Michael van Gerwen got away with Nitin Kumar missing some early doubles, but some clutch finishing saw him ease to a 6-1 victory. The Dutchman is looking for back-to-back World Series titles. If he does so, he will certainly send a message to the rest of the field to show he's back in top form.
Stephen Bunting also eased through his opening match, beating the talented Tomoya Goto 6-1 with a 93.17 average. The Bullet lost at this stage to MVG in Bahrain and will be looking to avenge that defeat.
MVG looks very relaxed, which is an ominous sign to his fellow competitors, but he's yet to hit 180s like he used to. Bunting had four 180s in their match in Bahrain, and I think he'll do similar again tonight.
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Nathan Aspinall cruised past his nemesis, Lourence Ilagan, in his opening match 6-1. The Asp looked like he was out to prove a point, and he did just that, finishing with two 180s and a 100.93 average.
Man Lok Leung created history yesterday, becoming the first player to win a match on a PDC stage in Saudi Arabia. The Hong Kong star overcame an out-of-sorts Danny Noppert, who averaged just 81.25. That takes nothing away from Leung's performance, though, as he was averaging over 110 early in the match.
Man Lok Leung has been around the circuit for a long time, bringing vast experience at the elite level. Having competed regularly in the PDC, he’s more than capable of giving Nathan Aspinall a proper test here.
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These two young stars meet again for the first time since the World Championship final, where Luke Littler ran out a dominant 7-1 winner.
Gian van Veen has responded well to that defeat, reaching the final of last week’s Bahrain Masters. However, he was denied another title, going down 8-6 to Michael van Gerwen.
Luke Littler eased past Paul Lim for the second successive time with a 6-1 victory, though it was another slightly odd performance. He averaged just 89.13 and failed to hit a maximum.
With many players appearing to struggle in the conditions and adapting to playing in Saudi Arabia, it would be a surprise if this turned into a high-scoring affair.
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Gerwyn Price looked in fabulous form during his 6-0 victory over the awkward Alexis Toylo. The Welshman averaged 100.20 and didn't seem to get out of first gear.
The Iceman defeated Luke Littler at this stage in Bahrain, and will be looking to do the same this evening against the World Number Two.
Luke Humphries eased past Ryusei Azemoto in the first round, averaging 95.56 during a 6-2 victory. Cool Hand lost in the quarter-final against Nathan Aspinall in Bahrain, so will be looking to avoid the same fate here.
For me, Price looked mighty smooth last night, and if he plays in that manner again this evening, he will have enough to get past the Englishman.
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James is a former professional dart player who enjoys writing about darts, golf and football. In 2012, he was crowned the PDC World Youth Champion and these days, he puts his expertise to use with betting tips for BettingLounge readers.