27/12/2020

2021 PDC World Darts Championship schedule: Sunday evening session including Wright and Van Gerwen

PDC World Darts Championship favourites Peter Wright and Michael van Gerwen are both in action on Sunday evening.

Both Wright and Van Gerwen came through their openers unscathed. And each will play the two lowest seeds, albeit a pair which highlight the incredible depth of talent on display at this year's World Darts Championship.

Sky Sports Darts TV Guide for PDC World Darts Championship after Christmas break

First though, we've got a battle between two good mates, as Jonny Clayton meets Joe Cullen.

The duo have met twice in majors already this year, with Clayton's win at the UK Open cancelled out by Cullen edging out a real battle at the World Grand Prix. The PDC World Darts Championship brings its own unique pressures, on top of the challenge of putting personal feelings aside to do a professional job.

In some ways, the pressure's off. Neither need worry about defending ranking money, while Cullen's breaking new ground by making the third round. But both will desperately want to improve on second round games which were good enough, but not in line with their high standards. Also, a Last 16 match against Michael van Gerwen or Ricky Evans is a tantalising prospect.

The Grinch who stole Steve West's Christmas is back on the oche. Peter Wright captured more attention for his green garb than for a game that didn't ever catch fire. It was a damn sight better than his nervy opener a year before, and Snakebite will be confident of building on it.

VIDEO: Reigning World Champion Wright returns to Alexandra Palace in Grinch themed outfit

Wright takes on Gabriel Clemens, who is into the third round for the first time. There was a brief moment where the German Giant looked in danger against Nico Kurz, but he called on the experience of the past couple of years to take charge. Clemens spoke afterwards of relishing games against the biggest and best, but his darting CV still shows a lot of runs to the Last 32 or Last 16 of TV events. More is needed, and winning games like this one is the perfect springboard to success.

The final tie of our first day back is the only repeat fixture from last year's third round games. You may recall that Ricky Evans played quite well, having chances to win sets one, three and four. But Michael van Gerwen, the wily old fox, showed how the best hit the big shots at the right moments. A total of 10 maximums, plus three timely ton-plus checkouts, handed Mighty Mike a 4-0 win.

Evans will have learned from it, and been bolstered by an excellent win over Mickey Mansell. Yet Van Gerwen looms large. The best average of the tournament so far, 108.98, accounted for Ryan Murray. Now the Green Machine is out for a repeat of last year's triumph.

One thing's for sure - this game will be played at a frenetic pace. Don't leave the room to grab another mince pie, you might miss a set.