<a href="/darts" class="sdc-site-localnav__header-title" data-role="nav-header" aria-controls="sdc-site-localnav-body" aria-expanded="false"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewbox="0 0 34 34" class="sdc-site-localnav__icon"> <path d="M6.02 12.67c.01.194.087.362.247.525l.188.192L16.52 23.45c.188.19.44.294.706.294s.518-.104.707-.293l10.135-10.134.123-.126c.162-.163.24-.332.248-.53.006-.173-.155-.438-.442-.725-.187-.187-.386-.368-.59-.537-.05-.04-.096-.078-.138-.11l-.496.495-9.193 9.193-.355.354-.354-.354-9.197-9.198-.484-.484c-.043.033-.09.07-.14.112-.204.168-.402.348-.59.536-.285.288-.446.553-.44.727z" /> </svg>Darts </a> <br>Michael van Gerwen booked his place in the next round as he whitewashed James Hurrell; <strong>watch the seventh day of the World Championship at 12.30pm, with a star-studded evening session from 7pm including Raymond van Barneveld and Luke Littler</strong><br>By Nigel Chiu and Megan Wellens <br>Saturday 21 December 2024 08:48, UK<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>Michael van Gerwen raced into the third round of the World Darts Championship as he beat James Hurrell 3-0 on Friday.<br>Van Gerwen, who comes into the World Championship having not won a televised tournament all year for the first time since 2011, was under control throughout the match and showed glimpses of his best form.<br>The 35-year-old will play Northern Ireland's Brendan Dolan or Hong Kong's Lok Yin Lee after Christmas.<br>"I think I played okay," Van Gerwen told<em> Sky Sports</em>.<br>"Of course I was nervous. As everyone knows it has been a tough year for me. So to stand up here and do the thing you want to do always costs a lot of energy.<br>"Overall I think I put in a good performance. My doubles were there. I was confident. That's important, but the most important thing is I won the game. That's the only thing that counts at the moment."<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>Hurrell started the match well with a 13-dart leg but after that it was one-way traffic for Van Gerwen, who won the next three legs to win the set with a 'Shanghai' 120 checkout.<br> Everything you need to know about the World Darts Championship <br> Stream the World Darts Championship and more with NOW <br> Full schedule: World Darts Championship <br> Key characters to watch at Alexandra Palace <br>Van Gerwen did not come under any serious pressure for the remainder of the match, winning each set 3-1 to secure a place in the last 32.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>The evening's first-round matches saw Germany's Florian Hempel maintain his 100 per cent record of winning his first-round match at the World Championship with a 3-1 win over Jeffrey de Zwaan of the Netherlands.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>Mickey Mansell won a scrappy contest by the same scoreline against Japan's Tomoya Goto. Mansell was far from his best but did enough to set up a clash with Wales' Jonny Clayton on Monday.<br>The second ever all-Irish match at the World Championship went the way of Dylan Slevin as he got the better of veteran William O'Connor 3-1.<br>O'Connor had the crowd on his side with his classic darts walk-on song of <em>Zombie</em> but was largely outshone by his younger compatriot.<br>In the afternoon session, fan favourite<strong> Stephen Bunting</strong> came back from a set down to beat Kai Gotthardt in the second round of the World Darts Championship.<br>After delighting the Ally Pally crowd, which included Ed Sheeran and Roman Kemp, with his <em>Titanium</em> walk-on, Bunting was served a rude awakening by Gotthardt as he broke 'The Bullet's' throw to take the opening set.<br>Gotthardt did not let up in the second set either but after taking Bunting to a deciding leg, he missed three darts at D8 and opened the door for Bunting to take out D10 to level the game at 1-1. From there, Bunting romped his way to a relatively comfortable victory.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br><strong>Wessel Nijman</strong> survived a massive scare against Cameron Carolissen to clinch a 3-2 win in a deciding leg, throwing his dart into the floor and roaring in celebration.<br>Favoured as a dark horse by many in this tournament, Nijman came out firing and whitewashed the first set with a 139 checkout, staying calm under pressure to wrap up the second set for a 2-0 lead.<br>However, Carolissen put on an almighty comeback to take all three legs in the third set and he ground out the fourth to bring the encounter to 2-2, a 95 average helping the South African to wrestle some momentum.<br>With the pair locked in a tense deciding set, the match went all the way to a last-leg decider and with the pressure on, Nijman nailed D8 to set up a second-round showdown with Joe Cullen.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br><strong>Alexander Merkx </strong>set up a second-round contest with world No 16 Chris Dobey after a comprehensive 3-0 victory against Stephen Burton.<br>Meanwhile, <strong>Sandro Eric Sosing</strong> withdrew from his match with <strong>Ian White</strong> after suffering with chest pains and being treated by medics at Alexandra Palace.<br>The withdrawal means White is through to the second round and will play Ritchie Edhouse in the second round.<br>Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<br><br>On Saturday December 21, <strong>Luke Littler</strong> is in action in the evening session, which takes place from 7pm on Sky Sports. He will face <strong>Ryan Meikle </strong>in the third match of the night, with <strong>Danny Noppert </strong>vs <strong>Ryan Joyce</strong>, <strong>Raymond van Barneveld </strong>vs <strong>Nick Kenny</strong> and <strong>Damon Heta </strong>vs <strong>Connor Scutt </strong>completing the evening.<br>Prior to that, we have an afternoon session from 12:30pm, also on Sky Sports, with <strong>Karel Sedlacek </strong>up against <strong>Rhys Griffin</strong>, <strong>Richard Veenstra </strong>playing <strong>Alexis Toylo</strong>, <strong>Brendan Dolan </strong>facing <strong>Lok-Yin Lee </strong>and <strong>Chris Dobey </strong>vs <strong>Alexander Merkx</strong>.<br><em><strong>Who will win the Paddy Power World Darts Championship? Watch every match exclusively live until January 3 on Sky Sports' dedicated darts channel. <a href="https://www.nowtv.com/watch-sky-sports-online?DCMP=ilc_skysports_nc_articlelink">Stream darts and more top sport with NOW</a>.</strong></em><br><em><strong>Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury's huge heavyweight rematch will be live on Saturday December 21 on Sky Sports Box Office. <a href="https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/?dcmp=ssb.com_OUvTF2_articles" target="_blank">Book Usyk v Fury 2 now!</a></strong></em><br> <a href="/" class="svg-logo site-footer__site-logo"> <img class="svg-logo__image" alt="Sky Sports" src="https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.svg" onerror="this.onerror=null;this.src='https://e0.365dm.com/tvlogos/channels/Sky-Sports-Logo.png'"> </a> © 2024 Sky UK <br><br><a href="https://news.google.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?oc=5">source</a>
