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Michael van Gerwen to face Joe Cullen at PDC World Championship

Defending champion Michael van Gerwen will begin the 2015 PDC World Championship with a first-round tie against Joe Cullen.

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

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Michael van Gerwen of the Netherlands in action during his quarter-final match Clinton Bridge of Australia against during day two of the Sydney Darts Masters on August 30, 2013
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