PDC World Championship Preview - Thursday 21-12

Those who believe that the first round of the PDC World Championship is the most exciting round have seen their claims vindicated this year. A week of stunning action has seen five of the top 16 seeds tumble at the first hurdle. There have been some unbelievably tight games, and some exceptional feats of scoring. High checkouts have not been in short supply; three 170 finishes have been notched already, just one fewer than in the entirety of the 2017 edition. Even the preliminary round matches have been a step up in quality. Now, there are only four first round ties to go before things get serious. True to form, day eight's action should be a real treat.

72 players entered the World Championship. Cristo Reyes, the 26th seed, could have faced any one of 32 potential opponents. And of all people, Wayne Mardle picked out Antonio Alcinas. That means the two Spaniards who entered the championships will face off in the first round. Reyes and Alcinas are good friends and have teamed up three times at the World Cup, but there will be no love lost on the Ally Pally stage. Reyes will naturally go into the game as the favourite. His World Championship exploits are normally memorable, and where the Iberian showcases his best darts. His debut win over Wes Newton in a dramatic and controversial deciding leg three years ago was his career highlight, until last year. Reyes was superb in a 3-2 win over Dimitri van den Bergh, but was even better in the second round, averaging 106. Unfortunately, his opponent was Michael van Gerwen. The Tenerife thrower held the record for highest ever losing average in a World Championship, before Raymond van Barneveld suffered the same fate days later.
Alcinas, his compatriot from 2,500km to the north-east in Mallorca, has yet to pass the first round of the PDC's showcase event. El Dartador in fact holds a PDC record for this year, albeit an unwanted one; his 31-dart leg at the UK Open back in March is still the longest recorded in a 2017 major. With his Tour Card in serious jeopardy, he must defeat his fellow Spaniard to hold off a raft of close rivals. Victory would open the door to a decent run, considering rank outsider Kevin Munch awaits in the second round, and Simon Whitlock or Darren Webster would most likely be the opponent in the last 16. Reyes will feel that, if he can replicate his 2017 World Championship form, a quarter-final against Peter Wright (or a lower-ranked player) beckons.

The Belgians have had a mixed time at the Ally Pally so far. Kenny Neyens impressed with his maximum-hitting but was overcome by the impressive Jamie Lewis. Ronny Huybrechts had no chance against Daryl Gurney. Dimitri van den Bergh's meteoric rise continued with victory over Stephen Bunting. Now, the fourth and best of the Belgian contingent takes to the stage. Kim Huybrechts, the 18th seed, is always an entertaining presence. Given his popularity, he could be called up for a third Premier League stint if he makes serious waves this month. That is unlikely, however, as 2017 hasn't been too kind to the Hurricane. The Masters, the Grand Prix, the Matchplay, the European Championship and the Players Championship finals all yielded first round exits. He finished dead last in the Premier League. Yet he also averaged 121.97 at the World Cup - the second-highest average of all time. Huybrechts the younger is very different to Ronny; precocious, outrageously talented, yet erratic and emotional.
Intriguingly, Huybrechts is unbeaten at the World Championship against all non-English players. However, that does mean he has suffered six defeats against players with the home field advantage in London. That plays into James Richardson's hands somewhat. The pair have met before at the Ally Pally, on their World Championship debuts. Richardson had just stunned five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, and Huybrechts had won nine of the eleven legs played against Brendan Dolan. Huybrechts won the meeting 4-1 en route to the quarter-finals, and 2012 remains the pair's finest hour on the big stage. Richardson, who has reached his first World Championship for five years, does not go into this tie with much of a track record to boast. Most recently, he let a winning position slip against Robert Thornton in the first round of the Players Championship finals. Perhaps, though, the time has finally come for revenge.
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Never change, Darren.

The third tie of the night sees two crowd favourites go head-to-head. Darren Webster's stock has continued to rise in the PDC. The 2017 season started with his finest career performance, a 4-0 battering of Simon Whitlock in which the Demolition Man averaged 104. The popular Norfolk player reached the quarter-finals of the World Matchplay and won his first Players Championship title, all after hitting his first nine-darter on the Tour. Even at 49 years old, the world number 23 continues to break new ground. He will see his potential opponents - Simon Whitlock, and then Reyes, Alcinas and Munch - and will know that yet another strong performance could mean his second World Championship quarter-final. His run in 2007 did not kickstart anything significant in his career; over a decade on, progression at the Ally Pally could open new doors for him.
His first round opponent is the dancing South African star, Devon Petersen. Africa still awaits the explosion of darting talent that southern Europe and East Asia have enjoyed in recent years, but Petersen is a fine pioneer. Nicknamed the African Warrior but more affectionately known as Dancing Devon, the snake-hipped slinger has reached the third round of the World Championship before, and has the talent to do so again. Yet last year his form abandoned him, as he averaged just 79 in a defeat at the hands of Steve Beaton. Petersen has spent 2017 acting as a darting ambassador, but it is time for him to take to centre stage. And, even if he should last just the one night, the walk-on will make it all worthwhile.

There will be no tie in this year's World Championship that encapsulates the beauty of the tournament as much as this one. On one side, there's the world number two. He has risen from mediocrity to stardom and is now a major champion. He has brought entertainment and colour, but also some truly exceptional feats of skill. On the other side is a debutant and a pioneer for darts in his continent. He arrives with supporters and well-wishers all over the world. And, even though there is a clear favourite, there remains that scintillating element of doubt. Peter Wright vs Diogo Portela is the last first round match, and will be well worth the wait.
Wright has had a fantastic 2017. On the European Tour, he was brilliant - in fact, for a short while, he was unstoppable. Snakebite became a World Series winner for the first time. Better still, he became a major champion for the first time, winning the UK Open. Runner up in the Premier League, World Matchplay and Grand Slam, and three times a major quarter-finalists, the Mendham man has cemented his place in the tungsten creme de la creme. But the challenge now is to win majors while beating Michael van Gerwen and Gary Anderson, and not relinquishing opportunities to take the biggest prizes of all when they appear. Going to hospital with suspected gallstones has not helped his preparations, though Adrian Lewis' early exit makes Wright's run to the semi-finals look much clearer.
His opponent is truly the David to Wright's Goliath. Portela first appeared on TV screens as part of Sky One gameshow One Hundred and Eighty, but is now establishing himself as a professional. Portela's emergence is a huge deal for South American darts, and he will be cherished by Barry Hearn and the PDC powers that be as an ambassador in a largely untapped market. He and Alexandre Sattin notched a win on debut at the World Cup of Darts, following Portela becoming the first ever Brazilian to win a European Tour match. Now, though, Braziliant's focus is on the biggest stage of them all. Given the exploits of Kevin Munch and Paul Lim, anything is possible. Yet Wright has never lost to an unseeded player at the World Championship. The winner takes on Jamie Lewis, a preliminary round qualifier, with Alan Norris or Kim Huybrechts the next likely opponent. In different ways, the sky is the limit for both players.