PDC World Darts Championship schedule - Thursday December 20, afternoon session

Raymond van Barneveld is gone. So too are Simon Whitlock, Joe Cullen and James Wilson. Oh, and PDC world number three Peter Wright. What the World Championship needs is someone strong, stable and with staying power. We need Michael Barnard, a man who . This opening Thursday tie really is the tortoise and the hare. There's Barnard, the Challenge Tour table-topper, who took simply forever to see off Jose de Sousa. He plays Jermaine Wattimena, a man known as the Machine Gun, and not because he's banned in Turkey. Their second round match could be extremely quick, or painfully slow. It's hard to tell, really. It's also hard to tell what we'll see from Alan Norris. Chuck is the 25th seed, yet his past 12 months have been nothing short of traumatising. He meets Steve Lennon, who wasn't at his best in the first round but . The Irishman will surely fancy pushing Norris all the way.

Luke Humphries has secured a first ever World Championship win. A whitewash thrashing of Adam Hunt made sure that the youngster got on the board. Stephen Bunting could be a bridge too far for Humphries, however. For Bunting, it's about avoiding the same fate as many of his seeded peers.
In the final tie of the afternoon, a man still in the early stages of his darting career takes on one in his golden years. Chris Dobey cantered past Boris Koltsov in round one. This time he meets Steve Beaton, who was crushed by Vincent van der Voort last year. Should the Bronzed Adonis beat Dobey, he'll have a chance at revenge against the Dutch Destroyer. This tie, perhaps more than the three preceding it, feels like a real toss-up.
Click here for more information about the PDC World Darts Championship, including schedules and the prize fund breakdown.

12:40 Jermaine Wattimena v Michael Barnard (R2) 13:45 Alan Norris v Steve Lennon (R2) 14:50 Stephen Bunting v Luke Humphries (R2) 16:00 Steve Beaton v Chris Dobey (R2)