Fifth-seed Daryl Gurney headlines day six at the World Darts Championship, with Darren Webster, Dimitri van den Bergh and Robert Thornton also featuring on a packed day of action.
Live World Darts Championship
December 18, 2018, 12:30pm
Live on 
Robert Thornton v Daniel Larsson (R1)
Two-time PDC major winner Robert Thornton kicks off Tuesday’s double session when he takes on Swedish qualifier Daniel Larsson.
Larsson, a four-time World Cup of Darts representative, sealed his Ally Pally debut after qualifying via the PDC Nordic and Baltic Order of Merit.
Thornton has fallen outside of the world’s top 32 after enduring a disappointing year, but he will be looking to set up a second-round showdown against 21st-seed Kim Huybrechts.
Ricky Evans v Rowby-John Rodriguez (R1)
Ricky Evans and Rowby-John Rodriguez collide in a battle of former World Youth finalists, for the right to play Cristo Reyes in the second round.
Evans, who reached the final of September’s Dutch Darts Championship, has enjoyed the best year of his PDC career, while Rowby-John sealed his spot after defeating his brother Rusty-Jake in the final of the South-East Europe qualifier.
The Austrian has never tasted victory in his previous three Ally Pally appearances, losing to Raymond van Barneveld in 2015 before suffering successive first-round defeats to Dave Chisnall in 2016 and 2017.
Krzysztof Ratajski v Seigo Asada (R1)
Krzysztof Ratajski and Seigo Asada meet in an eye-catching first-round tussle, with the winner set to face nine-time major winner James Wade in round two.
Ratajski has enjoyed a stunning year on the circuit, despite not holding a PDC Tour Card. ‘The Polish Eagle’ has won three Pro Tour titles and claimed the scalps of Van Barneveld, Gerwyn Price and Adrian Lewis in the recent Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals.
Asada will make his World Championship return after winning October’s Professional Darts Japan Qualifier in Tokyo. The World Cup of Darts star defeated Gordon Mathers in last year’s preliminary round before losing to eventual winner Rob Cross in round one.
Darren Webster v Vincent van der Voort (R2)
Darren Webster kicks off his World Championship campaign against Vincent van der Voort in an intriguing second-round tie in Tuesday afternoon’s finale.
‘The Demolition Man’ is up to a career high of 13th in the world and will be looking to replicate last year’s run to the quarter-finals.
Van der Voort reached the third round here 12 months ago with whitewash wins over Chisnall and Steve Beaton, and ‘The Dutch Destroyer’ kicked off his campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Lourence Ilagan on Monday night.
Live World Darts Championship
December 18, 2018, 7:00pm
Live on
Steve Lennon v James Bailey (R1)
Steve Lennon will be bidding to secure his first World Championship win when he meets Australian debutant James Bailey.
Lennon was beaten 3-2 by Michael Smith on his debut last year but the Irishman has enjoyed another strong year on the Pro Tour circuit; reaching the final of the Dutch Darts Masters in May and climbing to a career-high of 38th in the world.
Bailey will make his Ally Pally bow after winning the 2018 DPA Oceanic Masters in October, and the winner of this clash will play 25th-seed Alan Norris in round two.
Ron Meulenkamp v Diogo Portela (R1)
Ron Meulenkamp and Diogo Portela lock horns for the right to take on Premier League finalist Michael Smith on Wednesday night.
Meulenkamp has competed in four World Championships across both the BDO and PDC circuits, but the Dutchman has suffered consecutive first-round exits, losing to Mark Webster and Mensur Suljovic in his previous Ally Pally outings.
Portela made history by becoming the first Brazilian to compete at a PDC World Championship last year when he lost 3-1 to Peter Wright. However, he confirmed his return after winning September’s South & Central American Qualifier.
Dimitri van den Bergh v Chuck Puleo (R1)
World Youth champion Dimitri van den Bergh plays American debutant Chuck Puleo on Tuesday night, with a tie against 15th-seed Jonny Clayton the reward for the winner.
Van den Bergh retained his World Youth title with victory over Martin Schindler last month, having landed a nine-darter en route to reaching the Grand Slam of Darts quarter-finals just a week earlier.
‘The Dream-Maker’ was beaten by Rob Cross in last year’s quarter-finals, while Puleo confirmed his qualification after finishing the year as the top-ranked American player on the Championship Darts Corporation circuit, seeing off Darin Young to qualify.
Daryl Gurney v Ross Smith (R2)
Fifth-seed Daryl Gurney brings Tuesday’s action to a close when he plays Ross Smith for a place in round three.
‘Super Chin’ clinched his second major PDC title with an 11-9 win over Michael van Gerwen at last month’s Players Championship Finals and therefore heads to Ally Pally full of confidence.
Smith is making his first World Championship appearance since 2014, but he set up a showdown with the Northern Irishman after producing an impressive display to defeat the legendary Paul Lim 3-1 on Sunday evening.
You can follow every dart from every session of the World Darts Championships on Sky Sports Darts, check out the full schedule here. You can also stay up to date with all the action behind the scenes by following us @SkySportsDarts
Source: Read Full Article