World Darts Championship: Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis headline Tuesday's action
Tuesday 19 December 2017 22:43, UK
Former world champions Raymond van Barneveld and Adrian Lewis will headline Tuesday’s World Championship action at the Alexandra Palace.
The pair will be hoping to avoid the same fate as high-profile stars Dave Chisnall, James Wade and Jelle Klaasen, who were all dumped out on a weekend of shocks at the Alexandra Palace.
Barney is aiming to continue his impressive record at this tournament, having reached the semi-finals of this event in each of the last three years, while two-time world champion Lewis faces the prospect of dropping out of the world's top 16 if he fails to reach the quarter-finals, after enduring one of the toughest years of his career.
Five-time world champion Van Barneveld faces a tough test against debutant Richard North, while Lewis will meet the winner of the preliminary tie between Aleksandr Oreshkin and Kevin Munch.
Also in action on Tuesday evening is World Grand Prix semi-finalist John Henderson. 'The Highlander' defeated Michael van Gerwen and Van Barneveld en route to reaching the last four in Dublin, and he begins his campaign against Finland's Marko Kantele.
John Henderson v Marko Kantele
Henderson, who made his World Darts Championship debut in 2005, was one of the stories of the World Grand Prix in Dublin. The 44-year-old enjoyed a fairytale run to the semi-finals and the Scot will hope to reproduce the form which saw him defeat both Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld in such unexpected fashion.
Kantele, world No 163, is much more of an unknown quantity to the British public and first made his appearance in the World Championship in 2009 with the winner of the encounter meeting Darryl Gurney in the second round on Saturday.
Raymond van Barneveld v Richard North
Van Barneveld, aiming to claim his first world title 20 years after first becoming champion, will meet debutant North confident on making a strong start but will be aware of the fate suffered by Chisnall and Wade on Sunday.
North, world No 57, enjoyed his best result at a major tournament when he reached the last 16 in October's World Grand Prix but will start as a heavy underdog despite defeating Barney in February in their only previous encounter.
Adrian Lewis v Aleksandr Oreshkin or Kevin Munch
Lewis, a two-time champion at Alexandra Palace, will make his tournament entrance on Tuesday with the aim of building some early momentum as the Englishman aims to improve on his run to the third round last year.
The 32-year-old will await the winner of the preliminary encounter between Oreshkin, who helped Russia to a quarter-final place in this year's World Cup, and Munch, who last featured at Alexandra Palace in 2012.
2018 World Championship from Alexandra Palace continues on Tuesday night with coverage underway from 7pm on Sky Sports Darts and ending with the final on New Year's Day.
Keep up to date with the news as the PDC celebrates 25 years on Sky Sports. So get all the latest at www.skysports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts - don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts
