Schedule Tuesday night at World Darts Championship including Michael van Gerwen, Steve Beaton and Mikuru Suzuki

The biggest Dutch contender for the world title makes his appearance at the World Darts Championship on Tuesday night. For Michael van Gerwen, his route to a fourth world title begins against Keane Barry.

It has been a while since Van Gerwen got to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy at Alexandra Palace. 'Mighty Mike' became world champion for the last time in 2019. In 2020 and 2023, Van Gerwen made it to the final, but had to settle for second place just like in 2013.

In late November, Van Gerwen showed good form by reaching the final of the Players Championship Finals. Although this final was lost against Luke Humphries, the 34-year-old Dutchman showed that he is on the right track. Especially after major tournaments such as the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the Grand Slam of Darts were very disappointing this season.

His opponent Barry has already appeared on the Ally Pally stage earlier this tournament. In the first round 'Dynamite' won 3-1 in sets over Reynaldo Rivera. Barry has never made it past the second round at the World Darts Championship, but did put Jonny Clayton to the test two years ago. The Ferret' narrowly won 3-2 in sets.

Wessel Nijman is the other Dutchman in action Tuesday night. The North Hollander will make his debut at the World Darts Championship against darts legend Steve Beaton. The difference in experience is immense. Where Nijman will play his first World Championship, for the 1996 world champion it will be his 33rd consecutive World Championship participation. This makes "The Bronzed Adonis" the record holder. For Nijman, his participation at Alexandra Palace is a new chapter in his career, just after he closed a painful period. The darter from Uitgeest was caught match-fixing in 2020 and was given a five-year suspension for this, two and a half years of which were conditional if he committed to countering match-fixing problems. Nijman returned to the circuit in early 2023 and subsequently qualified for this tournament through the Development Tour.

Mike De Decker, in his fourth World Cup appearance, after making his debut earlier this season at major tournaments such as the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix. In both appearances, the dart player from Mechelen lost to Joe Cullen. From 'The Rockstar' De Decker has no trouble this time. German qualifier Dragutin Horvat is the opponent. If De Decker wins, he will play 32nd-seeded Madars Razma in the second round.

Finally, there is also a clash between Ricardo Pietreczko and Mikuru Suzuki, who is the second female player at this tournament after Fallon Sherrock. Pietreczko recently gained some experience playing against a woman on the big stage. At the Grand Slam of Darts, he faced Beau Greaves, but that match was lost 5-1. During that match, it was easy to see that Pietreczko could not handle the whistling and booing from the audience at all. If the fans can get him mad again, this could be an interesting match.

World Darts Championship 2024 schedule

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Evening session (from 7 p.m.)

Steve Beaton v Wessel Nijman (R1)

Mike De Decker v Dragutin Horvat (R1)

Ricardo Pietreczko v Mikuru Suzuki (R1)

Michael van Gerwen v Keane Barry (R2)