BDO World Darts Championship 2017: Dates, Draw, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
The 2017 BDO World Darts Championship begins on Saturday at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Top players such as defending champion Scott Waites will attempt to dominate this prestigious tournament.
Waites' competition is likely to be intense, though, with 2016 beaten finalist Jeff Smith also involved, along with Glen Durrant.
Meanwhile, the women's event will see top seed Deta Hedman and defending champion Trina Gulliver challenged closely by Lisa Ashton and Dutch player Aileen de Graaf.
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Before a look at the schedule and viewing details, here's what the draw looks like for each bracket:
| Round | Player | vs. | Player |
| Preliminary | Seigo Asada | vs. | Jeff Smith |
| Preliminary | Raymond Smith | vs. | Davy van Baelen |
| Preliminary | Dennis Nilsson | vs. | Ryan Joyce |
| Preliminary | David Cameron | vs. | Jimmy Hendriks |
| Preliminary | Krzysztof Ratajski | vs. | Willem Mandigers |
| Preliminary | Craig Caldwell | vs. | Dennis Harbour |
| Preliminary | Tom Sawyer | vs. | Paul Hogan |
| Preliminary | Roger Janssen | vs. | Mark McGrath |
| First | (1) Glen Durrant | vs. | Nick Kenny |
| First | (16) Martin Phillips | vs. | Sawyer/Hogan |
| First | (8) Dennis Labanauskas | vs. | Conan Whitehead |
| First | (9) Wesley Harms | vs. | Ratajski/Mandigers |
| First | (5) Martin Adams | vs. | Nilsson/Joyce |
| First | (12) Brian Dawson | vs. | Asada/Smith |
| First | (4) Jamie Hughes | vs. | Martin Atkins |
| First | (13) Jim Williams | vs. | Tony O'Shea |
| First | (2) Scott Mitchell | vs. | Janssen/McGrath |
| First | (15) Geert De Vos | vs. | Smith/Van Baelen |
| First | (7) Dean Reynolds | vs. | Pip Blackwell |
| First | (10) Darryl Fitton | vs. | Wouter Vaes |
| First | (6) Scott Waites | vs. | Caldwell/Harbour |
| First | (11) Mark McGeeney | vs. | James Hurrell |
| First | (3) Danny Noppert | vs. | Cameron/Hendriks |
| First | (14) Richard Veenstra | vs. | Ross Montgomery |
Here's the women's bracket:
| Round | Player | vs. | Player |
| First | (1) Deta Hedman | vs. | Casey Gallagher |
| First | (8) Corrine Hammond | vs. | Patricia Farrell |
| First | (5) Lorraine Winstanely | vs. | Anca Zijlstra |
| First | (4) Anastasia Dobromyslova | vs. | Rhian Griffiths |
| First | (2) Lisa Ashton | vs. | Sharon Prins |
| First | (7) Fallon Sherrock | vs. | Olive Byamukama |
| First | (6) Trina Gulliver | vs. | Claire Brookin |
| First | (3) Aileen de Graaf | vs. | Rachel Brooks |
Here are the dates and viewing information for each match:
Dates: Saturday, January 7 to Sunday, January 15
Times: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. GMT (afternoon session), 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (evening session)
TV Info: Channel 4 (afternoon coverage), BT Sport (evening coverage).
Live Stream: BT Sport App.
Preview
Waites may be the champion, but it's 46-year-old Durrant who enters this year's tournament as the top seed. The top man in the British Darts Organisation rankings has even been catching the eye of those involved with the Professional Darts Corporation.
In November, Sky Sports pundit Rod Harrington (h/t Adam Steel of the Teeside Gazette) indicated Durrant could handle the switch: "There are rumours that he (Durrant) is coming over, and if he comes over he will be most welcome."
Of course, Durrant will still be keen to prove he merits the top seed in the BDO. Doing so will require getting past Waites, something he couldn't do at the quarter-final stage last year, losing 5-4.
Durrant, Waites and Dutchman Danny Noppert will be among the group expected to be in the final reckoning. However, those expectations will be defied if an unseeded outsider can pull off an upset or two.
One such player already in defiant mood is Ross Montgomery. Beaten in the first round in 2016, the Scot is already predicting he can make some waves this year, according to Tom Evans of the Daily Star: "If I can go in as relaxed as I have been, I know I can be a danger."
The women's bracket is sure to provide a daunting title defence for Gulliver. She's a 10-time world champion, but the 47-year-old will know this year's draw is filled with top contenders.
In particular, Hedman will arrive in Surrey as the top seed, despite losing to Gulliver in the final of the World Masters in November, per the Oxfordshire Guardian.
The motivation is there for Hedman to go one better this time. Of course, both she and Gulliver will be mindful of how Ashton and De Graaf perform.
The BDO event doesn't get the attention afforded to its PDC equivalents, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of talented players in action. Competition looks especially fierce in both brackets, so expect some classic darts to be played out among the contenders this year.
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