The PDC World Darts Championship favourite takes centre stage on day ten of the tournament – defending champion Gerwyn Price faces Kim Huybrechts in round three.
A three-day Christmas break has left darts fans desperate for more Alexandra Palace action – and Price is the star attraction.
The Welshman is 4/21 to progress into the fourth round, with Huybrechts available at 15/4. The Belgian has been dismissed by the layers, but he has been picking up some decent results on the PDC circuit and could be a tricky opponent. The Hurricane beat Steve Beaton 3-1 in the second round.
Welsh Focus for the Finale
The Welsh dominate the evening card, with the much-fancied Jonny Clayton toeing in the oche after Price.
Clayton, who has won four top-class events this year, should have far too much firepower for Gabriel Clemens.
The Masters in January has been followed by the Premier League title, the World Grand Prix and the World Series of Darts Finals – a glorious stretch for Clayton which propelled him into the World Championship as one of the leading contenders.
The Ferret, as he is known, battled through round two with a 3-2 victory over an inspired Keane Barry. The match was of extremely high quality and if Clayton brings that form to his Clemens meeting, the German could be rapidly heading back to his plate of Christmas turkey.
With Clemens so unimpressive in round two, averaging just 86.29 against nervous youngster Lewy Williams, Clayton to crush Clemens 4-0 is a tempting 5/2 chance.
Wade Can Finish off Van Der Voort
The opening match of Monday night sees James Wade, a three-time World Championship semi-finalist, go up against Vincent van der Voort.
Wade, like Clemens, got through his opening match despite a poor performance. Van der Voort will be sensing a golden opportunity, but he has a terrible head-to-head record against Wade.
The vastly superior finishing ability of Wade typically edges the left-hander over the line against Van der Voort.
Duijvenbode Can Account for Smith
The afternoon action gets underway with a different darting Dutchman at the oche – part-time aubergine farmer Dirk van Duijvenbode goes up against Ross Smith.
The 20/21 about Van Duijvenbode will appeal to many, given his ability to rattle off 180s for fun. The heavy scoring of the Aubergenius can swing this first-to-four sets encounter his way.
Van Duijvenbode was runner-up in the World Grand Prix last year, losing in the final to Price.
Fearless Hempel Can Continue Fairytale Run
There are two more Smiths competing on Monday afternoon. Raymond Smith can join Ross Smith in the Ally Pally scrap heap.
Raymond appears to have a tough job on his hands against Florian Hempel, the seemingly fearless German who saw off Dimitri van den Bergh in round two.
Hempel has dropped only one set in two matches on his World Championship debut, averaging 98.37 in defeating Van den Bergh.
Raymond Smith has played well, too, but Hempel is progressive and has scope for further improvement.
Former runner-up, Michael Smith, may be the only Smith to survive the day. Bully Boy should have far too much for William O’Connor.
*All odds correct at time of writing.
