World Championship 2nd round: Scottish trio and MVG in action

Following a brief break after the first round, the PDC World Darts Championship is back, with the likes of title holder Michael van Gerwen and Scottish titanic trio Robert Thornton, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson in action on the first day of the last 32.

Coral give punters a preview of the super Saturday fixtures.

Afternoon session:

Robert Thornton v Ronnie Baxter
The Thorn convincingly dispatched of Andrew Gilding in the first round 3-0, averaging 97.65, and is odds-on at 3/10 to beat Baxter (5/2 to win), who knocked out Daryl Gurney.

The duo have faced each other eight times before, with four victories apiece, so back a close 4-3 triumph in Thornton’s favour at 5/1.

“I’m feeling good,” the Scot said. “The performance against Andrew pleased me and I felt so comfortable. I’ve sometimes been really nervous on that stage, but I was relaxed and it showed. I feel I can do it again.”

Terry Jenkins v Laurence Ryder
Veteran Jenkins (odds-on at 1/6), a 2011 semi-finalst here, goes up against Australian Ryder (4/1), who upset Justin Pipe in the first round.

The Bull stampeded past another Aussie in the last 64, John Weber, getting one of the highest averages of the tournament so far with 98.73.

Peter Wright v Ronny Huybrechts
Snakebite (2/9) and Huybrechts (10/3) face off after whitewashing their opening round opponents. Last year’s finalist Wright, though, holds a 3-2 winning record over the Belgian, and should have enough to see him off again.

Following his 3-0 win over former rugby union pro Gerwyn Price, Wright said: “From the minute I’ve changed back [to my old darts], I felt everything fall into place and I really believe I can win this tournament.

”I’ve had an up and down year, swapping my darts around and stuff like that, but now I’m feeling a lot more settled.”

Evening Session:

Dave Chisnall v Benito van de Pas
Tournament chance Chisnall (25/1) was a runner-up in the 2010 BDO World Darts Championship, and is priced at 10/1 to reach the final of this PDC version of the event.