World Seniors Championship 2024 | Day Three Preview and Order of Play
The Second Round action takes centre stage at the 2024 World Seniors Championship on Saturday as the big names aim to reach the final day at the Circus Tavern.
The opening round of the annual over-50s showpiece saw nine of the 16 seeds crash out of the competition, leaving the draw wide open heading into the final two days.
Another action-packed double session in Purfleet kicks off with a showdown between former World Cup of Darts winner John Henderson and former Players Champion Kevin Painter.
Henderson came into the event as the pre-tournament favourite, having been agonisingly denied a return to the PDC ProTour last year by Owen Bates after claiming two Challenge Tour titles.
The Highlander recovered from a set down to defeat ten-time Women’s World Champion Trina Gulliver 3-1 on Thursday but will be determined to improve on his match average of 82.
Painter, meanwhile, produced one of the greatest comebacks in World Seniors history as he recovered from losing the first seven legs to stun Jim McEwan in a deciding set with the aid of a sensational 140 checkout on tops-tops.
Painter, who was famously beaten by Phil Taylor in an epic sudden death PDC world final here back in 2004, has reached back-to-back World Seniors Championship semi-finals, only to be halted by the eventual champion on both occasions.
A battle of two former World Champions and England internationals sees Scott Mitchell take on Lisa Ashton.
Mitchell enjoyed a fine Challenge Tour campaign in 2023, finishing runner-up in three events, securing a spot in a host of Players Championship events towards the back end of the year.
He began his second World Seniors Championship campaign with a 3-1 victory over in-form qualifier Matt Clark and will be poised for another tough test against the four-time Women’s World Champion.
Ashton, a former PDC tour card holder and 15-time PDC Women’s Series title winner, was narrowly denied by Neil Duff in a deciding set here 12 months ago but atoned for that disappointment by defeating Mike Huntley in a decider on Thursday.
Three-time World Champion Martin Adams comes up against Canadian debutant Jim Long.
Adams, runner-up in the inaugural World Seniors Championship two years ago, survived a major scare in his opener on Friday as he hit back from two sets down to deny Deta Hedman in a decider.
Long produced one of the stand-out performances of the opening round as he overcame his compatriot David Cameron 3-1 with a 90.8 average.
The final match of the afternoon sees former PDC world finalist Mark Dudbridge take on home hero Richie Howson.
Dudbridge claimed his first World Seniors Tour title in 2023 and also landed a sensational nine-darter in a Target Open Series Event in November, becoming the first player to achieve the feat since the inception of the World Seniors Tour.
He was forced to dig deep to dispatch three-time World Champion Glen Durrant in a deciding set on Thursday and will look for a marked improvement on his match average of 80 if he is to silence the Essex faithful.
Howson has proved to be one of the biggest success stories of the World Seniors tour, storming to six floor titles and finishing runner-up in three televised events in 2023, including here at the Circus Tavern.
The Owl sealed a straight sets victory over three-time World Champion John Part with a 155 checkout on Friday night to kick-start his latest quest for silverware.
The evening session commences with a tie between reigning and back-to-back champion Robert Thornton and former PDC world finalist Andy Hamilton.
Thornton boasts an 11-match unbeaten record in this competition and is the joint most successful player in the brief history of the World Seniors, having also won the 2022 World Matchplay.
The Scot stormed to a 3-1 victory over Martyn Turner in Round One and now faces a player making his debut in a televised World Seniors event.
Former Premier League star Hamilton returns to the Circus Tavern for the first time since 2007 after receiving an invitation to compete, and ‘The Hammer’ was handed a bye into the Last 16 following Tony O’Shea’s late withdrawal through injury on Friday.
Richie Burnett, the 1995 Lakeside World Champion, continues his quest for debut World Seniors glory with a clash against Colin McGarry.
Burnett dropped off the PDC circuit at the end of last season despite enjoying a resurgent run to the quarter-finals of last year’s UK Open, but he has begun 2024 in fine style, winning a Challenge Tour title.
The Prince of Wales, who received a late call-up to compete as a top-up on the ProTour on Tuesday, came from a set down to defeat 1983 World Champion Keith Deller 3-1 in Round One.
Northern Ireland’s McGarry suffered an agonising 3-2 defeat to Phil Taylor in last year’s First Round but bounced back in style by dumping out second seed Leonard Gates with a 3-1 success on Friday night.
Manfred Bilderl’s reward for knocking out 16-time World Champion Phil Taylor is a showdown with two-time Lakeside semi-finalist Chris Mason.
Bilderl, the first German player to feature in a televised World Seniors event, pulled off a memorable 3-2 scalp of ‘The Power’ on Friday night, becoming the last player ever to beat the Stoke legend on this famous stage.
The soft-tip star will now look to continue his run at the expense of ‘Mace The Ace’ – who defeated Darryl Fitton 3-1 to record his first win on this stage since 2007.
Former WDF World Champion Neil Duff faces a fascinating contest against in-form Paul Hogan.
Duff’s Lakeside title defence was ended by Chris Landman in an agonising seventh set decider in the quarter-finals in December, and he also reached the quarter-finals of last year’s World Seniors Championship – losing out to eventual champion Thornton.
The WDF number one dug deep to edge out Welsh qualifier Richard-Eirig Rowlands in a deciding set on Thursday, while Hogan saw off multiple major finalist Terry Jenkins 3-1 with a solid 90.6 average.
The action gets under way from 1pm GMT, with Second Round ties to be contested over the best of five sets. The deciding set of any match must be won by two clear legs, until the score line reaches 5-5, when the 11th leg will be sudden death.
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World Seniors Darts Championship 2024 Day Three Schedule
Saturday February 17
Second Round
Afternoon Session (1pm-5pm)
John Henderson v Kevin Painter
Scott Mitchell v Lisa Ashton
Martin Adams v Jim Long
Mark Dudbridge v Richie Howson
Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Robert Thornton v Andy Hamilton
Paul Hogan v Neil Duff
Manfred Bilderl v Chris Mason
Richie Burnett v Colin McGarry
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