The seeds enter the fray on Saturday afternoon at the Czech Darts Open.
We kick off second round proceedings with a player who's had to take a longer route than normal. Only slightly longer, mind; Jermaine Wattimena breezed through a 6-0 mauling of Kevin Garcia. However, as a seed he could start in round two, as Jonny Clayton does here. Victory over the Welshman is needed to move the Dutch ace back into those top spots. Clayton's
Czech Darts Open hopes hinge on him arresting some sub-standard form.
Second in the bill is Danny Noppert, who averaged a fraction short of 100 in round one, taking aim at Darren Webster. Then comes Justin Pipe, who will be ready to play the long game in a battle of attrition against Simon Whitlock.
Andrew Gilding's back on stage and playing well. The Suffolk star performed well against Rowby-John Rodriguez. It bodes well for his ultimate aim of reclaiming a Tour Card. This is an almighty challenge for Goldfinger however, taking on the golden boy. Nathan Aspinall, the UK Open champion, has had a knack for kicking off European Tour outings with a big average or two.
O'Connor's last stand
William O'Connor is still in with a shout of making the World Matchplay. However, he has to make the Czech Darts Open quarter-finals, at least. This makes Saturday afternoon do-or-die for the Irishman. He meets a neighbour from north of the Irish border. Daryl Gurney will only have eyes for a second European Tour title of 2019.
Following on from that momentous game for O'Connor is one which is momentous for all Czech darts fans. Their last man standing is Karel Sedlacek. He had the crowd behind him for a nail-biting win over Brendan Dolan. If anything, the fervour will only grow as Sedlacek meets second seed Ian White.
Steve Beaton brings his usual touch of class to proceedings. He plays Ron Meulenkamp, who wasn't fazed by home nation qualifier Jan Hlavacek in round one. Bringing the curtain down on the session are
James Wade and Mervyn King. The latter owes his spot in the second round to Steve West's profligacy; something Wade isn't known for.
The afternoon session of the Czech Darts Open gets underway at 12pm UK time.
Afternoon session schedule
12:00 Jonny Clayton v Jermaine Wattimena
12:30 Darren Webster v Danny Noppert
13:00 Simon Whitlock v Justin Pipe
13:30 Nathan Aspinall v Andrew Gilding
14:00 Daryl Gurney v William O'Connor
14:30 Ian White v Karel Sedlacek
15:00 Steve Beaton v Ron Meulenkamp
15:30 James Wade v Mervyn King