Limerick's William O'Connor begins PDC World Championship bid on live TV tomorrow

LIMERICK arrowsmith William O'Connor will begin his bid for William Hill World Darts Championship glory at London's Alexandra Palace tomorrow, Wednesday.

Cappamore man O'Connor will be in first round action at the prestigious event tomorrow afternoon when he takes on Niels Zonneveld, of the Netherlands.

The first round match at the 'Ally Pally' will be the third one up on the afternoon session which begins at 12noon. 

Thirty four-year-old O'Connor is the PDCs world ranked number 36 player.

Should the Limerick man come through his opening round fixture successfully, he will face Northern Ireland's Daryl Gurney in the second round on this Thursday afternoon, December 17.

Taking place until January 3 over 28 sessions, the World Championship will once again offer the winner a life-changing stg£500,000 prize along with the coveted Sid Waddell Trophy.

William O'Connor exited the William Hill World Darts Championship 12 months ago when suffering a dramatic 3-2 second round defeat to tournament second favourite Gerwyn Price, of Wales.

The Limerick man had breezed past the experienced Marko Kantele, of Finland, 3-0, in their opening round game.

The pre-Christmas period in the sport's greatest tournament will see the first and second rounds played across nine days from December 15-23.

Following a three-day Christmas break, the third and fourth rounds will be held from December 27-30, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final being held from January 1-3.

Wednesday, December 16

Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
Ryan Joyce v Karel Sedlacek (R1)
Ross Smith v David Evans (R1)
William O’Connor v Niels Zonneveld (R1)
Chris Dobey v J Smith/Barry (R2)

Thursday, December 17

Afternoon Session (1200 GMT)
Madars Razma v Toru Suzuki (R1)
Mike De Decker v Edward Foulkes (R1)
Ryan Murray v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Daryl Gurney v O’Connor/Zonneveld (R2)