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Former world champion Michael Smith will be hoping to avoid a potential banana skin when he takes on Kevin Dotts in the World Darts Championship on Thursday.

The 34-year-old faces the Dutchman in the second round in a repeat of their encounter in round one last year, in which Smith had to come back from 2-1 down to win 3-2.

Doets looked sharp when seeing off Noah-Lynn van Leeuwen in his opener but remains the underdog against the 2023 winner.

The Bully Boy is firmly part of Ally Pally folklore after his epic nine-darter against Michael van Gerwen in January 2023, but goes into the final needing a strong championship to finish in the top 10 of the PDC’s Order of Merit.

Best leg of all time! 🤯🔥

Michael van Gerwen misses D12 for a nine-darter, and then Smith himself pins a perfect leg!

One of the greatest things you will ever see in sports. pic.twitter.com/WyKWFcxq5V

– PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 3, 2023

“I don’t really (think about it), because the only thing that stresses me out now is the questions about it. But I’m not bothered by that, because I’m not going to get out of the top 16,” Smith told Sky Sports.

“If I don’t pull my finger out I could fall out of the top 10, but that means next year, because I’ve had virtually a year, I have nothing to defend.

“So I’ve got about £120,000 to save next year, so I’ll be back to work anyway. So next year, no worries, no pressure, I just want to play darts. On the other hand, my management team can worry about it, my family can worry about it, I just want to play.

“Until I get out of 64, because then I’ll retire. If I come out of ’64, I won’t do Q school, because I know I wasn’t good enough, so I’ll literally start something else.”

Mansur Suljovic returns to Alley Pelly after a year at home last year as he faces Canadian Matt Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed an impressive all-rounder 12 months ago as he took out Lawrence Ilagan and James Wade before crossing paths with teenage sensation Luke Littler.

Elsewhere, Romeo Grbavac takes on Kellan Rydges and Robert Owens takes on Gabriel Clemens as part of eight matches throughout the day.

Order of Play

Afternoon Session (from 12:30pm UK time)

• Chris Landman vs Lock Yin Lee (R1)
• Callan Rydges vs Romeo Grbavac (R1)
• Martin Lukeman vs. Nitin Kumar (R1)
• Gabriel Clemens vs Robert Owen (R2)

Evening session (from 7pm UK time)

• Nick Kenny vs Stowe Buntz (R1)
• Mansur Suljovic vs Matt Campbell (R1)
• Scott Williams vs Nico Springer (R1)
• Michael Smith vs Kevin Dotts (R2)

How to see

The PDC World Championship is being shown on Sky Sports in the UK.
You can catch the afternoon session on Sky Sports Darts at 12:30pm and Sky Sports Main Event, which starts at 7pm.

Predictions

While Smith is not expected to be a problem in the headline slot, Campbell will also enjoy another win over Suljovic.

We’re also backing wins for Grbavac and Owens, as well as Scott Williams, Nick Kenny and Martin Lukeman.