THERE will be more International Representatives than ever before at the 2008 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship following the introduction of a Preliminary Round.
The First Round of the World Championship will feature 16 global qualifiers, and they will include four Preliminary Round winners.
The PDC will welcome new players from Russia, Eastern Europe, the Philippines and India to this year's tournament.
They will enter directly into the Preliminary Round and face players from Japan, China, New Zealand and the Dutch Wildcard to win a place in the First Round.
The line-up of the remaining International Representatives remains the same with a modification of how the North American players are selected.
The leading two American players and top two Canadians from the PDC North American Pro Tour standings will win World Championship berths.
"We have been working hard to develop darts around the world in recent years and are delighted that more countries than ever will now be represented at the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"The success of South Africa's Wynand Havenga in reaching the last 16 last December was a huge boost to darts in his home country and showed the standard of player around the world should they be given a chance at this level.
"I'm sure that our new stars will relish the experience and opportunity we are providing and rise to the challenge on the Alexandra Palace stage."
As in 2006, the winner of the Caribbean & South American Masters will be awarded a place in the PDPA Qualifiers for the tournament - click here for more details.
The full breakdown of International Representatives is:
Top two American players in PDC North American Pro Tour Order of Merit *
Top two Canadian players in PDC North American Pro Tour Order of Merit *
The Park Trent Properties Australian Grand Prix champion
The Oceanic Masters winner
South African Open winner
Danish Qualifier
Two German Qualifiers
Top two Dutch/Belgian players in Order of Merit compiled in PDC Pro Tour events held in Holland/Belgium in 2007 *
Plus four Preliminary Round Winners
Preliminary Round Competitors
Chinese Qualifier
Japanese Qualifier
New Zealand National Champion
Dutch Wildcard
Winner of Caribbean & South American Masters
Eastern European Qualifier
Philippines Qualifier
Indian Qualifier
* - Please note that this applies to players outside of the top 32 in the PDC Order of Merit. Should a player also be in the top eight of the Players Championship Order of Merit, this would take precedence over their standing in an International Order of Merit, and this place would then be awarded to the next player in that International Order of Merit.