The main event
Former world champion Michael Smith will be hoping to avoid a possible banana peel when he takes on Kevin Doets in the World Darts Championship on Thursday.
The 34-year-old will face the Dutchman in the second round. This is a repeat of their first round clash last year, in which Smith had to come from 2-1 down to win 3-2.
Doets looked good in his opening game against Noa-Lynn van Leuven but remains an underdog against the 2023 winner.
The Bully Boy is an integral part of Ally Pally folklore after his epic nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen on the way to victory in January 2023, but needs a strong championship before the final to be in the top 10 of the Order of Merit PDC to stay.
THE BEST LEG EVER! 🤯🔥
MICHAEL VAN GERWEN misses D12 for a nine-darter, and then SMITH scores a perfect leg of his own!
ONE OF THE GREATEST THINGS YOU WILL EVER SEE IN SPORTS. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
“I really don’t think about it because the only thing that’s stressing me out now is the questions about it. But it doesn’t worry me because I won’t fall out of the top 16,” Smith told Sky Sports.
“I could fall out of the top 10 if I don’t pull my finger out, but that means next year, because it’s taken me practically a year now, I’ll have nothing to defend.
“So I probably have about £120,000 to defend next year so I’ll definitely be involved again. So next year no worries, no pressure, I just want to play darts. On the other hand, my management team can worry about it, my family can worry about it, I just want to play.
“As long as I don’t fall out of 64, because then I’ll retire. If I fall out of 64, I won’t go to Q School because I know I wasn’t good enough, so I’ll literally start something else.”
Mensur Suljovic returns to Ally Pally after a year at home last year and takes on Canadian Matt Campbell.
Campbell enjoyed an impressive Ally Pally 12 months ago when he dismissed Lourence Ilagan and James Wade before crossing paths with teenage sensation Luke Littler.
Elsewhere, Romeo Grbavac faces Callan Rydz and Robert Owens takes on Gabriel Clemens in eight games across the day.
Order of play
Afternoon session (from 12:30 UK time)
- Chris Landman vs Lok Yin Lee (R1)
- Callan Rydz vs Romeo Grbavac (R1)
- Martin Lukeman vs Nitin Kumar (R1)
- Gabriel Clemens vs Robert Owen (R2)
Evening session (from 7pm UK time)
- Nick Kenny vs Stowe Buntz (R1)
- Mensur Suljovic vs Matt Campbell (R1)
- Scott Williams vs. Niko Springer (R1)
- Michael Smith vs. Kevin Doets (R2)
Here’s how to watch
The PDC World Championship will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK.
You can watch the afternoon session on Sky Sports Darts and Sky Sports Main Event at 12:30pm, with the evening session starting at 7pm.
Predictions
Don’t expect any problems for Smith as the headliner as Campbell can also pick up another win against Suljovic.
We’re also backing wins from Grbavac and Owens, as well as Scott Williams, Nick Kenny and Martin Lukeman.
