World Darts Championship 2023/24 | Day Nine Preview and Order of Play

The Second Round draws to a close at the 2023/24 World Darts Championship on Saturday as the pre-Christmas action culminates.

A further eight seeded players will be looking to avert an early exit at Alexandra Palace, with seven seeds having already crashed out of the £2.5 million showpiece.

The afternoon session sees world number nine Jonny Clayton commence his campaign with a tie against Ireland’s Steve Lennon.

Clayton claimed World Cup of Darts and Austrian Open glory for the second time this year and was runner-up in the World Matchplay, while also reaching the Premier League play-offs for the third season in a row.

Clayton suffered personal tragedy earlier in the year when his father passed away, and he has lost in the opening round in three of his last four televised ranking majors.

Quarter-finalist here 12 months ago, ‘The Ferret’ faces a tricky opener against former World Cup of Darts finalist Lennon – who pulled off a crucial 3-2 win over Owen Bates in Round One to bolster his hopes of retaining a tour card, leaving him 64th in the live Order of Merit.

Two-time major winner Daryl Gurney kicks off with a clash against former Lakeside Champion Steve Beaton.

Gurney has twice reached the World Championship Quarter-Finals, most recently behind closed doors in 2020/21, and was also a quarter-finalist in this year’s World Matchplay.

Beaton, appearing in his 23rd consecutive PDC World Championship, utilised his vast experience to defeat 21-year-old Wessel Nijman in Round One and stunned the darting world in his post-match press conference by announcing his intention to retire at the end of next season, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years.

Callan Rydz, the 30th seed, faces a formidable opener against German Championship winner Ricardo Pietreczko.

Rydz enjoyed his best run in a major tournament when he made the Quarter-Finals here two years ago, losing out to Peter Wright in a nine-set epic, and he is under pressure to defend that prize money as he bids to retain his place in the world’s top 32.

Rydz, who has picked up his third Players Championship title this year, is out to avoid a fourth Second Round exit in what will be his fifth World Championship appearance.

Pietreczko, meanwhile, continues to ride the crest of a wave in a breakthrough year which has seen him claim Euro Tour glory and storm to the brink of the world’s top 32.

He marked his Ally Pally debut with a commanding straight sets win over two-time Women’s World Champion Mikuru Suzuki and will be eyeing a Last 32 showdown with Luke Humphries after Christmas.

The day’s opening fixture sees Kim Huybrechts and Richard Veenstra collide for the right to take on three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in Round Three.

Huybrechts has been an ever-present in this tournament since 2011/12 – when he reached the Quarter-Finals – and the Belgian ended an eight-year PDC ranking title drought by winning a Players Championship event back in February.

Huybrechts has not lost his opening match at the World Championship since 2017 but is tasked with a tough first test against two-time Lakeside semi-finalist Veenstra – who marked his Ally Pally debut with a dominant 3-0 defeat of New Zealand’s Ben Robb.

The evening session includes a showdown between World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall and rapid Ricky Evans.

Aspinall ended a four-year wait for a second major title when he triumphed at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool this summer, the highlight of a fine year which has seen him reach a further two televised finals, as well as the final of a European Tour event.

The Asp reached back-to-back Semi-Finals in his first two World Championship outings in 2019 and 2020 but has subsequently suffered three consecutive Third Round exits, the most recent of which coming against Josh Rock last year despite winning more legs than his opponent.

Evans began by seeing off South Africa’s Simon Adams in straight sets with a 92 average and is looking to reach Round Three for the third time, with both of his previous appearances at that stage ending in 4-0 whitewashes at the hands of Michael van Gerwen.

Northern Ireland number on Josh Rock launches only his second World Championship campaign with a clash against Dutch debutant Berry van Peer.

Rock reached the Last 16 on his debut 12 months ago, narrowly going down 4-3 to Jonny Clayton, and has enjoyed a welcome return to form in recent months after a below-par season by his standards.

He reached the Quarter-Finals of last month’s Grand Slam and was runner-up in the Austrian Open, while also making a further two Euro Tour Semi-Finals.

Van Peer will be out to avenge his 5-1 defeat to Rock in the group stage of the Grand Slam, having dumped out Luke Woodhouse in a deciding set in Round One to mark a dream debut on the back of a terrific Challenge Tour campaign which has seen him claim four titles this year.

Former BDO World Champion Stephen Bunting looks to continue his blistering run of form when he comes up against a resurgent Ryan Joyce.

A decade on from his career-defining triumph at Lakeside, Bunting is bidding to claim the sport’s ultimate prize on the back of a terrific season.

The Bullet finished runner-up in the German Open and reached the Semi-Finals of last month’s Grand Slam, as well as the Quarter-Finals of the Players Championship Finals the following week.

Semi-finalist here three years ago, Bunting starts out against a player in equally inspired form, with Joyce having registered the only ton-plus average (100.3) of the First Round in a 3-1 win over American’s Alex Spellman.

The two-time ProTour event winner reached the Quarter-Finals on his PDC World Championship debut in 2018/19 and will look to pick up from where he left off earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, world number 19 Ryan Searle takes on Japanese debutant Tomoya Goto for the right to face Joe Cullen after Christmas.

Searle secured his fourth Players Championship title this season as well as reaching the Quarter-Finals of the World Matchplay, and is looking to reach the Third Round at Ally Pally for the sixth time in as many appearances.

Goto is the last remaining Asian qualifier in the competition, with the World Cup star having pulled off a 3-1 scalp of former top 16 star Ian White in Round One with a 90.7 average.

The action gets under way from 12.30pm GMT, with Second Round matches to be contested over the best five sets.

Matches must be won by two clear legs, unless the score reaches 5-5 in the deciding set, in which case a sudden-death leg will be played.

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World Darts Championship 2023/24 Day Nine Schedule of Play

Saturday December 23

Second Round

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Kim Huybrechts v Richard Veenstra
Callan Rydz v Ricardo Pietreczko
Jonny Clayton v Steve Lennon
Daryl Gurney v Steve Beaton

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Ryan Searle v Tomoya Goto
Josh Rock v Berry van Peer
Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce
Nathan Aspinall v Ricky Evans