Preview, order of play, how to watch and predictions

The main event

Former world champion Michael Smith will be hoping to avoid a potential banana skin when he takes on Kevin Doets at the World Darts Championships on Thursday.

The 34-year-old faces the Dutchman in the second round in what 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 sharp as she beat Noa-Lynn van Leuven in her first match, but remains an underdog against the 2023 winner.

The Bully Boy is firmly part of Ally Pally folklore after his epic new shot against Michael van Gerwen en route to victory in January 2023, but he heads into the final and needs a strong championship to stay in the PDC Order of Merit top 10.

THE BEST PAMA EVER! 🤯🔥

MICHAEL VAN GERWEN MISSES A D12 FOR NINE DARTERS, AND THEN SMITH HITS A PERFECT LEG HIMSELF!

ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS YOU’LL SEE IN SPORTS. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V

— Darts PDC (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023

“I don’t really think about it, because the only thing that stresses me out now is the questions about it. But it doesn’t bother me, because I’m not going out of the top 16,” Smith told Sky Sports.

“I could fall into the top 10 if I don’t take my finger out, but it means that next year, because I’m practically a year old, I have nothing to defend.

“So I’ve probably got about £120,000 to defend next year, so I’m going back to work anyway. So next year, no hassle, no pressure, I just want to play darts. The other side of ‘that, my management team can worry about that, my family can worry about that, I just want to play.

“As long as I don’t fall from 64, because then I will retire. If I stay out of the 64, I’m not going to do Q School, because I know I wasn’t good enough, so I’m literally going to start something else.”

Mensur Suljovic returns to Ally Pally after a year at home last year as he takes on Canadian Matt Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed an impressive Ally Pally 12 months ago when he shut out Lawrence Ilagan and James Wade before crossing paths with teenage sensation Luke Littler.

Elsewhere, Romeo Grbavac takes on Callan Rydz and Robert Owens takes on Gabriel Clemens as part of eight matches throughout the day.

order of play

Afternoon session (from 12.30pm 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 v Matt Campbell (R1)
• Scott Williams vs. Niko Springer (R1)
• Michael Smith vs. Kevin Doets (R2)

How to look

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 problems for Smith in the starting slot, with Campbell also enjoying another win against Suljovic.

We’re also backing wins for Grbavac and Owens, as well as Scott Williams, Nick Kenny and Martin Lukeman.