World Darts Championship 2023/24 | Day 11 Preview and Order of Play
The Third Round action continues at the World Darts Championship on Thursday with a host of major champions back on the Ally Pally stage.
The seeded stars collide following the Christmas break as they bid to remain in the running for the £500,000 top prize in the capital.
Man of the moment and pre-tournament favourite Luke Humphries resumes his quest for a maiden world title with a tie against rising star Ricardo Pietreczko.
Humphries came in to the tournament on the back of a remarkable spell of dominance, having won three of the last four televised majors in a period of less than two months.
The world number three, who has reached three previous World Championship Quarter-Finals, opened his account at the World Grand Prix in October before going on to add the Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals titles.
Five times a European Tour event winner, ‘Cool Hand’ Luke got off and running with a routine straight sets win over Lee Evans on Day Three but is now tasked with a tough test against one of this season’s surprise packages.
Pietreczko continues to ride the crest of a wave in a breakthrough year which has seen him claim German Championship 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, before edging out 30th seed Callan Rydz in a fifth set decider on December 23.
The evening session also sees 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price step up his pursuit of further glory with a clash against 28th seed Brendan Dolan.
Price is vying to become the first multiple Welsh World Champion and end a two-year wait for a major televised ranking title.
The world number five, who averaged 98 in a 3-0 win over Connor Scutt, has finished runner-up in the Premier League and World Grand Prix this year, while also claiming a second World Cup of Darts title alongside Jonny Clayton.
He will be determined to atone for last year’s crushing 5-1 defeat to Gabriel Clemens in the Quarter-Finals – in which he attempted to cancel out the barrage of abuse from the crowd by wearing ear defenders midway through the match.
Dolan, quarter-finalist here in 2018/19, has been an ever-present in the World Championship for 15 years and has competed in every televised major this year, notably knocking Michael van Gerwen out of the World Matchplay.
The veteran Northern Irishman came through a classic contest to deny compatriot Mickey Mansell in a sudden death leg, and will be out to avenge his agonising 4-3 defeat to Price in sudden death here three years ago.
Ricky Evans aims to replicate his pre-Christmas heroics when he takes on two-time major winner Daryl Gurney.
Evans dumped out World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall with a dominant straight sets triumph, continuing his flawless start to the event after also thrashing South Africa’s Simon Adams 3-0.
The two-time Euro Tour finalist is aiming to reach the Last 16 at Ally Pally for the first time, with his two previous Third Round appearances having resulted in 4-0 whitewashes at the hands of Michael van Gerwen.
Gurney, quarter-finalist here in 2017 and 2021, was one of only six players to register a ton-plus average in the opening two rounds as he denied 1996 Lakeside Champion Steve Beaton 3-1 with an average of 100.8.
The Northern Irishman notably defeated Evans 8-6 in the final of the 2019 German Darts Championship and will be out to pick up from where he left off before Christmas.
The afternoon session kicks off with a showdown between former Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting and German star Florian Hempel.
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 began his pre-Christmas campaign with a sensational 3-0 win over Ryan Joyce – registering the highest average of the tournament so far (107.28) in the process.
Hempel, meanwhile, finds himself at this stage of the competition for the second time in three years, after following up a 3-1 win over Dylan Slevin with a remarkable comeback success over Dimitri van den Bergh from two sets down with the aid of back-to-back 10-darters.
Former European Champion Ross Smith takes on reigning Masters champion Chris Dobey in what promises to be a masterclass of power scoring.
Dobey is making his eighth consecutive World Championship appearance, having reached the Quarter-Finals last year for the first time, and the Bedlington ace has enjoyed a memorable 2023.
He landed his maiden TV title at The Masters back in January, securing a debut spot in the Premier League, as well as reaching the Quarter-Finals of the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and European Championship.
Dobey averaged 103 in a thrilling five-set win over William O’Connor in Round Two with ten 180s along the way.
Smith has picked up two Players Championship titles this year and is seeded number 16, bidding to surpass the Third Round stage for the first time after defeating Niels Zonneveld 3-1 in his opener.
Former Masters champion and Premier League finalist Joe Cullen comes up against four-time ProTour event winner Ryan Searle.
Cullen has been an ever-present in the World Championship since 2011, but has never been beyond the Last 16 stage, falling twice at that hurdle in his last three appearances.
The former Masters champion and Premier League finalist picked up three ranking titles last year but has not registered a tournament win this season, with his best performances coming in the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix – where he reached the Semi-Finals.
Searle is through to the Third Round for the sixth time in as many appearances at Ally Pally, having overcome Japan’s Tomoya Goto 3-1 in his opener, and he remains firmly on the coattails of the world’s top 16.
The action gets under way from 12.30pm GMT, with Third Round matches to be contested over the best seven 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 11 Schedule of Play
Thursday December 28
Third Round
Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Florian Hempel v Stephen Bunting
Joe Cullen v Ryan Searle
Ross Smith v Chris Dobey
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Gerwyn Price v Brendan Dolan
Luke Humphries v Ricardo Pietreczko
Ricky Evans v Daryl Gurney
