The Iceman has been handed the top seed as he is set to take to the oche at Alexandra Palace in London for the 29^th edition of the competition, scheduled for December 15 to January 3.

Price became the first Welshman to win the title in 2021 before claiming his third Grand Slam of Darts victory later in the year.

Despite a disappointing year, van Gerwen has not been written off by the bookmakers.

The 2019 champion has been touted as second favourite regardless of his quarter-final defeat in last year's tournament and consecutive losses in the Masters, UK Open and Premier League.

World number two, Peter 'Snakebite' Wright of Scotland became the fourth player in history to win 30 PDC Pro Tour titles and is expected to stake his claim for the £500,000 ($660,000/€585,500) grand prize.

The opening round features a blockbuster all-English tie between trailblazer Fallon Sherrock and veteran Steve Beaton.

In 2019, Sherrock became the first female player to win a match at the PDC World Championships which saw her earn the nickname 'Queen of the Palace'.

She faces a hardened opponent in the 57-year-old from Coventry who was British Darts Organisation (BDO) world champion in 1996 and has reached the last 16 three times in 2002, 2004 and 2020.

The winner will then face Belgium's Kim Huybrechts, the tournament's 32nd seed, in the second round.

England's Ritchie Edhouse is set to play Lihao Wen of China in the first match of the tournament with the victor then going up against Price later in the day.