Tipperary's Slevin to face big hitter in World Darts Championship if progresses to second round

It is a sign that Christmas is just around the corner when the darts return for the festive season.

The PDC World Darts Championship gets underway this Friday, December 15 at London's Alexandra Palace.

Four Irish players are competing in this year's tournament as Keane Barry (Meath), Dylan Slevin (Tipperary), Steve Lennon (Carlow) and William O'Connor (Limerick) will take to the Ally Pally stage for their first round fixtures.

Barry comes up against Reynaldo Rivera this Saturday (December 16), debutant Slevin will be on stage against Florian Hempel on Sunday (December 17), while Steve Lennon and William O'Connor will aim to progress to the second round next Wednesday (December 20). Lennon faces Owen Bates before O'Connor takes on Bhav Patel.

Big hitters wait in the wings if the Irish players make it through their opening round ties.

Barry would meet world number two Michael van Gerwen while Slevin would get the chance to compete against world number 15 Dimitri Van den Bergh.

If both Lennon and O'Connor win their first fixtures, Lennon would throw against 'The Ferret' Jonny Clayton and O'Connor would play world number 17 Chris Dobey for a place in the third round.

Darts fans can watch all the action live on Sky Sports throughout December and the start of January.