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Luke Littler sets record set average in victory over Ryan Meikle on World Championship return

Live Darts on Saturday | World Darts Championship 2024/25 Day Seven Preview and Order of Play

Jamie Shaw in World Darts Championship 21 Dec 2024

Luke Littler reacts (Photo by PDC)

Global sensation Luke Littler makes his return to the Ally Pally stage on Day Seven of the World Darts Championship on Saturday.

The First Round action draws to a close in the sport’s blue riband event, with the remaining two ties followed by a further six Second Round contests.

Four seeds have departed at the first hurdle so far, and a host of box office names will be out to avoid joining that unwanted list before the Christmas break.

Last year’s runner-up Littler headlines the evening’s action as he looks to light up the palace once again and go one step further by lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy.

The 17-year-old wonderkid has enjoyed a remarkable debut year on the PDC circuit, scooping the Premier League and Grand Slam titles, as well as two European Tours, three Players Championships and two World Series triumphs.

He returns to the capital as the number four seed and provisional world number two and has been installed as the bookmaker’s favourite to claim a crowning glory on January 3.

A virtual unknown 12 months ago, Littler has shot to fame on a global scale courtesy of his landmark run to the final on debut as a non-seed and starts his second campaign against Suffolk’s Ryan Meikle.

Aiming to tear up the script and pull off a major upset is world number 62 Meikle – who battled past Fallon Sherrock in a deciding set earlier in the week.

Meikle has reached the Second Round in all three of his visits to Ally Pally, losing out to Peter Wright in 2022 and Raymond van Barneveld in 2023, and enjoyed a superb win over Gary Anderson in the recent Players Championship Finals.

The evening session also sees five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld get his 32nd World Championship campaign under way with a tie against Nick Kenny.

Van Barneveld is the number 32 seed in the draw, putting him on a collision course with defending champion Luke Humphries after Christmas, and the Dutch icon has not lost in the opening round at Ally Pally since his shock defeat to Darin Young in 2019.

Barney has picked up a Players Championship title this season, but his results in televised majors raise cause for concern, with First Round exits in the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship.

The 57-year-old, who was beaten by Littler in the Last 16 here 12 months ago, faces a tricky opener against Welsh hopeful Kenny.

Kenny marked his first World Championship appearance in three years with a commanding straight sets win over Stowe Buntz and is facing a battle to save his Tour Card, with a win over Barney required in order to preserve his professional status.

Ninth seed Damon Heta looks to navigate his way through a tough encounter with in-form Connor Scutt.

Heta reached his first major ranking semi-final at the UK Open in March and has claimed two Players Championship titles this season, but has lost in the opening round of the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship.

The flamboyant Aussie returns for a sixth World Championship appearance, with last year’s run to the Last 16 marking his best showing to date.

Challenge Tour star Scutt produced one of the stand-out performances of the opening round as he brushed aside New Zealand’s Ben Robb in straight sets with a 102 average, continuing the form which led him to the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals last month.

The afternoon session sees Chris Dobey begin his bid for redemption at Ally Pally with a tie against Dutch debutant Alexander Merkx.

Dobey has reached back-to-back quarter-finals in the sport’s showpiece event but has lost in contrasting fashion, having been whitewashed 5-0 by Michael van Gerwen two years ago, before remarkably squandering a 4-0 lead against Rob Cross on New Year’s Day in 2024.

The former Masters champion has claimed three Players Championship titles this season, while also reaching a further two finals, but his TV form has proved disappointing, with First Round exits in each of his last three ranked majors.

Merkx, meanwhile, punished a below-par display from Stephen Burton on Friday to coast to a straight sets victory, having finished fourth on this year’s Challenge Tour Order of Merit.

Danny Noppert, the number 13 seed, opens up against multiple major semi-finalist Ryan Joyce.

Former UK Open champion and 2017 Lakeside finalist Noppert is bidding to improve on an underwhelming record at Ally Pally, having failed to surpass the Third Round stage in six previous PDC World Championship appearance.

Joyce reached the quarter-finals on his Ally Pally debut in 2018/19 but has not made it beyond the Second Round since, though returns having enjoyed superb runs to the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix and quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals.

Brendan Dolan looks to recapture the form which led him to last year’s quarter-finals when he starts out against Hong Kong’s Lok Yin Lee.

Dolan, winner of a Players Championship event this season, defeated Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price en route to the Last Eight 12 months ago and has been an ever-present in this tournament since 2009.

Yin Lee pulled off a shock 3-1 win over former WDF world finalist Chris Landman in Round One and will be out to cause an even bigger upset on his return.

The penultimate First Round tie sees Czech star Karel Sedlacek face Welsh debutant Rhys Griffin for the right to face Josh Rock.

Sedlacek, 45, returns for his fourth World Championship appearance, having reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship event this season.

Griffin came through the Tour Card holder qualifier three weeks ago to seal a dream debut in this event, having also qualified for the World Series Finals earlier in the year.

Former Lakeside semi-finalist Richard Veenstra comes up against Filipino newcomer Alexis Toylo, with Krzysztof Ratajski awaiting the winner in Round Two.

Veenstra reached the Third Round on debut 12 months ago before being whitewashed by Van Gerwen, and the rapid Dutchman has reached a ProTour quarter-final in 2024, while also appearing in six European Tour events.

Toylo took the Asian Tour by storm this year, winning five of the opening 11 events to top the Asian Tour Order of Merit and clinch a ticket to Ally Pally.

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.

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World Darts Championship 2024/25 Day Seven Schedule

Saturday December 21

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Karel Sedlacek v Rhys Griffin (R1)
Richard Veenstra v Alexis Toylo (R1)
Brendan Dolan v Lok Yin Lee (R2)
Chris Dobey v Alexander Merkx (R2)

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Danny Noppert v Ryan Joyce (R2)
Raymond van Barneveld v Nick Kenny (R2)
Luke Littler v Ryan Meikle (R2)
Damon Heta v Connor Scutt (R2)

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