Richie Burnett pulls out of the World Darts Championship - Stuart Kellett replaces him
Announcement ahead of live draw
Tuesday 2 December 2014 09:06, UK
Richie Burnett has withdraw from the World Darts Championship, the PDC has confirmed, ahead of the live first-round draw on Sky Sports News HQ on Tuesday.
Burnett's withdrawal, for personal reasons, has opened the door to Stuart Kellett, who is automatically the no.32 seed. All seeded players below Burnett in the draw are bumped up a place to make room for Kellett.
As a result, Rowby-John Rodriguez becomes a ProTour Order of Merit qualifier and Ryan De Vreede steps up to qualify for the last 64 as the fourth highest placed non-qualified European from the ProTour Order of Merit.
Jason Hogg has also confirmed his place in the hat after winning the final PDPA qualifier in Coventry on Monday night. He edged Scott Mackenzie, who drops into the preliminary draw, 5-2 to qualify for Tuesday's draw.
The World Darts Championship is live on Sky Sports News HQ on Tuesday at 12.30.
