PDC World Darts Championship 2019 schedule: Friday December 28, afternoon session

To start with, only two of the six players taking part is a seed. And two of them have never even won a senior ranking PDC event. The form book has well and truly been ripped up. That's especially true of the fourth quarter of the draw. Nathan Aspinall, Devon Petersen, Brendan Dolan or Benito van de Pas - the 30th seed - will be a semi-finalist. For Aspinall and Petersen, who compete in the first tie, this represents an unprecedented opportunity. Most expected Gerwyn Price and Ian White to be here. But it's the Asp and dancing Devon who have a World Championship quarter-final in their sights. Form suggests that Aspinall takes this. But Petersen keeps finding ways to win.
Van de Pas and Dolan meet for the second tie of the session. Despite a tournament average of barely over 86, van de Pas is a step away from the quarter-finals. It would be a massive moment for the young Dutchman. But he'll have to do better against Dolan, who barely broke a sweat against Yuanjun Liu and Joe Cullen. Mervyn King made things a bit trickier, but Dolan wasn't ruffled. And the former Grand Prix finalist knows that a spot in the biggest match in darts is certainly attainable.
Amid the darting drama, Ryan Joyce has gone about his job in a serene manner. Anastasia Dobromyslova was held off; Simon Whitlock merely brushed aside. Alan Norris did provide some stern resistance. But Joyce made it through to a maiden last 16 of a major. He plays James Wade, a man who has been here plenty of times before. Wade hasn't made things straightforward for himself whatsoever. Keegan Brown could've toppled him. If he's not on it Joyce, who will want to improve after his average dropped versus Norris, will pounce. And that could well play into Michael van Gerwen's hands.

Nathan Aspinall v Devon Petersen (R4)
Benito van de Pas v Brendan Dolan (R4)
Ryan Joyce v James Wade (R4)