Michael van Gerwen to face Joe Cullen at PDC World Championship

Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his PDC World Championship crown with a first-round tie against Joe Cullen.

The Dutchman, who occupies the number one position in the PDC Order of Merit, has enjoyed an impressive year on the tour but he will have to perform well against the world number 44.

Sixteen-time world champion Phil Taylor will face Germany's Jyhan Artut in the last 64, while two-time winner Adrian Lewis will meet Dave Pallett.

Last year's runner-up Peter Wright plays Welshman Gerwyn Price, with number four seed Gary Anderson facing either Mark McGrath or Scott Kirchner.

Raymond van Barneveld has drawn young Austrian Rowby-John Rodriguez, James Wade goes up against Jamie Lewis and debutant Stephen Bunting starts with a contest against either Jermaine Wattimena or Robert Marijanovic.

Full first-round draw

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