Gary Anderson begins the hunt for his third world championship today.

The World Championship started well yesterday, and now we are ready for the second day, and there are even more matches on the program. Thus there is both an afternoon session and an evening session.

Therefore, there are already matches from 01.30 pm.

Afternoon Session

Michael Barnard v Jose De Sousa
And the first match is between Michael Barnard and Jose de Sousa. Not the two most famous names in the dart world. Michael Barnard has won three Challenge Tours this season. In addition, he qualified for the Players Championship Finals, where he lost already in the first round. Jose de Sousa qualified through the southwest European qualification. Jose De Sousa’s biggest achievement in PDC was when he qualified for the World Championship back in 2012. It’s therefore hard to say what to expect from the match, but maybe Michael Barnard can, after all, pull on his routine from his many participations at Players Championship-events.

Alan Tabern v Raymond Smith
According to the bookmakers, English Alan Tabern is underdog in this match. Alan Tabern has primarily performed on the Players Championship Tour this year, where he, like Michael Barnard, qualified for the final event. However, he lost against Gary Anderson in the first round by 6-2. Australian Raymond Smith has not played in a PDC-tournament  since the World Series Finals, but the Australian has dominated in his home country, where he secured the first place on DPA’s Pro Tour Ranking.

Paul Nicholson v Kevin Burness
Australian Paul Nicholson is slowly moving up on the Order of Merit. The Australian have thus been on the European Tour and Players Championships this season. He will meet Northern Ireland’s Kevin Burness, who has only been on the Players Championship stage, although he has repeatedly attempted to qualify for various events on the European Tour. There is no doubt that Paul Nicholson is favorite in this match.

Jamie Lewis v Cody Harris
Jamie Lewis was the big surprise at last year’s World Championships, where he reached the semi-final. Here it was Phil Taylor, who became overman. Along the way he won against Peter Wright and Darren Webster. However, he has been struggling to continue the great style this season, where he has been participating mostly at the Players Championship events. However, he secured a seat at the World Series Finals, where he beat Dimitri van den Bergh and Rob Cross before James Wade got in the way. Cody Harris played a very strange and exciting match against Martin Schindler yesterday. Several times, the margins did not go Cody Harris’s way, so he must hope that the luck on that point turns a little today.

Evening Session

Danny Noppert v Royden Lam
Danny Noppert is going into this tournament with a pretty nice amount of self-confidence in his luggage. Thus he reached the semi-final at Players Championship Finals, where the later winner Daryl Gurney became too much. On paper, Royden Lam should not be a challenge, but Royden Lam has previously surprised the dart world. Thus he beat Gary Anderson by 6-5 during this year’s Shanghai Masters. One should hardly put too much in that victory, so it will most likely be win for Danny Noppert.

Simon Stevenson v Ted Evetts
World number 84 against world number 118. What to expect from the match is hard to say. However, Ted Evetts has some confidence after he won an event on the Challenge Tour last month, followed by a semifinal at the U23 World Championship. If the self-confidence is enough to win the match, time must show.

Chris Dobey v Boris Koltsov
Chris Dobey is the bookmaker’s clear favorite in this match. The Englishman has participated in the Players Championship Tour for most of the season, and has also qualified for a couple of European Tours along the way. He’s Russian opponent Boris Koltsov has primarily played on the Challenge Tour this season, but without great success. The bookmaker’s feeling about this match is probably right.

Gary Anderson v Nicholson / Burness
Gary Anderson enters the tournament in this second round match. Here he is likely to meet Paul Nicholson. Gary Anderson is coming to this World Championship with a lot of self-esteem, following a successful season, including victories at the UK Open and World Matchplay. Whether the opponent is Paul Nicholson or Kevin Burness, Gary Anderson is the favorite in the match.