PDC World Championship Preview - Day 3, Afternoon Session

Brendan Dolan vs Alan Ljubic (prelim)

Brendan Dolan lost to Ted Evetts in the PDPA World Championship qualifier. Evetts draws Gerwyn Price and loses 3-0, while Dolan lines up against Croatian debutant Alan Ljubic, and then Robert Thornton, should he win. Isn't life cruel? Dolan was good value for his final spot before a thrashing at the hands of Evetts in Milton Keynes, and has one objective; to get past the first round, something he has managed four times in the last five years.
But he better not assume victory over Ljubic is assured. The Eastern European qualifier came through a field including Krzysztof Ratajski, Krzysztof Kciuk, "Cheeky" Nandor Bezzeg and Frantisek Humpula, who took on Michael van Gerwen at the Ally Pally last year. Ljubic showed some real nerve to see off Kciuk 6-2 in the final of that qualifier in Budapest, so isn't a total write-off. Yet a man with the experience of nine consecutive World Championships, plus the ability to take his average into the 90s on the big stage, will always be the clear favourite.

Benito van de Pas vs Steve West

Easily the tie of the round in a session of fair to middling quality, 14th seed Benito van de Pas takes on Steve West, one of the better unseeded players. The big Dutchman, quarter-finalist in the Grand Prix, will be setting his sights on a decent run. The prospect of playing Joe Cullen or Jermaine Wattimena in the second round will scare neither him nor West, who has proved he can scrap with the very best of them.
Only a miraculous 136 checkout from Mervyn King - arguably the best of last year's World Championship - denied West the chance to go for double 18 to win his first round tie. But, like in all of his five BDO World Championship events, he went down at the first hurdle. Van de Pas lost in the first round of all three of his Lakeside visits, and has made the third round every time at the Ally Pally. 'Big Ben' certainly runs like clockwork on the grandest stage of them all. It's up to West to break both patterns.

Mervyn King vs Zoran Lerchbacher

The aforementioned Mervyn King, he of the 136 get-out-of-jail-free shot, takes on Austrian Zoran Lerchbacher in the afternoon's third game. Despite his obvious talents, King has been poor at the Worlds since a semi-final appearance in 2009. A 4-3 defeat to Michael Smith last year marked the seventh time in eight attempts that the Suffolk thrower failed to pass the second round at the Ally Pally. A likely tie with James Wade awaits him if he can win this one.
Lerchbacher has trod the oche at the Palace before, twice, but has never won a set in the first round. This, though, is his first time playing without the need for a preliminary tie. That may make a difference to the Austrian's preparedness. In his first World Championship showing in 2014, Lerchbacher averaged better than Michael van Gerwen, yet somehow won just one of the ten legs played. He will not want to come off the stage with a similar output this time around.

Robert Thornton vs Dolan/Ljubic

This one's odds-on to be Thornton vs Dolan. And what an early Christmas present that is. It's the Grinch vs Scrooge. This first round clash may set a world record for slumped shoulders and arms thrown towards the heavens in disdain. Thornton is the favourite by virtue of being the seed, but there are myriad examples of the Scot making life extremely difficult for himself.
The winner of this tie takes on Mensur Suljovic or Kevin Painter. 2015 quarter-finalist Thornton lost to a Northern Irishman last year in the form of Daryl Gurney. The man from the heart of Ayrshire won't be interested in a repeat performance.