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World Darts Championship 2023/24: Day One Preview and Order of Play – Smith stars on opening night

Jamie Shaw in World Darts Championship 15 Dec 2023

Michael Smith reacts (Photo by Taylor Lanning/PDC)

Michael Smith launches the defence of his World Darts Championship title on the opening night of the sport’s showpiece at Alexandra Palace on Friday.

The waiting is finally over as the annual festive feast of arrows gets under way, with 96 players competing for £2.5 million in prize money and the iconic Sid Waddell trophy.

As per tradition, the defending champion will star on the opening night of the competition, with this year’s honour falling to world number one Smith.

Only three players – Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Gary Anderson – have ever retained the sport’s most prestigious trophy, and Smith faces a tough ask if he is to land a first major title of the season and join that elite group.

Smith returns to the scene of his historic triumph back in January – where he famously landed a nine-darter en route to an epic 7-4 win over Michael van Gerwen in the final.

Since then, the 33-year-old has endured a mixed bag of results throughout the year, notably winning the Bahrain Masters and German Darts Grand Prix, while reaching the Semi-Finals of the Premier League and World Grand Prix.

However, he suffered defeats at the first hurdle in both the Grand Slam and Players Championship Finals, as well as early exits at the World Matchplay and European Championship, and has seemingly struggled to replicate last season’s success with his new darts.

Smith made his World Championship debut in 2011/12 and has been an ever-present since, reaching the final in three of his last five appearances.

Bully Boy awaits the winner of the First Round tie between Kevin Doets and Stowe Buntz, as they face off in the tournament’s curtain-raiser.

Doets, 25, makes his Ally Pally debut as the 14th highest ProTour Order of Merit qualifier, with the Dutchman having reached the Last 32 of this year’s UK Open, as well as the final of a Players Championship event in September.

Buntz is also braced for his first taste of the sport’s greatest stage, fresh from his breakthrough run to the Quarter-Finals of last month’s Grand Slam.

The American ace, winner of the CDC Continental Cup and three CDC ProTour titles in 2023, finished top of his group at the Grand Slam following wins over Peter Wright and Stephen Bunting, before defeating Andrew Gilding in the Last 16 and eventually going down 16-8 to Bunting in the Quarter-Finals.

Elsewhere, 2010 PDC world finalist Simon Whitlock kicks off his campaign with a First Round tie against international qualifier Paolo Nebrida.

Whitlock finished runner-up to Phil Taylor on his Ally Pally debut 13 years ago and has gone on to reach a further two Semi-Finals, though his recent record makes for ominous reading, with just one run beyond the Third Round in the last decade.

The former European Champion and World Cup of Darts winner has endured a torrid spell over the past 12 months, failing to qualify for four of the six major televised ranking tournaments this year and dropping to 43rd in the Order of Merit as a result – his lowest ranking since joining the PDC.

The Aussie darting icon started the season brightly by reaching the final of a ProTour event back in February and will be determined to recapture his vintage best on the biggest stage of all.

However, he faces a potential banana skin against Filipino star Nebrida – who finished third on this year’s PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit and took Danny Jansen to a deciding set on his debut here last year, narrowly losing out 3-2.

Cameron Menzies and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez go head-to-head for the right to face 11th seed Dave Chisnall in the Second Round.

Four-time Challenge Tour winner Menzies makes his second successive World Championship appearance, having lost out to Vincent van der Voort in the Second Round 12 months ago.

The charismatic Scot has reached the Quarter-Finals of a ProTour event this season and looks to have done enough to save his tour card, coming into the event as world number 63.

Rodriguez, winner of a Development Tour event this year, also returns for his second stint at Ally Pally after coming through the Tour Card Holder qualifier a fortnight ago – averaging 106.8 in a 7-1 rout of George Killington in their decisive play-off.

The action gets under way from 7pm 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 2023/24 Day One Schedule

Friday December 15

7pm-11pm
Kevin Doets v Stowe Buntz (R1)
Cameron Menzies v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez (R1)
Simon Whitlock v Paolo Nebrida (R1)
Michael Smith v Doets/Buntz (R2)

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World Darts Championship 2023/24: Day One Preview and Order of Play – Smith stars on opening night

World Darts Championship 2023/24 Day One Schedule

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