World Darts Championship order of play: full Monday schedule and start times including Luke Littler and MVG
You might still be recovering from the thrilling events of day 12, but we're already gearing up for the next one....
Darts heavyweights Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen are back in action on Day 13 at the Ally Pally, with quarter-final spots up for grabs at the Paddy Power World Championship. Former world champions Peter Wright and Gerwyn Price have already secured their places in the New Year's Day extravaganza, and six more stars will join them during an exciting day of action.
Title favourites Luke The Nuke and MVG lead the pack, and Record Sport is here to guide you through the when and who for a massive afternoon and evening of darts in the sport's biggest tournament. Buckle up....
Afternoon session 12.30pm
Chris Dobey 4-3 Kevin Doets
Hollywood booked his place in the quarter-finals for the third year running, setting up a showdown with the iceman Gerwyn Price. However, it was far from straightforward for Dobey, who power scored, yet missed a staggering 45 darts at double.
Speaking afterwards, the Geordie said: "To be honest, I am normally brilliant on double 16 and that nearly lost me the game. I gave the fifth set away. I should have been home and hosed. I changed to double top at the end and that got me through. I’m a good switcher, that’s what I do. Doubles dragged my game and my average down, but I got the win."
Callan Rydz 4-3 Robert Owen
The Riot has been simply majestic so far in the tournament - but this was a scrap. Rydz had to fight back from 2-0 down to secure his spot in the last eight. The emotional Englishman dedicated the win to his late gran as he said: "I saw a photo this week of me celebrating Christmas with my grandma who I lost and it really hurt, so this is for her.
"The crowd got me through that match. Rob battered me in the first two sets, so thank you very much to the crowd. I didn't feel like I played good there but I have seen the average and I was decent. I have a day off tomorrow to recharge the batteries."
Nathan Aspinall 4-0 Ricardo Pietreczko
It was a whitewash victory for Aspinall as he demolished his German opponent to sail through into the quarters. The Asp will now come against either Luke Littler or Ryan Joyce on New Year's Day. He said: "I felt for Ricardo there. He didn’t play the game he set out to play. I have never an atmosphere like this and I have played in Premier League arenas. Me being on this stage to hear that is amazing.
"I was in control of the game, but darts is weird. Ricardo could have come back, it’s set play. I enjoyed the game, the pace of the game and this is probably the first game of darts I have played since the Match Play last year and enjoyed every minute of it."
Evening session 7pm
Stephen Bunting v Luke Woodhouse
The Bullet is being tipped to have a deep run in the competition and there was plenty to like in his second-round win over Kai Gotthardt. Bunting then stepped up on that showing in round three when he dismissed Madars Razma.
Woodhouse was impressive in taking care of Laurence Ilagan in round one, but his display dropped off against Mike De Decker, despite the fact he was beating a player of a higher ranking and seeding. He addressed that situation by reeling-off nine successive legs to beat nine-dart Damon Heta in the last 32 and he was strong.
Michael van Gerwen v Jeffrey De Graaf
The Green Machine opened his bid for a fourth win title with a strong defeat of James Hurrell. Van Gerwen, though, was patchy in his success over Brendan Dolan. There are more gears at his disposal and he's looking to click through them.
De Graaf stunned the tournament when he knocked Gary Anderson out in the second round and he was solid, if unspectacular, in taking care of Paulo Nebrida. The three-times champion is a hot favourite to progress.
Luke Littler v Ryan Joyce
Littler dealt with bundles of nerves and tension seven days ago when returning to Palace to beat Ryan Meikle and was improved without hitting in his top gears in the subsequent success over Ian White. Joyce was solid to see-off and Darius Labanauskas in round one and has improved in each game since in wins over over the dangerous Danny Noppert and high-scoring Ryan Searle.
The Geordie is a huge underdog and admits he won’t cope if The Nuke hits full power. But he's a superb double-hitter and will take any chances afforded by Littler.
