It’s Saturday, but it does not mean that the dart has the weekend off. Eight matches are on today’s program.

With Gary Anderson’s victory yesterday, none of the big names have yet been eliminated from the tournament. Tonight Michael van Gerwen will try to follow up with a victory.

Before going on stage, however, there are seven other matches.

Afternoonsession

Richard North v Robert Marijanovic
The first match stands between two guys who both have tried it before. Richard debuted at the World Championship last year, where Robert Marijanovic’s only participation is be back in 2015. The two players have participated at the Players Championship-events and on the European Tour this season. However, there have not been any tournament wins for the two, but they have been amongst the last 16 a couple of times.

Mickey Mansell v Jim Long
The first man from the other side of the Atlantic is in action today. Jim Long has thus qualified as the best Canadian on the CDC rankings. He is heading for Mickey Mansell, who has previously attended at the World Championship twice. Mickey Mansell, like many of the others in the first round, has primarily made it on the Players Championship and the European Tour this season. However, Mickey Mansell has not had the greatest success this season, but he did win a Players Championship-event, so it has not been all bad.

Josh Payne v Jeff Smith
Josh Payne goes into this first round with one of his best results in his luggage. The Englishman managed to reach the quarter-finals at the Grand Slam of Darts just over a month ago. The Englishman is opposed to Canadian Jeff Smith, who qualified through the North American qualification. Jeff Smith has previously been in the final at Lakeside, and in addition, he has also won the WDF World Cup. However, he does not have the great results in PDC, where he has been on the Challenge Tour this season as he did not secure a Tour Card during this year’s Q-school.

Max Hopp v Danny Noppert
The afternoon will be shot down by this second round match, where German Max Hopp will face Dutch Danny Noppert. The Dutchman played quite well in his 3-0 victory against Royden Lam yesterday, where the man from Hong Kong only got one leg in the whole match. Noppert impressed with a average of just over 96, so he must go into this matcch with a lot of confidence. Max Hopp goes into this World Championship with his best season ever in the back. The German has thus won the German Open and Players Championship 19. In addition, he also reached the semi-final at this year’s European Championship. But if Danny Noppert hits the same level as yesterday, Max Hopp must be ready from start.

Eveningsession

Toni Alcinas v Craig Ross
Spanish Toni Alcinas starts the eveningsession when he is heading for New Zealand’s Craig Ross. Craig Ross was originally not qualified for the tournament because he lost the final aagainst Tahuna Irwin in the New Zealand qualification. Irwin, however, has had to withdraw from the tournament and therefore Craig Ross has got the seat. Toni Alcinas is the clear favorite in this amtch, but in the past there have been bigger surprises.

Ryan Searle v Stephen Burton
This could easily be one of the more even matches. Ryan Searle is a name that, from time to time, has appeared this season, including a final and a semifinal at two Players Championship events. He has also participated in a few tournaments on the European Tour, and at the same time he also participated in the Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship Finals, but without great success. Stephen Burton had a little more success at the Players Championship Finals, where he ended up amongst the last 16.

Keegan Brown v Karel Sedlacek
Keegan Brown will then go up against Czech Karel Sedlacek. Karel Sedlacek qualified for the tournament through the Eastern European qualification. The Czech has participated in the World Cup and two tournaments on the European Tour this season. In addition, he won the Czech Open this year. Keegan Brown was amongst the last 32 at both the Players Championship Finals and the UK Open in this season. Some of the best results of his career. The young Englishman therefore has some more experience on the big stage, and that could probably be an advantage tonight.

Michael van Gerwen v Alan Tabern
Michael van Gerwen shots down the day when he meets Alan Tabern. Alan Tabern secured a place in the scound round beating Raymond Smith in yesterday’s match by 3-2. Alan Tabern played with a fine average of just over 91, but he’ll probably has to get even higher if he’s going to have a chance here. Michael van Gerwen is of course a huge favorite in this match. Although the Dutchman has seemed a bit more human this season, he has still won 19 individual tournaments, so there is no doubt that he is among the favorites, if not the favorite, to win the World Championship.