World Darts Championship 2022/23 | Day Nine preview and order of play
The Second Round action draws to a close at the World Darts Championship on Friday as a host of top seeds aim to seal a return to Alexandra Palace following the Christmas break.
A further eight places remain up for grabs in the Third Round as the seeded stars bid to avoid an early exit in the £2.5 million showpiece.
Another festive feast of tungsten kicks off with a clash between Brendan Dolan and Jimmy Hendriks in the afternoon session.
Dolan has been an ever-present in the World Championship since 2009, with his best run to date coming in 2019 when he reached the Quarter-Finals.
The former World Grand Prix finalist has scooped a Players Championship title in each of the last two seasons but is aiming to end a run of four consecutive opening round exits in televised ranking tournaments this season.
Hendriks, who came through the West Europe qualifier, marked his Ally Pally debut with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over former European Tour winner Jamie Hughes but will be eyeing a considerable improvement on his match average of 78.
The stand-out tie of the afternoon sees 2018 World Champion Rob Cross take on emerging sensation Scott Williams.
Cross famously lifted the Sid Waddell Trophy at the first attempt with victory over departing legend Phil Taylor in the final and has gone on to win the World Matchplay and two European Championship titles.
The world number six warmed up for the main event of the year by finishing runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in last month’s Players Championship Finals, having also reached three European Tour finals this season and picked up a brace of Players Championship titles.
He faces a formidable opening test against in-form debutant Williams – who has proved to be one of the most notable 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 announced his arrival onto the sport’s greatest stage on Sunday by defeating Ryan Joyce 3-1 with a 100.3 average and ten 180s and will be determined to pick up from where he left off.
Chris Dobey, the number 22 seed, starts his campaign with a tie against Dutch ace Martijn Kleermaker.
Dobey returns for his seventh consecutive World Championship, boasting a consistent recent record which has seen him reach the Fourth Round in three of his last four appearances.
The Tyneside thrower followed up a Quarter-Final spot at the World Grand Prix by reaching the Semi-Finals of the European Championship later in October – his joint best performance in a TV major.
World number 44 Kleermaker enjoyed an impressive run to the Last 16 on debut here last year, defeating Simon Whitlock and Joe Cullen along the way, and began his latest campaign with a routine straight sets win over China’s Xicheng Han.
Reigning European Champion Ross Smith kicks off his World Championship quest with a clash against Lithuanian number one Darius Labanauskas.
Smith pulled off a fairy-tale triumph in October when he landed his first major silverware in Dortmund, catapulting him to a career-high ranking of 19th and a seeded spot at Ally Pally for the first time.
The Kent ace, who picked up a maiden ProTour title last season, reached the Third Round here 12 months ago, defeating Jeff Smith and Stephen Bunting before eventually falling to Dirk van Duijvenbode in a seven set epic.
He faces a tricky opener this time around against 2020 quarter-finalist Labanauskas – who notably landed a nine-darter in Round One at Ally Pally last year in defeat to Mike De Decker.
Lucky D atoned for that early exit by edging past John O’Shea in his opener this time around, producing an inspired comeback from two sets down to snatch victory.
The evening session features a show-down between 13th seed Joe Cullen and crowd favourite Ricky Evans.
Cullen comes into the World Championship on the back of his best season to date, which began in dream fashion when he claimed The Masters title in late January.
That triumph earned ‘The Rockstar’ a debut spot in the Premier League – where he finished fourth in the league table and went on to reach the final in Berlin, agonisingly missing one dart for the title in an 11-10 defeat to MVG.
Cullen bounced back by picking up the Hungarian Darts Trophy title in addition to two Players Championships, and is bidding to improve on a below-par record at Ally Pally which has seen him fail to progress beyond the Fourth Round in 12 consecutive appearances.
Evans, a two-time European Tour finalist, held his nerve to dispatch Women’s World Matchplay champion Fallon Sherrock 3-1 in the opening round and has twice reach the Third Round on this stage, suffering 4-0 whitewashes to Van Gerwen in 2020 and 2021.
Former Premier League champion Jonny Clayton aims to hit the ground running when he comes up against Dutch debutant Danny van Trijp.
Clayton, the world number seven, racked up four televised titles in a landmark 2021, but has been thwarted at the Semi-Final hurdle in four TV tournaments this term, including last month’s Players Championship Finals.
The tenacious Welshman finished top of this year’s Premier League table before bowing out in the play-offs, but did claim glory at the New South Wales Masters in August – his sole title in 2022.
Clayton’s best run in the sport’s blue riband event came last year when he made the Fourth Round, and he will be determined to break new ground upon his return to the capital.
Van Trijp, who qualified via the Challenge Tour Order of Merit, marked his debut with a comprehensive straight sets victory over former Lakeside Champion Steve Beaton and is now aiming to pull off an even bigger upset.
World number nine Danny Noppert looks to maintain his magnificent run of form this season when he starts out against Canada’s David Cameron.
Noppert joined the roster of first-time major champions when he claimed glory at the UK Open in March and came close to following that up at the World Matchplay – losing out in the Semi-Finals.
Twice a runner-up on the Euro Tour this season, ‘The Freeze’ also picked up a Players Championship title and was a quarter-finalist in both the European Championship and Players Championship Finals – underlining his consistency on both floor and stage.
Cameron became the sole Canadian to reach the Second Round of this year’s World Championship after he produced a terrific fightback from two sets down to defeat Ritchie Edhouse in a decider, and the 53-year-old has enjoyed a fine year which notably saw him claim the World Seniors Masters title at Lakeside with victory over Phil Taylor in the final.
The opening match of the night sees German number two Martin Schindler take on dangerous debutant Martin Lukeman.
Schindler notably reached the final of a ProTour event in March as well as three Euro Tour Quarter-Finals and returns to Ally Pally as a seed for the first time as he seeks his first win at the fourth time of asking.
A breakthrough year for Lukeman has seen him reach the final of the German Darts Grand Prix and the Quarter-Finals of the World Grand Prix and he will be out to continue his fearless form and extend Schindler’s drought on this stage.
The action commences from 12.30pm GMT, with Second Round matches to be contested over the best five sets, best of five legs per set.
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World Darts Championship 2022/23 Day Nine Schedule
Friday December 23
Second Round
Afternoon Session (12.30pm-4.30pm)
Brendan Dolan v Jimmy Hendriks
Chris Dobey v Martijn Kleermaker
Ross Smith v Darius Labanauskas
Rob Cross v Scott Williams
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Martin Schindler v Martin Lukeman
Danny Noppert v David Cameron
Jonny Clayton v Danny van Trijp
Joe Cullen v Ricky Evans
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