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Burnett out of PDC Worlds as Van Gerwen draws Cullen

Defending champion Michael Van Gerwen faces a tricky opening encounter against Joe Cullen © PA Photos

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Former world champion Richie Burnett was "removed" from the field for the World Darts Championship prior to the first round draw for personal reasons, according to the PDC.

The 47-year-old Welshman, who won the BDO world title in 1995, was among the 32 seeds for the Alexandra Palace event before the PDC released a statement confirming his absence.

Stuart Kellett has been installed as the 32nd seed, while Ryan De Vreede, who narrowly missed out on qualification, joins the 64-man field after the promotion of Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez to 16th on the Pro Tour Order of Merit.

Burnett, the 'Prince of Wales', has been playing on the PDC circuit for over a decade. A former winner of the BDO's World Masters, he is currently ranked No.26 in the world.

Rodriguez's promotion has pitted the 20-year-old against five-time world champion and 2007 PDC winner Raymond van Barneveld, but the standout first-round tie sees defending champion Michael van Gerwen facing British world No.44 Joe Cullen.

Second seed Phil Taylor, the 16-time world champion, takes on Germany's Jyhan Artut, while two-time winner Adrian Lewis will face Dave Pallett.

No.4 seed Gary Anderson awaits Mark McGrath or Scott Kirchner in the last 64, while Peter Wright, runner-up in 2013, plays Welshman Gerwyn Price.

Elsewhere, former champion John Part has drawn world youth champion Keegan Brown, while two former Lakeside champions will clash in when Jelle Klaasen faces Christian Kist.

De Vreede's promotion to the draw has earned him a showdown with No.8 seed Dave Chisnall.

PDC World Darts Championship, first round draw (seeding in brackets)

Michael van Gerwen (1) v Joe Cullen
Stuart Kellett (32) v Kim Viljanen or Sascha Stein
Terry Jenkins (16) v John Weber
Justin Pipe (17) v Lawrence Ryder
Dave Chisnall (8) v Ryan de Vreede
Paul Nicholson (25) v Benito van de Pas
Robert Thornton (9) v Andrew Gilding
Ronnie Baxter (24) v Scott MacKenzie or Daryl Gurney
Peter Wright (5) v Gerwyn Price
Andy Smith (28) v Ronny Huybrechts
Andy Hamilton (12) v Dave Richardson
Steve Beaton (21) v Kyle Anderson
Gary Anderson (4) v Mark McGrath or Scott Kirchner
Jelle Klaasen (29) v Christian Kist
Wes Newton (13) v Christian Perez or Cristo Reyes
Kevin Painter (20) v Boris Koltsov or Karuki Muramatsu
Phil Taylor (2) v Jyhan Artut
Mark Webster (31) v Ron Meulenkamp
Ian White (15) v Jani Haavisto or John Michael
Kim Huybrechts (18) v Michael Mansell
Simon Whitlock (7) v Darren Webster
Dean Winstanley (26) v Wayne Jones
Mervyn King (10) v Max Hopp
Vincent van der Voort (23) v John Henderson
James Wade (6) v Jamie Lewis
Stephen Bunting (27) v Jermaine Wattimena or Robert Marijanovic
Brendan Dolan (11) v Nolan Arendse or Alex Hon
Michael Smith (22) v Mensur Suljovic
Adrian Lewis (3) v David Pallett
John Part (30) v Keegan Brown
Raymond van Barneveld (14) v Rowby-John Rodriguez
Jamie Caven (19) v Jason Hogg

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