THE date and time for Luke Littler’s first match at this year’s World Darts Championship has been confirmed.

Following Monday’s draw, the 17-year-old will face either Ryan Meikle or history-making female star Fallon Sherrock in the second round at Alexandra Palace in what will be his only game before Christmas.

The former Padgate Academy pupil goes straight into the second round as the fourth seed, and his return to the Ally Pally stage will take place on Saturday, December 21.

His clash with Meikle or Sherrock will be the third of four matches in that day’s evening session, which gets underway at 7pm.

Meikle and Sherrock will meet during the evening session on Tuesday, December 17.

Should he advance, Littler’s third-round opponent will be either 29th seed Ritchie Edhouse, England’s Ian White or Filipino qualifier Sandro Eric Sosing.

White and Sosing meet during the afternoon session on Friday, December 20, and the winners’ clash with Edhouse will be among the afternoon games on Sunday, December 22.

The action from Ally Pally starts on Sunday, December 15, with first and second-round ties played before Christmas, with the action pausing on Monday, December 23.

Play resumes on Friday, December 27 and the tournament will then run through to the final the following Friday, January 3.