort (20) v Max Hopp Dave Chisnall (7) v Rowby-John Rodriguez Kim Huybrechts (13) v James Wilson Second Round Friday December 23 Afternoon Session (1pm) White (14)/Simm/Ulang v Price (19)/Clayton Smith (11)/Evans v King (22)/West Van de Pas (15)/Shah/Chino v Jenkins (18)/Payne Evening Session (7pm) Bunting (16)/D Webster v Whitlock (17)/Koltsov/Horvat Anderson (2)/Frost v Henderson (31)/Gilding A Lewis (5)/Caris v Cullen (28)/Sun/Cadby Tuesday December 27 Afternoon Session (1pm) Suljovic (8)/Meulenkamp v M Webster (25)/Murnan Thornton (9)/Lerchbacher/Stevenson v Gurney (24)/Wattimena Chisnall (7)/Rodriguez v Pipe (26)/Dobey Evening Session (8pm) van Barneveld (12)/Green v Norris (21)/Michael Taylor (4)/Bowles/Platt v Caven (29)/Painter Van Gerwen (1)/Snook/Viljanen v Reyes (32)/Van den Bergh Wednesday December 28 Afternoon Session (1pm) K Huybrechts (13)/Wilson v Van der Voort (20)/Hopp Wade (6)/R Huybrechts v Beaton (27)/Petersen Klaasen (10)/de Graaf v Dolan (23)/Kist Evening Session (7pm) Wright (3)/Hendriks/Parry v J Lewis (30)/McGowan Third Round Anderson (2)/Frost/Henderson (31)/Gilding v Van de Pas (15)/Shah/Chino/Jenkins (18)/Payne A Lewis (5)/Caris/Cullen (28)/Sun/Cadby v Van Barneveld (12)/Green/Norris/Michael Thursday December 29 Afternoon Session (1pm) Suljovic (8)/Meulenkamp/M Webster/Murnan v Thornton (9)/Lerchbacher/Stevenson/Gurney (24)/Wattimena Chisnall (7)/Rodriguez/Pipe (26)/Dobey v Klaasen (10)/de Graaf/Dolan (23)/Kist Wade (6)/R Huybrechts/Beaton/Petersen v Smith (11)/Evans/King (22)/West Evening Session (7pm) Wright (3)/Hendriks/Parry/J Lewis (30)/McGowan v White(14)/Simm/Ulang//Price(19)/Clayton Taylor (4)/Bowles/Platt/Caven (29)/Painter v K Huybrechts (13)/Wilson/Van der Voort (20)/Hopp Van Gerwen (1)/Snook/Viljanen/Reyes (32)/Van den Bergh v Bunting (16)/D Webster/Whitlock (17)/Koltsov/Horvat Friday December 30 Afternoon Session (1pm) 2x Quarter-Finals Evening Session (7pm) 2x Quarter-Finals Sunday January 1 (7pm) Semi-Finals Monday January 2 (8pm) Final The schedule of play for the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals will be announced during the event at www.pdc.tv. Format

Preliminary Round	Best of three sets
First Round	Best of five sets
Second & Third Round	Best of seven sets
Quarter-Finals	Best of nine sets
Semi-Finals	Best of 11 sets
Final	Best of 13 sets

All sets are the best of five legs. A tie-break would be in operation in all matches except the Preliminary Round. Any match which goes to a deciding set must be won by two clear legs. If the score in the final set reaches 5-5, a sudden-death leg will be played.