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

The World Darts Championship resumes on Wednesday with six scintillating ties to kick off the Third Round action at Alexandra Palace.

Ninety-six have become 32 after the opening nine days of competition, now sport’s flagship event reaches its business end as the big names begin to collide.

All eyes will once again be on 16-year-old Luke Littler as he bids to continue his history-making debut run by overcoming Canadian number one – Matt Campbell.

Littler hit the headlines across the globe following two sensational wins over TV major winners, setting a host of records in the process.

The reigning World Youth Champion blitzed past 2012 Lakeside Champion Christian Kist in straight sets with a 106.12 average – the highest of any debutant in the World Championship, becoming the youngest player to win a match at the PDC World Championship.

He then backed that up with a 3-1 victory over reigning UK Open champion Andrew Gilding, averaging 14 points fewer, but displaying composure beyond his years to fend off a late rally from the world number 20.

Littler now comes up against World Cup of Darts star Campbell – a player also entering uncharted territory having previously failed to win a match in four visits to Ally Pally.

Campbell broke his duck by edging out Lourence Ilagan in a five-set thriller in Round One, before repeating the feat to dump out ten-time major winner James Wade with a 96.3 average.

Meanwhile, Michael Smith resumes the defence of his world title with a tie against Latvian ace Madars Razma.

Smith has had to wait 12 days for his return to the palace, after coming through an opening night epic against Kevin Doets in five sets with a 100 average.

The world number one, who has reached the final in three of his last five World Championship campaigns, will be keen to pick up from where he left off in an eye-catching opening salvo.

Razma, seeded in the tournament for the first time, overcame Mike De Decker 3-1 in Round Two and is now eyeing a seismic upset for what would undoubtedly be the biggest win of his career to date.

The evening session also sees Michael van Gerwen continues his challenge for a fourth world title with an all-Dutch clash against debutant Richard Veenstra.

The Dutch sensation claimed glory here in 2014, 2017 and 2019, joining only Phil Taylor in landing three or more PDC world titles in the 30-year history of the competition.

Van Gerwen boasts a prolific record at Ally Pally, reaching the final in four of his last seven appearances, including in last year’s event when he was denied by nine-darter Michael Smith in a pulsating contest.

The world number two brushed aside Irish youngster Keane Barry in straight sets with a 98.2 average eight days ago and now faces his compatriot Veenstra in a televised event for the first time.

Veenstra, twice a Lakeside semi-finalist, secured a PDC tour card at Qualifying School in January and has enjoyed a flawless Ally Pally debut so far, surging past New Zealand’s Ben Robb and 31st seed Kim Huybrechts without dropping a set.

The afternoon session features a showdown between former World Championship semi-finalists Dave Chisnall and Gabriel Clemens.

Chisnall’s best run came behind closed doors in 2021, sensationally whitewashing Michael van Gerwen 5-0 with a 107 average in the Quarter-Finals before losing out 6-3 to Gary Anderson.

Since then, Chizzy has suffered back-to-back Third Round exits at Ally Pally, but the bulk of his success has come on the European Tour, with three titles this season in addition to two Players Championship triumphs.

Clemens enjoyed a ground-breaking run 12 months ago, thrashing Gerwyn Price 5-1 in the Quarter-Finals before bowing out at the hands of eventual champion Michael Smith.

The German number one, who defeated Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung 3-1 in his opener, will again be backed by a large German contingent inside Ally Pally as he bids to subject Chizzy to a third consecutive exit at this stage of the competition.

Rob Cross, the 2018 World Champion, comes up against Swedish star Jeffrey de Graaf in the final match of the afternoon.

Cross culminated his first season as a PDC professional by defeating the departing Phil Taylor in the final to claim the world title and has since gone on to add another six televised tournament wins – including the 2019 World Matchplay.

Twice a World Series event winner and a European Tour winner this season, ‘Voltage’ has fallen at the Last 16 hurdle in three of his five subsequent visits to Ally Pally, with the other two resulting in shock Second Round exits.

Dutch-born De Graaf, who now resides in Stockholm, has picked up two titles on the Nordic & Baltic ProTour this year and has transferred that form onto the sport’s biggest stage – defeating Ritchie Edhouse 3-2 and former Grand Slam champion Jose De Sousa 3-1.

Two players aiming to break new ground go head-to-head as 26th seed Martin Schindler meets Scott Williams.

Schindler finds himself at this stage of the event for the second successive year, but is yet to advance beyond Round Three in four previous attempts.

The German number two opened up with an impressive 97 average in a 3-1 success over Jermaine Wattimena and is twice a major ranking quarter-finalist this season.

Williams has eclipsed last year’s debut run to Round Two by seeing off PDC Asian champion Haruki Muramatsu 3-1 and seventh Danny Noppert in straight sets.

The flamboyant former ProTour event winner came agonisingly close to a nine-darter in the last set against Noppert, wiring double 18 for perfection.

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 Ten Schedule of Play

Wednesday December 27

Third Round

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Scott Williams v Martin Schindler
Dave Chisnall v Gabriel Clemens
Rob Cross v Jeffrey de Graaf

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Matt Campbell v Luke Littler
Michael van Gerwen v Richard Veenstra
Michael Smith v Madars Razma