The main event
Former world champion Michael Smith will be hoping to avoid a potential banana skin when he takes on Kevin Doets on Thursday at the World Darts Championship.
The 34-year-old faces the Dutchman in the second round in a repeat of their first-round clash last year, in which Smith had to come back from 2-1 down to win 3-2.
Deutz looked sharp when watching Noah-Lynn van Leeuwen in his first game, but remains an outsider to the 2023 winner.
Bully Boy is firmly part of Ally Pally folklore after his epic nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen on his way to victory in January 2023, but he goes into the finals needing a strong championship to remain in the Order’s top 10 of Merit of the PDC.
BEST LEG EVER! 🤯🔥
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN MISSES D12 FOR A NINE DARTER, THEN SMITH HITS A PERFECT LEG HIMSELF!
ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS YOU WILL EVER SEE IN SPORTS. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
“I really don’t (think about it), because the only thing that worries me now is the questions about it. But that doesn’t bother me because I’m not going to get out of the top 16,” Smith told Sky Sports.
“I might fall out of the top 10 if I don’t pull my finger out, but it means next year then, because it’s basically taken me a year now, I’ve got nothing to defend.
“So I’ve probably got around £120,000 to defend next year, so I’ll be back to work anyway. So next year, no hassles, no pressure, I just want to play darts. On the other hand, my management team might worry about it, my family might worry about it, I just want to play.
“As long as I don’t fall to 64, because then I will retire. If I’m 64, I’m not going to do Q School, because I know I wasn’t good enough, so I’m literally going to start something else.”
Mensur Suljovic returns to Ally Pally after a year at home last year as he takes on Canadian Matt Campbell.
Campbell enjoyed an impressive Ally Pally 12 months ago as he dismissed Lawrence Illaghan and James Wade before crossing paths with teenager Luke Littler.
Elsewhere, Romeo Grbavac takes on Callan Rydz and Robert Owens takes on Gabriel Clemens in eight bouts during the day.
Game series
Afternoon session (from 12:30pm UK time)
- Chris Ludman vs Lok Yin Lee (R1)
- Callan Rydz v Romeo Grbavac (R1)
- Martin Lukeman v Nitin Kumar (R1)
- Gabriel Clemens vs. Robert Owen (R2)
Afternoon session (from 7pm UK time)
- Nick Kenny v Stowe Buntz (R1)
- Mensur Suljovic v Matt Campbell (R1)
- Scott Williams v Niko Springer (R1)
- Michael Smith vs. Kevin Doetz (R2)
How to watch
The PDC World Championship is shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
You can catch the afternoon session on Sky Sports Darts and Sky Sports Main Event at 12.30pm, with the evening session starting at 7pm.
Predictions
Don’t expect any problems for Smith in the headline slot, with Campbell also enjoying another win against Suljovic.
We’re also backing wins for Grbavac and Owens, as well as Scott Williams, Nick Kenny and Martin Lukeman.
