Live Darts on Wednesday: World Darts Championship Day Six Preview and Order of Play

Peter Wright begins his bid for a third World Championship title on Wednesday, while teenage sensation Luke Littler makes his eagerly-anticipated debut.

Day Six of the sport’s showpiece sees a host of big names kicking off their campaign at Alexandra Palace, including two former World Champions and the current World Youth champion.

The evening session includes a stand-out tie between two-time World Champion Wright and former BDO world finalist Jim Williams.

Wright is bidding to become the first Scotsman to secure three world darts titles, having triumphed here in 2020 and 2022, and is crucially defending £500,000 on his world ranking following that most recent success.

Seeded number four, ‘Snakebite’ secured his eighth major title at the European Championship in October – the highlight of an otherwise indifferent season by his standards.

Wright, who suffered early exits in both the World Matchplay and Grand Slam, has lost in Round Three at Ally Pally either side of lifting the Sid Waddell trophy, as well as Second Round exits in 2018 and 2019.

He is tasked with a tricky opener against Welsh ace Williams – a former Players Championship event winner who reached the Third Round here last year before losing out to Gabriel Clemens 4-3 after missing a match dart.

Williams is the only player not to have dropped a leg in their opening match at this year’s World Championship so far, having whitewashed Guyanan qualifier Norman Madhoo.

The evening session also sees 16-year-old sensation Littler mark his PDC World Championship debut with a tie against 2012 Lakeside champion Christian Kist.

Littler has affirmed his position as the sport’s hottest young prospect, racking up five Development Tour titles this year and going on to defeat Gian van Veen to in the final in Minehead to become the youngest ever PDC World Youth champion less than a month ago.

Littler has also shined in the Modus Super Series, scooping more than £50,000 in prize money, and is no stranger to the iconic Ally Pally stage after claiming back-to-back Junior Darts Corporation world titles.

He will look to continue his blistering spell of form against Dutch star Kist – who has enjoyed a superb resurgence this year – reaching the final of a Players Championship event in September.

The Dutchman, however, continues to battle an ongoing shoulder injury and averaged just 68 in a First Round defeat to Ricardo Pietreczko in last month’s Players Championship Finals.

The Second Round tie in the afternoon session sees former European Champion Ross Smith take on Dutch left-hander Niels Zonneveld.

Smith has picked up two Players Championship titles this year and returns to Ally Pally as the number 16 seed, bidding to surpass the Third Round stage for the first time.

The power-scoring Kent star has been on the receiving end of back-to-back 4-3 defeats to Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Last 32 on this stage and will be determined to break new ground.

Zonneveld secured the penultimate ProTour qualification spot to make his third World Championship appearance, and recently made the Last 16 of the Players Championship Finals with wins over Daryl Gurney and Jonny Clayton.

He started out by defeating Darren Webster in Round One earlier this week but will be eyeing a marked improvement on his match average of 79.

Richard Veenstra marks his PDC World Championship debut with a tricky tie against New Zealand’s Ben Robb.

Twice a BDO World Championship semi-finalist, Veenstra secured his PDC Tour Card at Q School in January and notably defeated reigning World Champion Michael Smith in the First Round of the recent Players Championship Finals.

Robb returns for his third World Championship appearance following a prolific season on the DPNZ circuit which has seen him win six of the 12 events held this year.

Ryan Joyce, winner of a Players Championship title in October, opens up with a tie against American prospect Alex Spellman.

Joyce reached the Quarter-Finals here in 2018 and recently enjoyed a landmark run to his first major televised Semi-Final at the Players Championship Finals in Minehead, defeating the likes of Joe Cullen and Damon Heta along the way.

Spellman secured his spot in a maiden World Championship courtesy of his three CDC titles this year and was a semi-finalist in the North American Championship back in June, as well as appearing in the US Masters.

The afternoon session kicks off with a tie between Polish star Radek Szaganski and Finland’s Marko Kantele.

Szaganski proved to be perhaps the most surprising winner of a Players Championship event this season, defeating Connor Scutt in the final of Event 27 in October to claim his first PDC ranking crown.

The Ireland-based thrower will make his Ally Pally debut and is battling to save his Tour Card, with a win here moving him to within touching distance of a place in the world’s top 64.

Kantele won four of the opening seven Nordic & Baltic events of 2023 and has featured in four European Tour events this year, but he has ominously suffered First Round exits in each of his four previous PDC World Championship appearances.

Former World Cup of Darts finalist Steve Lennon starts out against debutant Owen Bates.

Lennon is provisionally ranked 66 heading into the contest, meaning he requires a win in order to have any chance of saving his Tour Card, with the 30-year-old having reached Round Three here last year for the first time.

Bates, meanwhile, secured his qualification in dramatic fashion via the Challenge Tour Order of Merit and has claimed his first title this year as well as reaching a further four finals to secure a two-year Tour Card.

Two-time European Tour event finalist William O’Connor opens up with a tie against Indian qualifier Bhav Patel.

O’Connor, who reached the Semi-Finals of last year’s UK Open, is making his seventh straight appearance in the World Championship and has not lost in the opening round since his debut in 2017.

Patel reached the final of October’s Indian qualifier and makes his debut at Ally Pally following the recent suspension of Prakash Jiwa by the DRA.

The action gets under way from 12.30pm 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.

World Darts Championship 2023/24 Day Six Schedule

Wednesday December 20

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Radek Szaganski v Marko Kantele (R1)
Steve Lennon v Owen Bates (R1)
William O’Connor v Bhav Patel (R1)
Ross Smith v Niels Zonneveld (R2)

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Ryan Joyce v Alex Spellman (R1)
Richard Veenstra v Ben Robb (R1)
Christian Kist v Luke Littler (R1)
Peter Wright v Jim Williams (R2)