Draw for the 2015 World Darts Championship to take place on Sky Sports News HQ

The countdown is on for the 2015 World Darts Championship and you can watch the draw live on Sky Sports News HQ.

The world’s top players will descend on Alexandra Palace from December 18 to January 4 for some thrilling tungsten action, with the winner collecting a whopping £250,000 in prize money.

And the 72 entrants will learn their fate next week when the draw is made on Sky Sports News HQ on December 2.

Michael van Gerwen became the youngest ever World Championship winner when he defeated Peter Wright in the final last January.

The Dutchman will face stiff competition from the likes of Adrian Lewis, Peter Wright, James Wade and 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, who suffered a shock second-round exit at the hands of Michael Wright last year.

Also competing will be 2014 BDO world champion Stephen Bunting, who has made the switch across to the PDC.

To coincide with the start of the World Championship, Sky Sports will for the first time dedicate an entire channel to darts.

Sky Sports Darts will launch on December 18 and offer viewers over 370 hours of programming. The channel will offer 18 days of non-stop tungsten television, as the biggest names in arrows battle for the Sid Waddell Trophy in front of sell-out crowds at Alexandra Palace.

Sky Sports 3 will become Sky Sports Darts at 6am on December 18 and be the home of darts until January 5.  As well as live coverage of the World Championship, Sky Sports Darts will screen a host of programmes and features including a fascinating documentary with reigning champion van Gerwen.

Sky Sports Darts can be accessed across TV, online and via mobile and tablet devices with Sky Go. Non-subscribers can either enjoy seven days access to the Sky Sports Darts channel and Sky Sports other six channels contract free on TV and a range of devices with NOW TV.