PDC WDC round 1 evening session: Wizard, Taylor add touch of magic

Holly Thackeray | December 18, 2015

Day 3: First round evening session plus preliminary action

The Power, The Wizard and Dutch Destroyer all to dazzle

Saturday evening brings further World Darts Championship oche entertainment, following on from an exciting afternoon of tungsten scraps.

The big stars are out in force for these day three fixtures, with 16-time world champion Phil Taylor awaiting the plucky winner of the preliminary round, while fan favourites Simon Whitlock and Vincent van der Voort also make their first outings.

Preliminary round (best of three sets, no tie-break)

Keita Ono v Alex Tagarao

East Asian arrowsmith Ono is a promising talent, having bested the World Japan Qualifying Event to reach Alexandra Palace. A former Japan Open winner also, Ono faces Philippino opponent Tagarao (11/8) as odds-on 8/15 favourite, having so far made a bigger splash on the darts scene.

Customers can back Ono at a better price of 11/5 to take this tie 2-1, though, and qualify for a later tussle with formidable Taylor.

First round

Simon Whitlock v Ricky Evans

The Wizard has shown he still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and the skilled Aussie oche hero is unlikely to be downed after regaining a confident stride recently.

Wily Whitlock has dispatched Englishman Evans twice before but this could still be a fairly unpredictable affair, with Rapid also having previously drawn blood from a battle with The Wizard. Still, 12/5 looks a cracking price for Whitlock to show his superior class overall and clinch this clash 3-1.

Vincent van der Voort v Loz Ryder

Another Aussie here, though English-born, this is only Ryder’s second stab at a PDC World Championship. Loz (9/2 outsider) will have it all to do if he is to topple veteran Van der Voort, whose undoubted quality saw him reach the quarter-finals in the 2015 edition.

Due to this darting prowess, The Dutch Destroyer looks good value at 5/4 to complete a 3-0 whitewashing of his upcoming opponent.

Phil Taylor v Ono/Tagarao

Whoever features in the final match of the evening will be playing opposite The Power, and Taylor will want the most testing warm-up possible. It would be a shock of unimaginable proportions for the all-time top tungsten star to go out of one of his favoured competitions so early, and highly unlikely to happen. In fact, Taylor is most tasty at 4/1 to be world champion once again.

Related

There is so much more to enjoy, so dip into our darts page.

Coral’s top tip: Back The Wizard’s brilliance to beat Evans 3-1.