Luke Littler will kick off his PDC World Darts Championship campaign against fellow Englishman Ryan Meikle.
Meikle overcame women’s megastar Fallon Sherrock 3-2 in the primary round to disclaim what would have been an incredibly high-profile second round bout.
Meikle, the Ipswich-born world no.62, beat the ‘Queen of the Palace’ in a decent match after coping with early boos because of her much-loved status.
Which means he’ll face 17-year-old sensation Littler on Saturday December 21 within the second round at Alexandra Palace.
Littler is yet to play on the tournament as his world no.4 status earns him a buy into the second round among the many 32 top-ranked players.
The match is scheduled to happen at 7pm, where Littler will look to go all of the option to the ultimate once more.
read more on luke littler
In last 12 months’s edition he stunned the world on the age of 16, becoming the youngest-ever player to achieve the ultimate.
There he lost 7-4 to world no.1 Luke Humphries, but his star didn’t fade within the slightest.
Littler would prove his debut that fascinated the UK and Europe was anything but flash within the pan with a stellar 2024.
He would win three PDC premier events – the Grand Slam, the Premier League and the World Series Finals.
Along the best way he’s pocketed near £1million in prize money and grow to be a household name within the UK in record time.
The Palace will welcome back the brand new ‘face of darts’ on Saturday, and his match shall be broadcast live to tell the tale talkSPORT.
Should Littler progress against Meikle, he could then meet his first seeded opponent in the form of Ritchie Edhouse within the third round.
Littler may not have been completely aware of the match, though, on condition that he was present for the BBC Sports Personality of the Yr awards ceremony.
The darts sensation just missed out on one other award, ending second behind athlete Keely Hodgkinson.
Hodgkinson took gold on the Paris Olympics within the 800metres having won silver at two World Championships and the last Olympics.
Behind Littler was England cricketer Joe Root in third. Sarah Storey, Alex Yee and Jude Bellingham were also shortlisted for the award.