William O'Connor and Dylan Slevin set for all-Irish first-round clash at PDC World Championships

William O'Connor and Dylan Slevin have been drawn together in an all-Irish first-round clash at the upcoming 2024-25 PDC World Championships.

Limerick native O'Connor was knocked out of the tournament in the second round last year but to get to that stage this time he will have to overcome the challenge of 22-year-old Tipperary man Slevin, who will be at Alexandra Palace for the second year in a row after coming through the qualifiers.

The match winner will advance to face Belgian 11th seed Dimitri van den Bergh in the second round.

Meath's Keane Barry, who will feature in the opening round for the sixth year in a row, has been drawn against Belgium's Kim Huybrechts with the winner advancing to take on 10th seed Gerwyn Price of Wales.

Josh Rock, the 18th seed from Antrim, will start from round two where he will await the victor between Karel Sedlacek and Rhys Griffin, while Chris Landman and Lok Yin Lee will battle it out to face 30th seed and Fermanagh native Brendan Dolan.

Derry's Daryl Gurney, seeded 27th, will await either Florian Hempel or Jeffrey De Zwaan in the second round.

Tyrone's Mickey Mansell will be in first-round action against Japanse player Tomoya Goto in the hope of booking a clash against seventh seed Jonny Clayton.

The World Championships will get underway on Sunday, 15 December at Ally Pally, with the final on 3 January.

Meanwhile, Luke Littler knows there will be plenty more opportunities for a World Championship final rematch with Luke Humphries after this year's draw put them on course for a semi-final meeting.

The teenage sensation turned himself into a global star in last year's tournament with a historic run to the final where he lost to Humphries.

It was the start of a strong rivalry, which has