Thursday is Ladies' Day at the BDO World Darts Championship.
All four of the women's quarter-finals take place alongside three men's third round matches. There's a disparity between the two tournaments already. The men's draw has been shorn of a fair few seeds. Wesley Harms and Richard Veenstra's exits mean that just four of the top ten seeds remain. The BDO World Darts Championship has been kinder to the women's seeds so far.
Only two of them aren't present: Fallon Sherrock (dropped out) and Deta Hedman (knocked out). That's worked out perfectly for Corinne Hammond and Laura Turner, who meet in the first quarter-final. Both can play much better than they did in their opening match - particularly Turner, who got embroiled in a scrappy battle with Hedman. This feels like a match that could genuinely go either way.
Greaves' fairytale adds a chapter
Jim Williams is perhaps a clearer favourite in his third round tie against Ryan Hogarth. As second seed, and with Harms and Veenstra gone, the Welshman is the de facto World Darts Championship favourite. But the World Trophy champion will remember how much of a slog his win over Gary Stone was. And Hogarth, who ended Thibault Tricole's entertaining cameo, will feel he has the game to cause Williams problems.
The Beau Greaves story could roll on for a while yet. Beating the very capable Tori Kewish with an 80 average - dropping just one leg - is an impressive debut for anyone. It's that little bit more special when you're just 15 years old. The Yorkshire prodigy will take on a more experienced opponent in Aileen de Graaf next. But the way she's playing, Greaves will be confident of what would be another remarkable win in her burgeoning career.
Former finalists square off
All of the players competing in the evening's quarter-final games have reached the World Darts Championship final before. Only Lorraine Winstanley hasn't yet taken the title. Could this be her year? You have to beat the best to be the best, and Winstanley will need to stun top seed Lisa Ashton to take another step towards glory. Both won fairly comfortably in their opening match, but it was the Lancashire Rose who looked more capable of hitting her stride. If both can, this could be an early Indigo classic.
That match is followed by a Benelux derby in the men's draw, as Mario Vandenbogaerde takes on Dennie Olde Kalter. Dutch ace Olde Kalter showed serious grit to grind down Nick Kenny in a five-set thriller. Can he muster up the strength to do the same to Vandenbogaerde, who will likely improve on a performance that was enough for a whitewash over Sebastian Steyer? One thing's for sure - the Belgian won't go down without a fight.
Ana aims for 10/10
We're spoiled by the line-up of the women's quarter-finals. If the first three weren't tantalising enough, the last one is a real stunner. In one corner stands Mikuru Suzuki, the defending world champion, who has thrown five consecutive stage averages in the 84-86 range (one of those being accrued over five sets against James Richardson). In the other, Anastasia Dobromyslova, whose World Darts Championship quarter-final record reads: played nine, won nine. The Russian will need to vastly improve on an uncertain first-round win over Sharon Prins to make it a perfect ten out of ten.
How great would a Paul Hogan World Darts Championship triumph be? Having Hogan, Lisa Ashton and Peter Wright as world champions would be a great triumph for middle-aged folks everywhere. We're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here, mind. It's Hogan's opponent, Martijn Kleermaker, who is the favourite for the title. But thanks to the infographics shown during the tournament, he has the twin pressures of representing both the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and building on the quarter-final he reached when he was three years old. That's a tough gig alright. In all seriousness, the big Dutchman was in ominous form against Gino Vos. It'll take a big effort from Hogan to spring another surprise.
BDO World Darts Championship 2020 preview
Thursday, January 9
Afternoon session (from 13:00)
Corinne Hammond vs Laura Turner (Women's QF)
Jim Williams vs Ryan Hogarth (R1 women)
Aileen de Graaf vs Beau Greaves (Women's QF)
Evening session (from 7 p.m.)
Lisa Ashton vs Lorraine Winstanley (Women's QF)
Mario Vandenbogaerde vs Dennie Olde Kalter (R3)
Anatasia Dobromyslova vs Mikuru Suzuki (Women's QF)
Martijn Kleermaker vs Paul Hogan (R3)
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