Main event
It says a lot about the new regime in darts that Michael van Gerwen will not take center stage on Saturday night at the World Championship.
Instead, Luke Littler will be the main event at Alexandra Palace when he takes on Ian Whyte in a third round encounter.
It's been a fantastic 12 months for the 17-year-old who was halfway to the final this time last year and has also established himself as one of the biggest names in the sport despite his young years.
However, Littler showed a weakness rarely seen in his opening bout against Ryan Meikle last Saturday. He was completely out of form in the first three sets before flicking the switch and producing an astonishing average of 140.91 in the fourth set – the highest single-set average in the history of the tournament.
The youngest wins the record-breaking group 🤯
Eleven fours, ten fours and eleven fours from Luke Littler as he averaged 140.91 in the final group to beat Ryan Mikel.
Simply ridiculous from this special talent 🙌
He's in the third round! pic.twitter.com/0j9CQGYHKU
— Siham PDC (@OfficialPDC) December 21, 2024
But he was unable to complete his interview on stage, as he broke down in tears and admitted that he was suffering from stress.
That could be a factor again tomorrow, although it could be helped by the fact that he is playing a familiar face with White who also hails from Littler's hometown of Runcorn.
White, who beat Richie Edhouse in the second round, used to compete against Jed Littler in the Northwest Leagues.
“When I first started darts, I played against his grandfather, Phil, in Runcorn,” the 54-year-old said.
“I used to hit him all the time. He played for Albion. Local teams. We used to play against him many times. We used to have banter.
“I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait.”
Van Gerwen is no longer as strong as he was before and will have to pass a tough test against Irish veteran Brendan Dolan in the second match of the evening session.
The Dutchman claimed a convincing 3-0 win over James Burrell in the opener and showed flashes of the brilliance that has taken him to three world titles.
“I think I did a good job with the corrections, but the tank is still full,” he said.
“I think I've done enough, that's the only thing that matters, especially knowing that I haven't had the best 12 months of my career.
“I love performing on stages like this. It gives me a lot of energy, and the atmosphere definitely gave me goosebumps.”
Order of Play – All third round matches
Afternoon session (from 1230 UK time)
Ryan Joyce vs. Ryan Searle
Scott Williams in Ricardo Petrichko
Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding
Evening session (from 1900 UK time)
Chris Dobie vs. Josh Rock
Michael van Gerwen vs Brendan Dolan
Luke Littler vs. Ian White
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 Main Event from 12:30 GMT. The evening session is on Sky Sports Darts and the main event since 1900.
Predictions
Littler's fascination isn't with whether he wins, but with how he performs. He would have too much firepower for White but his sudden bout of nerves against Meikle would have been an eye-opener for his rivals.
If he can show his usual composure, normal service will be resumed and his campaign will be back on track. If not, more doubts will be raised about his chances this year.
Van Gerwen may find it difficult to take on world number 30 Dolan, but he should have enough to get him over the line.
The evening session begins with an exciting clash between Dobey and Rock. Dobey is the bookies' favorite for the match but we expect Rock to cause a minor upset.
In the afternoon, all three games should be close.
But we are aiming for wins for Searle, Williams and Gilding.
