Event of the Day: Day 6 of the World Darts Championships

Our event of the day is the sixth day of this year’s World Darts Championships at Alexandra Palace in London. The tournament has got off to a typically energetic start with the players being buoyed on by the 10,000 darts supporters who inhabit the world-famous venue every day. There will be two sessions of exhilarating action today as Darren Webster versus Vincent van der Voort headlines the afternoon session whilst Daryl Gurney will entertain the evening crowd against Ross Smith. Ross Smith impressed in his first visit to the oche in this year’s tournament, as he dismantled a darting legend in Paul Lim, 3-1. The 29-year-old easily overcame Lim, who made his debut at the World Championships before Smith was born.

 

However, Smith’s fixtures do not get any easier as he faces world number five Daryl Gurney in round 2. Gurney goes into this tournament on the back of his Players Championship Finals win, where he impressively overcame Michael van Gerwen in a thrilling final. Gurney will certainly be favourite to progress to the third round, but Smith will be hoping to continue the form he displayed in his first-round win. One of darts’ most exciting prospects will get his World Championship campaign underway in the evening session, as Dimitri Van den Bergh will do battle with Chuck Puleo. The young Dutchman has had a year to remember, after he retained his Youth Championship Title and also hit a nine-darter in the Grand Slam of Darts against Stephen Bunting. The £500,000 grand prize may be out of the ‘Dream Maker’s’ reach this year, but the dancing Dutchman will be hoping to cultivate an impressive run at the tournament, rounding off the year of his darting life in style. It should be another great day of darts from Alexandra Palace.
 

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the Carabao Cup Quarter-Final between Leicester City and Manchester City at the King Power Stadium. The hosts booked their spot in the Quarter-Finals after winning two penalty shootouts in their first two ties, whilst Man City have been much more convincing and are yet to concede a goal in the Carabao Cup this term. In the cricket, Australia host India as the second Test of the series draws to a close. After a respectable innings at the crease from Australia, the visitors require a further 175 runs on the final day to lead the series 2-0, but have already lost five wickets. In the NBA, the Indiana Pacers host the Cleveland Cavaliers as the home team look to win their eighth straight game. Elsewhere in America, there is NHL action as the Dallas Stars welcome the Calgary Flames to the American Airlines Center as they look to snap their four-game losing streak.