The field of PDC Order of Merit and ProTour Order of Merit qualifiers for the 2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship have been confirmed, with reigning champion Michael Smith set to headline a star-studded field.
The sport's flagship tournament will take place at London's Alexandra Palace from December 15-January 3, with 96 players competing to win the Sid Waddell Trophy and the £500,000 top prize.
The top 32 players from the PDC Order of Merit following Sunday's Cazoo Players Championship Finals qualify by right and enter the World Darts Championship in the second round stage.
Defending champion Smith will be the number one seed on his return to the capital, after defeating Michael van Gerwen in last year’s record-breaking final, which featured the "greatest leg of all-time" as the Englishman landed a nine-darter after his opponent missed double 12 for a perfect leg.
Three-time champion Van Gerwen will be the number two seed, while Luke Humphries is seeded third, after scooping a hat-trick of televised ranking titles over the last seven weeks.
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright will begin his campaign as the fourth seed, with 2021 winner Gerwyn Price and World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall seeded fifth and sixth respectively.
The seeded stars also include 2018 champion Rob Cross, two-time winner Gary Anderson and Dutch legend Raymond van Barneveld, who famously triumphed in the World Darts Championship in 2006/07.
Germany’s Ricardo Pietreczko is the leading ProTour Order of Merit Qualifier, with players earning their spots through 13 European Tour events and 30 Players Championships on the PDC circuit throughout 2023.
World Youth Championship finalist Gian van Veen will also make his debut following a breakthrough campaign, which featured a run to last month’s European Championship semi-finals.
Players Championship Finals semi-finalist Ryan Joyce and Poland’s Radek Szaganski are other notable names set to feature in next month’s showpiece, after celebrating ProTour successes in 2023.
Meanwhile, 2010 runner-up Simon Whitlock and veteran Steve Beaton - playing in his 33rd successive World Championship - are also amongst the ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers.
The list of International Qualifiers includes Fallon Sherrock, who created history by becoming the first female player to win a match at the World Darts Championship in 2019/2020.
Sherrock will be joined in the capital by Japanese star Mikuru Suzuki and 16-year-old sensation Luke Littler, who lifted the Winmau World Youth Championship title on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finalist Stowe Buntz will make his Ally Pally debut alongside Thibault Tricole, who will become the first French player to compete in darts’ biggest event.
The field will be finalised on Monday November 27 with the Tour Card Holder Qualifier in Barnsley, which will offer the final four places at Ally Pally for next month's showpiece.
The draw for the Paddy Power World Darts Championship will be made at approximately 1630 GMT on Monday November 27, live on Sky Sports News in the UK.
2023/24 Paddy Power World Darts Championship Field
PDC Order of Merit Top 32
1 Michael Smith (England)
2 Michael van Gerwen (Netherlands)
3 Luke Humphries (England)
4 Peter Wright (Scotland)
5 Gerwyn Price (Wales)
6 Nathan Aspinall (England)
7 Danny Noppert (Netherlands)
8 Rob Cross (England)
9 Jonny Clayton (Wales)
10 Damon Heta (Australia)
11 Dave Chisnall (England)
12 Dirk van Duijvenbode (Netherlands)
13 James Wade (England)
14 Joe Cullen (England)
15 Dimitri Van den Bergh (Belgium)
16 Ross Smith (England)
17 Chris Dobey (England)
18 Stephen Bunting (England)
19 Ryan Searle (England)
20 Andrew Gilding (England)
21 Gary Anderson (Scotland)
22 Gabriel Clemens (Germany)
23 Josh Rock (Northern Ireland)
24 Krzysztof Ratajski (Poland)
25 Jose de Sousa (Portugal)
26 Martin Schindler (Germany)
27 Daryl Gurney (Northern Ireland)
28 Brendan Dolan (Northern Ireland)
29 Raymond van Barneveld (Netherlands)
30 Callan Rydz (England)
31 Kim Huybrechts (Belgium)
32 Madars Razma (Latvia)
ProTour Order of Merit Qualifiers
Ricardo Pietreczko (Germany)
Gian van Veen (Netherlands)
Ryan Joyce (England)
Luke Woodhouse (England)
Mike De Decker (Belgium)
Ian White (England)
Jim Williams (Wales)
Mario Vandenbogaerde (Belgium)
Radek Szaganski (Poland)
Richard Veenstra (Netherlands)
Steve Beaton (England)
Keane Barry (Ireland)
Simon Whitlock (Australia)
Kevin Doets (Netherlands)
Matt Campbell (Canada)
Connor Scutt (England)
Martin Lukeman (England)
Mickey Mansell (Northern Ireland)
Dylan Slevin (Ireland)
Steve Lennon (Ireland)
William O'Connor (Ireland)
Scott Williams (England)
Christian Kist (Netherlands)
Ricky Evans (England)
Cameron Menzies (Scotland)
Lee Evans (England)
Ritchie Edhouse (England)
Jermaine Wattimena (Netherlands)
Jules van Dongen (USA)
Jamie Hughes (England)
Niels Zonneveld (Netherlands)
Keegan Brown (England)
International Qualifiers
Luke Littler (England)
Wessel Nijman (Netherlands)
Berry van Peer (Netherlands)
Owen Bates (England)
Fallon Sherrock (England)
Mikuru Suzuki (Japan)
Marko Kantele (Finland)
Jeffrey de Graaf (Sweden)
Haruki Muramatsu (Japan)
Sandro Eric Sosing (Philippines)
Lourence Ilagan (Philippines)
Tomoya Goto (Japan)
Paolo Nebrida (Philippines)
Reynaldo Rivera (Philippines)
Man Lok Leung (Hong Kong)
Darren Penhall (Australia)
Ben Robb (New Zealand)
Haupai Puha (New Zealand)
Alex Spellman (USA)
David Cameron (Canada)
Stowe Buntz (USA)
Thibault Tricole (France)
Krzysztof Kciuk (Poland)
Dragutin Horvat (Germany)
Simon Adams (South Africa)
Xiaochen Zong (China)
Norman Madhoo (Guyana)
Bhav Patel (India)
Plus: 4x PDC Tour Card Holder Qualifiers