Schedule Sunday afternoon at World Matchplay 2024 including Ross Smith-Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting

The first round of the 2024 World Matchplay resumes Sunday afternoon with the next four matches from the first round. The afternoon session will start a little earlier than usual.

This is due to the fact that due to the presence of England in the European Championship final, it was decided to advance both Sunday sessions earlier. The afternoon session will now start at 12 p.m.

What a spectacle to open the afternoon session with. Two high energy players who are not shy about popping in a lot of 180 scores. Both players are still looking for their first win at the World Matchplay. For Ross Smith, it will be his third attempt, while Josh Rock is competing for the second time.

It will be the third meeting between Smith and Rock. In 2022, the first meeting was won 6-1 by Rock. Last month, the two players faced each other again and then Smith won 6-5.

An interesting duel between two similar type of players. Stoic darters who have good finishes as their trademark. Danny Noppert will be there for the sixth time at the World Matchplay. In that respect, Noppert cannot yet match James Wade, who is competing for the 19th time in a row.

In the head-to-head, the balance is well in Noppert's favor. The Dutchman managed to win seven of the eleven previous encounters. Only one of the eleven duels between them was at a televised tournament. At the 2022 Players Championship Finals, the win went 6-1 to Noppert.

In the third match of the afternoon it is the turn of former tournament winner Dimitri van den Bergh, the only Belgian participant at this World Matchplay. He will take on Martin Schindler, one of the two German participants.

For Van den Bergh, it is his fifth participation. 'The Dreammaker' has never lost in the first round, but his results at this tournament have been dwindling. Van den Bergh won on his debut in 2020, and was the losing finalist in 2021. In 2022, the semifinals were the finish line, while Van den Bergh was eliminated in the second round in 2023. Schindler did not win a match at Blackpool in his previous two participations.

Van den Bergh and Schindler will meet for the thirteenth time at an official tournament. Of the twelve previous duels, nine were won by Van den Bergh.

Stephen Bunting and Ryan Joyce provide the dessert of the afternoon session. They will decide between them who will be Luke Humphries' opponent in the second round. For Bunting there is a milestone, as he has qualified for the World Matchplay for the tenth time. Incidentally, 'The Bullet' survived the first round only twice. Joyce previously competed at the World Matchplay in 2020, but then lost in the opening round.

The two Englishmen have played each other six times before. Of the first four encounters, three were won by Joyce. Bunting, however, has won the last two encounters, including 3-0 in sets at the last World Darts Championship.

Ross Smith v Josh Rock

Danny Noppert v James Wade

Dimitri Van den Bergh v Martin Schindler

Stephen Bunting v Ryan Joyce