We are presented with an international lineup on Saturday afternoon, during the first afternoon session of the World Darts Championship. The eight players we get to see this afternoon come from six different countries.
The first match of the afternoon session is between Lee Evans and Sandro Eric Sosing. Evans was one of the winners at the Q-School early this year and the English dart player impressively managed to qualify for the World Darts Championship via the Pro Tour. His Filipino opponent owes qualification to reaching the final at the PDC Asian Championship.
The second duel of the afternoon is between an Englishman and a Pole. Connor Scutt managed to qualify for the World Darts Championship in his second Tour Card year. Scutt will have to reach at least the third round of this tournament to possibly keep his Tour Card. His first hurdle, is Krzysztof Kciuk. The Pole qualified for the World Championship through the Eastern European qualification tournament.
Then moment when Jules van Dongen will make his debut at the World Darts Championship. About eight months ago, few would have given him a chance at qualifying for the World Championship. But after a strong second half of the season, Van Dongen still managed to qualify for the World Darts Championship. He will meet a player who also has dual citizenship. Darren Penhall used to play darts under the English flag, but is now an Australian. Penhall held his own on the Australian DPA Tour by winning 11 of the 21 tournaments.
In the final match of this session, Dave Chisnall will take on Cameron Menzies, who won 3-0 in sets over Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in the first round on Friday night. Chisnall is one of the outsiders at this World Darts Championship. The Englishman had a pretty good season on the Pro Tour with two floor titles and three Euro Tour titles. In the majors, however, things went much less well, as Chisnall did not once reach the quarterfinals of a major in 2023. Perhaps the World Darts Championship can change that.
Saturday, December 16
Afternoon session (from 12:30 p.m.)
Lee Evans v Sandro Eric Sosing (R1)
Connor Scutt v Krzysztof Kciuk (R1)
Jules van Dongen v Darren Penhall (R1)
Dave Chisnall v Cameron Menzies (R2)