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Defending world champion Luke Littler has been drawn against Darius Labanauskas in the first round of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.
It means the world No 1, who lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy earlier this year, faces a tough opening test against the Lithuanian qualifier when the draw for the expanded 128-player tournament was made public.
The 18-year-old heads a field that also includes world No 2 Luke Humphries and 2024 finalist Michael van Gerwen, with all players entering the competition from the first round in this year's new format.
Other standout first-round ties include Humphries facing Ted Evetts, three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen drawn against Japanese qualifier Mitsuhiko Tatsunami, ninth seed Gerwyn Price against Adam Gawlas and fourth seed Stephen Bunting facing Sebastian Bialecki.
Tatsunami, 52, is ranked 13 on the PDC Asian Tour and third on the PDC Japan Tour.
Former world champion Michael Smith will take on Lisa Ashton, while Dave Chisnall faces Fallon Sherrock in one of the most eye-catching match-ups of the opening round.
Defending world champion Luke Littler has been drawn against Darius Labanauskas in the first round of the World Darts Championship
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen drawn against Japanese qualifier Mitsuhiko Tatsunami
Elsewhere, 2024 champion Luke Humphries will begin his quest for his second title against Ted Evetts
Littler returns to Alexandra Palace as the defending champion and world No 1 after a dominant 2025 season which saw him become the youngest world champion in darts history.
The Warrington teenager won six major titles during the year and was recently crowned the sport's top-ranked player following his Players Championship Finals triumph over Nathan Aspinall.
He had earlier admitted he wanted to avoid a first-round meeting with women's world No 1 Beau Greaves, saying most fans would likely support her if they were drawn together.
That scenario was avoided, with Greaves instead drawn against 22nd seed Daryl Gurney in the opening round.
The expanded 2026 World Darts Championship begins on Thursday December 11 at Alexandra Palace, with four first-round matches scheduled for the opening evening session.
It marks the start of 13 consecutive days of darts, with afternoon and evening sessions taking place daily until December 23 before the traditional Christmas break.
Play resumes on December 27, with third and fourth-round ties completed by December 30 as the tournament moves into its decisive stages.
The quarter-finals will be played across two sessions on New Year’s Day, followed by the semi-finals on January 2 and the final on Friday January 3.
The expanded 2026 World Darts Championship begins on Thursday December 11 at Alexandra Palace
Littler won six major titles during 2025 and was recently crowned the sport's top-ranked player following his Players Championship Finals triumph
Elsewhere in the draw, two-time world champion Gary Anderson was paired with Adam Hunt, while Peter Wright will face Noa-Lynn van Leuven in one of the more eye-catching opening ties.
A record 128 players will compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and a share of the £5 million prize fund, making it the biggest World Championship in PDC history.
Littler is among 40 automatic qualifiers through the PDC Order of Merit, alongside Humphries, Van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting, Gerwyn Price and Anderson.
A further 40 players have qualified via the ProTour Order of Merit, with the remaining 48 places taken up by international qualifiers.
