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Live Darts on Sunday: World Darts Championship 2024/25 Day One Preview and Order of Play

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Luke Humphries enjoys whitewash win to kick-start World Darts Championship title defence

Live Darts on Monday: World Darts Championship Day Two Preview and Order of Play

Jamie Shaw in World Darts Championship 15 Dec 2024

Gerwyn Price makes his Ally Pally return (Photo by PDC)

A host of star names kick off their campaigns on Day Two of the 2024/25 World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace on Monday.

The opening night of the tournament saw defending champion Luke Humphries make a perfect start to his title defence with a straight sets win over Thibault Tricole without dropping a leg.

The first double session of the event features a host of in-form contenders, as well as three players making their debut in the sport’s showpiece.

The afternoon session sees ten-time major winner James Wade launch his latest pursuit of an elusive maiden world title with a tie against Jermaine Wattimena in Round Two.

Wade has been an ever-present in the World Championship since 2005 and has reached the semi-finals on four occasions, most recently in 2022.

He comes into the event as the number 16 seed, having enjoyed an impressive resurgence this season, reaching the semi-finals of the World Matchplay and the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix.

The 41-year-old, however, has suffered successive Second Round exits at Ally Pally and faces a tough opener against the player who knocked him out of October’s European Championship.

Wattimena came into this year’s World Championship in undoubtedly the best form of his career to date, having reached his first major final in Dortmund, before reaching the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam.

The rapid Dutchman produced the stand-out performance of the opening night as he averaged 98.5 in a straight sets win over Swiss debutant Stefan Bellmont.

The opening match of the afternoon sees debutants Wesley Plaisier and Ryusei Azemoto go head-to-head.

Plaisier has secured his place in the event via the ProTour Order of Merit despite being a non Tour Card holder, courtesy of his terrific campaign as a top-up, which included a maiden Players Championship title in October.

The Dutchman has also enjoyed a fruitful year on the WDF circuit, regaining the World Masters title and finishing runner-up in the Dutch Open.

Japan’s World Cup of Darts star Azemoto qualified via the PDC Asian Tour, finishing fourth in the rankings after picking up four titles in 2024.

European Championship semi-finalist Luke Woodhouse takes on Philippines star Lourence Ilagan for the right to face World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker in the Second Round.

Woodhouse embarked on a career-best run to the semis of a ranked major for the first time in October in addition to reaching two Players Championship semi-finals.

The world number 35 is making his sixth consecutive World Championship appearance, having reached the Third Round on debut in 2019/20.

Asian Tour Order of Merit runner-up Ilagan made his debut at Ally Pally back in 2009 and has made a further seven appearances, with his sole win coming two years ago against Rowby-John Rodriguez.

Alan Soutar looks to rekindle his love affair with the Ally Pally stage when he takes on German debutant Kai Gotthardt.

Soutar, who claimed his first Players Championship title earlier this year, has reached the Last 16 in both of his two previous appearances and returns to the event after failing to qualify 12 months ago.

Gotthardt booked a dream ticket to Ally Pally by winning the PDC Europe Super League and was a semi-finalist on the Challenge Tour last month.

The evening session sees 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price get his campaign under way against Irish ace Keane Barry.

Price is embarking on his 11th World Championship campaign and is seeded tenth in the draw following a below-par year by his standards.

The seven-time major winner has failed to pick up a PDC ranking title for the first time since 2017, reaching just one final on the European Tour and one final on the ProTour.

The Welshman withdrew from the World Cup of Darts and failed to qualify for the Grand Slam and has failed to reach the quarter-finals of a televised ranking tournament for the first time since 2016.

However, he comes into the World Championship under the radar and has reached at least the quarter-final stage in four of his last five appearances.

Barry is making his sixth consecutive World Championship appearance and is into the Second Round for the third time in four years courtesy of a superb 3-1 win over Kim Huybrechts.

The 22-year-old recovered from losing the first set to reel off three in a row and seal an impressive victory with a 95 average and seven maximums to his name.

Meanwhile, Scottish star Cameron Menzies takes on American ace Leonard Gates, with Nathan Aspinall awaiting the winner in the Last 64.

Menzies has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, climbing into the world’s top 40 after picking up a maiden Players Championship title and reaching the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam.

Former Lakeside semi-finalist Menzies has lost in the Second Round in both of his previous PDC World Championship appearances but returns to Ally Pally in a rich vein of form as one of this season’s most improved players.

Gates finished top of the CDC rankings to clinch a second PDC World Championship appearance, winning the Continental Cup to add to his trio of World Seniors televised titles in 2023.

Challenge Tour Order of Merit winner Connor Scutt comes up against New Zealand ace Ben Robb.

Scutt sealed a second successive World Championship spot via the ProTour Order of Merit after reaching a Players Championship final, plus a further three quarter-finals as a non-Tour Card holder.

The 28-year-old, a winner of two Challenge Tour titles this term, enjoyed a magnificent run to the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals in Minehead last month.

Robb returns for a fifth stint at Ally Pally as he eyes an elusive first victory after winning the DPNZ knockout to confirm his qualification.

Dutch left-hander Niels Zonneveld faces Welshman Robert Owen, with Gabriel Clemens awaiting the winner.

Zonneveld enjoyed a superb run to the semi-finals of the Czech Open in October and makes his fourth World Championship appearance, after reaching the Second Round last year for the first time.

Owen received an unexpected call-up via the ProTour Order of Merit following Dom Taylor’s suspension, and the former UK Open semi-finalist is out to register his first win on the Ally Pally stage at the second attempt.

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 Two Schedule

Monday December 16

Afternoon Session (12.30pm-5pm)
Wesley Plaisier v Ryusei Azemoto (R1)
Luke Woodhouse v Lourence Ilagan (R1)
Alan Soutar v Kai Gotthardt (R1)
James Wade v Jermaine Wattimena (R2)

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Niels Zonneveld v Robert Owen (R1)
Connor Scutt v Ben Robb (R1)
Cameron Menzies v Leonard Gates (R1)
Gerwyn Price v Keane Barry (R2)

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