World Darts Championship 2022/23 | Day Four preview and order of play
A host of international stars commence their 2022/23 World Darts Championship campaigns at Alexandra Palace on Sunday.
Another action-packed double session features six First Round ties and two Second Round encounters as the seeds and ProTour qualifiers bid to avert an early exit.
An earlier start of 11am for the opening session kicks off with a tie between Latvian ace Madars Razma and Indian Qualifier Prakash Jiwa.
Razma finds himself on the verge of a place in the world’s top 32 for the first time, having notably reached his first PDC major Quarter-Final at October’s World Grand Prix.
Jiwa has made two previous UK Open appearances but is through to a televised event for the first time in almost a decade after defeating Nitin Kumar in the final of October’s Indian qualifying event in Surat.
Raymond Smith aims to replicate his landmark run from 12 months ago when he returns to the palace to face Karel Sedlacek.
Australia’s Smith enjoyed a superb debut campaign last time out, defeating Jamie Hughes, Devon Petersen and Florian Hempel to reach the Last 16 – where he was eventually denied in a seventh set decider by Mervyn King.
He sealed an immediate return to the sport’s show-piece event by winning the DPA Satellite Tour play-off, while Sedlacek was a regular on the Euro Tour this season and clinched his place in a third PDC World Championship via the ProTour Order of Merit.
Luke Woodhouse aims to crush the hopes of history-making Ukrainian qualifier Vladyslav Omelchenko.
World number 50 Woodhouse heads into his fourth consecutive World Championship as the heaviest odds-on favourite of the opening round (1/20).
Woodhouse, who averaged 110 in a European Tour event in May, has returned to form at the backend of the season, qualifying for the recent Grand Slam, and is well fancied to utilise his big stage experience to see off Omelchenko and reach Round Two for the third time in four attempts.
The 34-year-old has been drawn to face rank outsider Vladyslav Omelchenko – a player making history as the first Ukrainian ever to compete in the PDC World Championship.
Omelchenko won the Ukrainian qualifying event to become the first player from his homeland to compete in this prestigious event, and is vying to pull off a seismic shock on his TV debut.
The box office battle of the afternoon sees no.20 seed Damon Heta take on two-time World Champion Adrian Lewis.
Heta is embarking on his fourth consecutive World Championship campaign, having reached the Third Round 12 months ago before going down to eventual champion Peter Wright.
The Aussie ace partnered Simon Whitlock to World Cup of Darts glory this summer and has also picked up two Players Championship titles, provisionally climbing into the world’s top 16.
Only four players have made more PDC World Championship appearances (18) than Lewis – who famously claimed back-to-back world titles in 2011 and 2012.
The former UK Open and European Champion has also landed two nine-darters at Ally Pally and has shown glimpses of his vintage best this season, ending a three-year title drought on the ProTour in July, and made a solid start on Friday by dispatching Daniel Larsson in straight sets with a 93.5 average.
The evening session commences with a battle between Belgium’s Mike De Decker and Canada’s Jeff Smith.
De Decker, a four-time Development Tour event winner, registered his first World Championship win 12 months ago and has reached the Semi-Finals of a Players Championship event this term.
Smith, a former Lakeside finalist, dug deep to come through the last-chance Tour Card holder qualifier for a fifth appearance at Ally Pally which also preserves his hopes of remaining on the tour for next season.
Tenth seed Nathan Aspinall launches his latest quest for a maiden world title with a encounter against Croatia’s Boris Krcmar.
Aspinall has put his recent injury woes behind him in a remarkable resurgence this year, finishing runner-up in both the World Grand Prix and Grand Slam, while also scooping two Players Championship titles.
The Stockport star was a back-to-back semi-finalist here in 2019 and 2020 and is yet to lose his opening match in four previous appearances.
An average of 78 was sufficient for Krcmar to overcome Japan’s Toru Suuzki in straight sets on Friday, but the former soft tip sensation knows he will likely require a vast improvement if he is to threaten an upset and extend his landmark run.
Scott Williams has proved one of the stand-out success stories of the season, qualifying for his debut World Championship appearance via the ProTour Order of Merit despite not possessing a Tour Card.
Winner of four Challenge Tour events, ‘Shaggy’ joined an elite group of only three players to have won a Players Championship event as a non-Tour Card holder when he triumphed in Niedernhausen this summer.
He heads to Ally Pally having reached the Third Round of the recent Players Championship Finals and having featured in the Grand Slam – notably averaging 107.5 and hitting six 180s in victory over Ryan Searle.
Williams starts out against the rock-steady Ryan Joyce – who bounced back from narrowly missing out on the final ProTour qualification spot by coming through the Tour Card holder qualifier to seal a fifth consecutive appearance at Ally Pally.
Canada and the United States go head-to-head as Matt Campbell faces Danny Baggish in another tasty First Round tie.
Campbell is eyeing a first win at the World Championship in what is his fourth straight appearance, with his seasonal highlight so far a run to the final of a Players Championship event in April.
Former North American champion Baggish, who requires a deep run in the competition in order to preserve his Tour Card, qualified via the CDC Tour and is out to replicate his landmark run to the Last 32 two years ago, during which he defeated Adrian Lewis.
The action commences from 11am GMT, with First Round and Second Round matches to be contested over the best five sets, best of five legs per set.
The tie break rule does not apply to First Round matches, meaning the fifth leg of a deciding set would be sudden death, while the final set in matches from Round Two onwards must be won by two clear legs, unless the score reaches 5-5, in which case a sudden-death leg will be played.
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World Darts Championship 2022/23 Day Four Schedule
Sunday December 18
Afternoon Session (11am-3pm)
Madars Razma v Prakash Jiwa (R1)
Karel Sedlacek v Raymond Smith (R1)
Luke Woodhouse v Vladyslav Omelchenko (R1)
Damon Heta v Adrian Lewis (R2)
Evening Session (8pm-12am)
Mike De Decker v Jeff Smith (R1)
Scott Williams v Ryan Joyce (R1)
Matt Campbell v Danny Baggish (R1)
Nathan Aspinall v Boris Krcmar (R2)
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