The PDC and Sky should take credit for making the best of a bad deal - the canned noise proved better than nothing. And Gary Anderson's performance was at least better than a defeat. He, as well as Michael van Gerwen, James Wade and Simon Whitlock, have plenty of gears left to shift through. Krzyzstof Ratajski decided to shoot straight into overdrive, producing one of the best averages the World Matchplay has ever seen.

The seeds were triumphant in all five of Friday's games - can Jamie Hughes turn the tables in Saturday's opening match? There's no reason why not. For one, Hughes packs the sort of punch that can shake any opponent. Secondly, Mensur Suljovic is clearly not at his best. But Suljovic tends to do quite well at the World Matchplay, and will look back fondly on a 10-1 thumping of Jermaine Wattimena at this stage last year. The expectation is that this one will go the distance.

Glen Durrant and Jeffrey de Zwaan meet in one of the more hotly-anticipated ties of the round. De Zwaan has experience of excelling in a big stage event with no crowd, having stunned Michael van Gerwen at an empty Butlin's Minehead at the 2018 UK Open. Durrant has experience of excelling in a big stage event with no crowd, having won various BDO titles. Duzza, having reached the semi-finals last year, will want to go a step further even with Peter Wright possibly awaiting him in round two. But his Dutch opponent also has fond Matchplay memories to call upon, and when he gets on a roll, De Zwaan can only be stopped by something special.

Defending champion Rob Cross has been handed a tricky start to his title defence, in the form of Target stablemate Gabriel Clemens. The German Giant has yet to really get going in a PDC major, arguably coming closest in last year's Grand Slam. But reaching a World Series final takes some doing as well - and as you may recall, Clemens held off Cross (among others) to do it. Cross isn't well-fancied to win the title again, but Voltage is at his best without the weight of expectation on him. The impressive Ratajski will provide another stern challenge for whoever battles their way through this one.

Peter Wright's last five World Matchplay results (from least to most recent) are: semi-finals, quarter-finals, runner-up, semi-finals, quarter-finals. A positive is that first-round defeats just aren't Snakebite's style. Another is that since even the most recent of those Blackpool journeys, a truly life-changing event has happened. Now, with the prefix of 'world champion', world champion Peter Wright is a different prospect.

There are two sides to Jose de Sousa's PDC tale. One is of a man whose outstanding scoring and dead-eyed excellence has seen him shoot up the rankings and win a PDC floor event. The other is of the same man, who has played six matches at PDC majors and won just one. That sort of baffling statistic will surely be a distant memory before long, but right now the Portuguese star faces up to possibly the biggest challenge of his PDC career to date. You wouldn't put it past him, though.

Day Two of the 2020 World Matchplay ends with a tie from a quarter of the draw which doesn't feature a truly clear favourite. 13th seed Ratajski may have made himself one with his sterling opener. Then there's Cross and Suljovic, two seeds who could be out by the time this final game rolls around.

Finally comes Michael Smith, the PDC's resident nearly-man, who fell at the final hurdle in Blackpool last year. The fifth seed also spurned a golden chance to win the Masters at the start of the year, begging the question: What will it take? Perhaps this most unique of situations might ease the pressure on the Bully Boy. Jonny Clayton will heap it back on in spades, however. The Welshman did well in the Darts At Home tournament, and will fancy his chances of getting through this quarter. Smith will be looking to repeat his simply superb 7-1 Cardiff crushing of the Ferret, back in the Premier League in February. Or was it a few years ago now? I'm honestly not sure.

Click here for more information about the World Matchplay, including the tournament bracket, TV coverage and prize money breakdown.

18:10 Mensur Suljovic v Jamie Hughes

19:00 Glen Durrant v Jeffrey de Zwaan

20:00 Rob Cross v Gabriel Clemens

21:00 Peter Wright v Jose de Sousa

22:00 Michael Smith v Jonny Clayton