SOUTHEND'S Steve Maish will take on Denis Ovens in the first round of the PDC World Darts Championships.
Ovens is currently ranked 18 in the world and the tie will take place at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Maish made the championships as a qualifier, while Ovens is seeded 18th for the showdown, which has 13-times world champion Phil Taylor as the top seed.
The championships begin on Friday, December 19.
Maish, who is ranked 40th in the world, beat former world champion Dennis Priestley at the event last December.
And the Essex player looked set to make the last 16 before seeing Tony Eccles come back from 3-0 down to win the match 4-3 and dump Maish out.
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