PDC World Darts Championship 2019 schedule - Wednesday December 19, evening session

The first round is done. 96 have become 64. And from here, things only get tougher. William O'Connor will do well to bear that in mind. It was all too easy to . James Wilson won't give O'Connor the chance to cruise with an 87 average. Wilson, a finalist on the PDC European Tour this year, keeps threatening to do something special. The World Championship is the best time to do it. Ryan Joyce was a cool customer in a . The trio of checkouts in the opening set were game-changing moments. The Geordie ace never looked concerned. But Simon Whitlock is a different prospect. The 2010 world runner-up knows he's got a tough run which could include games with Steve Lennon, James Wade and Michael van Gerwen. He can't afford to look past Joyce here.

Michael Smith has been fairly widely tipped to go the distance at the PDC World Championship. Being in a friendly-looking bottom half of the draw helps. And Smith, who is preciously talented, has said that he's not feeling the pressure like in recent years. His second round opponent is Ron Meulenkamp, who came back from being two legs away from a 3-0 whitewash to defeat Diogo Portela. The Bomb could yet detonate some darting dreams.
Speaking of upsets, pundits and punters had already anticipated a James Wade vs Krzysztof Ratajski second round game. But they hadn't reckoned on Seigo Asada. The Japanese star was exceptional, and this could be the start of something special for him. Wade has won two majors this year - and has won most majors the PDC has to offer. But the three-time Ally Pally semi-finalist still doesn't have the most valued title of them all. If he wants it, this is an excellent way to get his momentum going.
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19:10 James Wilson vs William O'Connor (R2) 20:10 Simon Whitlock vs Ryan Joyce (R2) 21:10 Michael Smith vs Ron Meulenkamp (R2) 22:10 James Wade vs Seigo Asada (R2)