Main event
Former world champion Michael Smith will be hoping to avoid a potential banana peel when he takes on Kevin Deutz on Thursday in the World Darts Championship.
The 34-year-old faces the Dutchman in the second round in a repeat of their encounter in the first round last year, where Smith had to come back from 2-1 down to win 3-2.
Doets looked sharp as he beat Noa-Lynn van Leuven in his opener, but remains an underdog against the 2023 winner.
The Bully Boy is an established part of Ally Pally folklore after his epic nine-pointer against Michael van Gerwen en route to victory in January 2023, but he heads into the finals needing a strong tournament to remain in the top 10 on the PDC Order of Merit.
Best leg of all time! 🤯🔥
Michael van Gerwen misses D12 for nine bowlers, and then Smith nails a perfect leg of his own!
One of the greatest things you will ever see in sports. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V
— Siham PDC (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023
“I'm not really (thinking about it), because the only thing stressing me out now is the questions about it. But I'm not bothered about it, because I'm not going to fall out of the top 16,” Smith told Sky Sports.
“I might fall out of the top 10 if I don't pull my finger, but it means that next year, because I've taken almost a year now, I have nothing to defend.
“So I probably have about £120,000 to defend next year, so I'll be back in work anyway. So next year, I'm not bothered, I'm not under pressure, I just want to play darts. On the other side of that, my management team can To worry about it, my family can worry about it, I just want to play.
“As long as I don't get out of 64, because then I'll be retiring. If I get out of 64, I won't get into Q School, because I know I wasn't good enough, so I'll literally start with something else.”
Mansur Suljovic returns to Ally Pally after a year at home last year where he will face Canadian Matt Campbell.
Campbell enjoyed an impressive run of form 12 months ago when he eliminated Lawrence Ilagan and James Wade before meeting teenager Luke Littler.
Elsewhere, Romeu Grbavac will take on Callan Reeds and Robert Owens alongside Gabriel Clemens as part of eight matches across the day.
Order of play
Afternoon session (from 12:30pm UK time)
- Chris Landman vs. Luke Yin Lee (R1)
- Callan Reds vs. Romeu Grbavac (R1)
- Martin Lokman vs. Nitin Kumar (R1)
- Gabriel Clemens vs. Robert Owen (R2)
Evening session (from 7pm UK time)
- Nick Kenney vs. Stu Pontz (R1)
- Mansur Suljovic vs. Matt Campbell (R1)
- Scott Williams vs. Nico Springer (R1)
- Michael Smith vs. Kevin Deutz (R2)
How to watch
The PDC World Championship is shown 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 trouble for Smith in the headlines, as Campbell will also enjoy another win over Suljovic.
We're also rooting for wins for Grbavac and Owens, as well as Scott Williams, Nick Kenny and Martin Lookman.
