We begin the fifth day of play at the World Darts Championship with an afternoon session. The headline of will be multiple time major
James Wade beginning his latest quest to finally win the big one.
The afternoon kicks off with a first round tie between
Ian White and Tomoya Goto. Last year White was missing from the World Darts Championship after eleven consecutive participations. This year, however, 'The Diamond' managed to comfortably qualify again for the darts spectacle in London. However, his meager 2022 has caused White's Tour Card to be somewhat in jeopardy. He is currently 62nd in the world rankings and must remain in the top 64 after the World Darts Championship to extend his stay on the tour. At least with a win over Japan's Goto, White is guaranteed entry to the PDC Tour in 2024.
Next up is the return of
Jeffrey De Graaf. It will be De Graaf's seventh World Championship appearance. He played four times at Lakeside and twice before at Alexandra Palace. De Graaf never reached the second round at the World Darts Championship. The difference with his previous participations is that nowadays he plays under the Swedish flag. De Graaf has been living with his girlfriend in Sweden for several years and managed to qualify for this tournament via the PDC Nordic & Baltic Tour. He faces
Ritchie Edhouse, who will be playing his fourth World Championship.
The third match of the afternoon is between former world youth champion
Keegan Brown and his opponent
Boris Krcmar. The winner of the match could have a big opportunity as an injured Dirk van Duijvenbode awaits in Round 2.
We close the afternoon with a cracker between James Wade and
Matt Campbell. Campbell defeated Lourence Ilagan (3-2) in the first round and with Wade he faces another tough opponent. The 'Machine' is fresh off the back of a strong autumn where he reached the final of the European Championship, the semi-finals of the Grand Slam of Darts and the quarter-finals of the Players Championship Finals. However, if Wade loses early in London, a slight dip on the PDC Order of Merit awaits him.
World Darts Championship 2024 schedule
Tuesday, Dec. 19
Afternoon session (from 12:30 p.m.)
Ian White v Tomoya Goto (R1)
Ritchie Edhouse v Jeffrey de Graaf (R1)
Keegan Brown v Boris Krcmar (R1)
James Wade v Matt Campbell (R2)