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PDC World Darts Championship schedule: Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton & Gary Anderson in action today
The action comes thick and fast at the Alexandra Palace as Round 4 concludes with some exciting ties to set up the quarter finals.
Peter Wright of Scotland reacts to the win during his Third Round Match against Damon Heta of Australia during Day Eleven of the William Hill World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on December 28, 2021
Yesterday saw one of the best matches in the history of the PDC World Championship and it will be up to the players returning today to try and keep up the same levels of entertainment and book their spots in quarter finals.
Three former world champions are in action tonight while the two biggest underdog stories of the tournament go head-to-head in the afternoon in what could be a show stealing encounter.
There will also be a serious test of the credentials for some of the tournament outsiders who are now just one win away from a quarter final spot.
Here’s everything you need to know about the latest round of games from the PDC World Darts Championship:
The afternoon session gets underway with Raymond Smith looking to keep his unlikely run at the Palace going against tournament veteran Mervyn King.
Smith beat Jamie Hughes in Round 1 before upsetting the odds in Round 2 to knock off Stephen Bunting and carrying that momentum into his next match where he sailed past Florian Hempel.
However, he comes up against a former World Championship semi-finalist tonight in King who will fancy his chances of making it at least that far again this year after a convincing 4-0 win over Steve Lennon in the last round.
Following on from the opener will be a clash of the two giant killers from yesterday’s afternoon session.
Arbroath firefighter Alan Soutar stunned world number seven Jose De Sousa with a 4-3 victory in a back and forth encounter that saw the Scot hang on against his heavy hitting opponent before delivering the knockout blow in the deciding set.
He will take on Callan Rydz who also upset a top ranking player but in much different style as he shocked Nathan Aspinall with a straight sets 4-0 win.
The young Geordie shot up in the tournament betting odds after that result and, although he will probably start as favourite today, it looks like this one could be a close contest.
The afternoon session concludes with Chris Dobey taking on Luke Humphries.
The two Englishmen haven’t been seen on the stage since before Christmas and that’s because both made it to this stage in the competition after their scheduled Round 4 opponents were forced to withdraw.
Dobey had been due to face Michael van Gerwen while Humphries was slated to take on Dave Chisnall but both were granted byes to this stage after MVG and Chizzy had to drop out having returned positive Covid-19 tests.
Opening up the evening session is James Wade, another player who received a bye to this round.
The Machine is a four times World Championship semi-finalist and is looking to go at least one better this year after his quarter of the draw opened up so favourably.
To reach the quarter-finals he will have to get past the Dutch Giant Martjin Kleermaker who knocked off Joe Cullen in Round 3.
Kleermaker took a 3-0 advantage over the Englishman but Cullen pulled the match back to 3-3 only for Kleermaker to claim the win in the deciding set for another tournament upset.
Two former world champions go head-to-head in the second match of the evening as Gary Anderson takes on Rob Cross.
Anderson was far from his best against Ian White yesterday and managed to sneak through that difficult tie by the skin of his teeth with a 4-3 win.
Cross also won his Round 3 match 4-3 but looked far more accomplished to beat Daryl Gurney.
After their previous performances it seems that Cross will be the more likely to come out as victor but if Anderson can up his game then the fans could be in for another fantastic exhibition between two of the best in the game.
Finally, the night ends as former champion Peter Wright faces tournament dark horse Ryan Searle.
Snakebite was off the boil in the early stages of his Round 3 match as he went 2-0 to Damon Heta only to storm back for a 4-2 victory with a much improved display.
As for Searle, he has been tipped by many to go far in the tournament this year and even mentioned as a potential winner but he wont find a tougher test of his credentials than Wright so it looks like it’s time for Heavy Metal to step up and prove he is the real deal.
Here is the full card for Thursday’s PDC World Darts Championship matches (Day 13):
Every match of the PDC World Darts Championship will be live to watch on Sky Sports.
Build up for the afternoon session begins on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Darts channels from 12:30pm (GMT).
Build up for the evening session begins on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Darts channels from 7pm (GMT).
The final of the 2022 PDC World Darts Championship is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 3.
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