One of the greatest dart players of all time, Michael Van Gerwen steps onto the stage this evening to begin his quest for a 4th World Crown.
He faces the former England Captain James Hurrell who looked very solid in his opening round victory against Jim Long.
Recent Grand Slam semi-finalist Mickey Mansell plays his first-round game tonight against the impressive Japanese star Tomoya Goto.
The talented German Florian Hempel will face off against the resurgent Jeffrey De Zwaan and finally an all Irish affair in the first round between William O’Connor and Dylan Slevin.
Florian Hempel created one of the highlights of the tournament here last year in his comeback win against Dimitri Van Den Bergh 4-3 in the second round. He became the first player in PDC history to hit back-to-back 10 dart legs in a World Championship.
The best he has done on Tour this season is a semi-final at Players Championship 17. It's been an inconsistent season for the German, highlighted by only qualifying for two European Tour events. He did beat Jonny Clayton in the first round of the Players Championship Finals but lost in the following round 6-3 against Dirk van Duijvenbode.
Jeffrey De Zwaan is a darting enigma, he has all the talent in the world and should be a top-class player by now, although injuries have not helped. He had a last-gasp qualification into this event by getting through the PDC Tour Card qualifier.
He’s been forced to skip numerous tournaments this season due to a continued battle with an injured shoulder and now faces the possibility of losing his Tour Card after dropping to 74th in the World Rankings. He reached the 2018 World Matchplay Semi-Final after wins against Michael Van Gerwen, Adrian Lewis and Dave Chisnall and also made the last 16 at Ally Pally in 2020.
Although those results were a while ago, it only takes someone with his clear outstanding ability, to simply flick a switch and he’s dangerous again. Still just 28 years old, he’ll be hoping to put his injury woes behind him and kickstart his career again.
De Zwaan is definitely the player in better form between these two after averaging over 96 in 5 of his last 8 games on tour.
Florian Hempel always seems to play well at the World Championship and although favourite for this game, he’ll need to again to get past the Dutchman.
Both players hit a lot of 180s when on form and if De Zwaan gets his finishing boots on then he has a real chance of getting through this game.
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| Min. Deposit | £5 |
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| Max. Amount | £30 |
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| Min. Deposit | £5 |
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| Max. Amount | £30 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 30 days |
| Min. Deposit | £5 |
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| Max. Amount | £30 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 7 days |
| Min. Deposit | £10 |
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| Max. Amount | £40 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 7 days |
| Min. Deposit | £10 |
|---|---|
| Max. Amount | £30 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 7 days |
| Min. Deposit | £10 |
|---|---|
| Max. Amount | £40 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 7 days |
| Min. Deposit | £10 |
|---|---|
| Max. Amount | £20 |
| Turnover | No wagering |
| Expiration | 7 days |

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.