World Darts Championship LIVE RESULTS: Latest updates as Andrew Gilding and Rob Cross headline Day 9, Littler through
THE World Darts Championship is rolling on at speed - and some huge names crashed out on Sunday night.
Martin Schindler, Ross Smith and two-time world champion Gary Anderson were all on the end of shock defeats.
Andrew Gilding, Dave Chisnall and Rob Cross are among the headliners on Day 9 as they look to secure their spots in the third round.
Teen sensation Luke Littler, 17, started his World Championship campaign with a superb win over Ryan Meikle - but then had to cut short an interview after breaking down in tears.
- Start time: From 12.40pm GMT
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- TV channel: Sky Sports Darts
- Explainer: What is the prize money?
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Kevin Doets v Noa-Lynn van Leuven
Next up we have an all-Dutch encounter.
World number 51 Doets will come into this one as favourite, with van Leuven making her first appearance at Ally Pally.
It will be interesting to see how she copes with the pressures of the bright lights and crowd here.
James Hurrell beats Jim Long 3-0
James Hurrell* 3-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 3-0)
Long looks done and dusted in this year's tournament.
The darts are just not happening for him today.
Hurrell cannot take his favourite double this time but clinches the match with double 5.
He books a mouth-watering tie with Michael van Gerwen in the next round.
James Hurrell 2-0 Jim Long* (LEGS: 2-0)
Long manages to build a lead in this leg.
Leaving himself double tops, the Canadian misses all three.
With Hurrell on double 18, he hits it with his first dart to move within one leg of victory.
James Hurrell* 2-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 1-0)
It can be quite daunting making your Ally Pally debut.
Jim Long is feeling this right now.
James Hurrell is making the most of double tops today and takes another leg in this match.
James Hurrell* 2-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 3-1)
Jim Long seems to be fighting two battles here currently.
One with James Hurrell, the other with himself.
He just cannot find any consistency to his darts and sees Hurrell hit double tops once again, to move into a two sets lead.
The Englishman is making light work of this and hoping to achieve his first Ally Pally win in the process.
James Hurrell 1-0 Jim Long* (LEGS: 2-1)
A much better leg for Jim Long as he hits his first maximum of the match.
He has a few goes on the double with Hurrell struggling to get down.
Finally, Long hits double 1 to take his first leg and stem the flow from Hurrell.
James Hurrell* 1-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 2-0)
Despite hitting trebles every visit, Long struggles to keep up with his opponent.
Hurrell misses two darts at double top but does not make any sort of mistake as he visits the oche again.
This is already looking like a long way back for the Canadian.
Credit: PA James Hurrell 1-0 Jim Long* (LEGS: 1-0)
Hurrell is dominating the match, hitting bigger numbers constantly.
Long looks to fight back in the leg to protect his throw.
He does not get much of a chance as Hurrell hits double top at the second time of asking to make it four legs on the bounce.
James Hurrell* 1-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 3-0)
Long starts to settle in the match, finding the trebles more often.
He has the first chance at the double but misses with two darts.
Hurrell misses double top but knocks off double 10 to take the leg and the set.
James Hurrell 0-0 Jim Long* (LEGS: 2-0)
The Canadian is struggling to settle in this match.
He hits the occasional treble but loses the leg with the throw.
Hurrell hits double top to take another leg.
James Hurrell* 0-0 Jim Long (LEGS: 1-0)
As both players try to find their groove in this match, it is Hurrell who seems to get into gear first.
Hitting more triple digit vists, he comes to the oche with 120 remaining.
Treble 20, single 20 and drouble tops to win the leg as the Englishman makes a cracking start.
James Hurrell vs Jim Long
We head into our first match of the day to kick things off.
Canadian Jim Long makes his way to the stage, lapping up the atmosphere here en route.
His opponent this afternoon is Englishman James Hurrell.
Crowd ready for action
As we head into another day of action, the matches come thick and fast at Ally Pally.
Plenty of players lookinig to book their place in the latter rounds of the World Darts Championship.
Win your opening matches, try to avoid the big boys in the draw.
Day 3 afternoon schedule
It’s set to be a bumper day of action as we return to the Ally Pally in 30 minutes.
For the afternoon session, things get underway at 12.30pm:
- James Hurrell vs Jim Long (R1)
- Kevin Doets vs Noa-Lynn van Leuven (R1)
- Ryan Joyce vs Darius Labanauskas (R1)
- Mike De Decker vs Woodhouse/Ilagan (R2)
Prize money
The total prize money for the World Darts Championship is £2.5million.
Here’s the breakdown:
Winner: £500,000
Runner-Up: £200,000
Semi-Finalists: £100,000
Quarter-Finalists: £50,000
Fourth Round: £35,000
Third Round: £25,000
Second Round: £15,000
First Round: £7,500
'Different animal'
Gerwyn Price says he feels more confident heading into this year than he did when he lifted the title in 2021.
The Iceman faces one of Joe Cullen, Wessel Nijman or Cameron Carolissen next.
And he certainly seems to have the bit between his teeth, saying: "I will come back a different animal.
"For me, this was a qualifying round to get into the World Championship. I split it up into two.
"I will come back after Boxing Day, raring to go."
Fans rally behind Cameron Menzies after emotional scenes
Darts fans have taken to X to voice support for Cameron Menzies after Leonard Gates knocked him out of the World Championship last night, with the Scot breaking down at the end of play.
Price is right
Gerwyn Price was thrilled to see off Keane Barry 3-0 last night.
He has already revealed he is back in love with darts after a break from playing and a tough year on tour.
And his desire was clear to see post-match, saying: "I probably wanted to win that match more than any other match in my life.
"I wanted to enjoy Christmas, I just wanted to get a win and get home. It doesn't matter how well or bad I played. I won 3-0 and another tournament starts after Christmas.
"I'm just glad to get a win. I felt like I played well in parts in the game. I was trying a little bit too hard but that's part and parcel of the first round."
How can you watch it?
- The 2024/25 World Darts Championship will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports in the UK.
- Fans in the UK can stream the entire action on NOW TV.
- Matches are also available to watch on PDCTV or their worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay.
- You can also stay right here and follow this live blog for all the latest updates
Crying your heart out
After his defeat to Leonard Gates last night, Cameron Menzies shared a photo of his ill father in a hospital bed and captioned the post "my hero".
He then deleted the upload. But it was perhaps the reason why he struggled with his emotions last night.
Helping hand
Leonard Gates beat an emotional Cameron Menzies last night, who looked to be struggling during the match and then broke down in tears at the end.
The Scot's situation was not helped by fans cheering his wayward darts.
Gates tried to offer support, revealing: “I told him, I hope you can block it out and play the game. Don’t get involved with negativity as someone is cheering against you.
“I hope I said things that will help him in his game, personally in life also. He has to figure out what it is.
"If he needs more help. I hope I said something that will build his confidence.”
Credit: PA Dutch courage
Dutch debutant Wesley Plaiser beat Ryusei Azemoto 3-2 after trailing 2-1 yesterday.
And he admitted to being daunted by the Ally Pally stage, saying: "I was so nervous the first two sets. I've never been so nervous in my life.
"I've been through a lot and been on a lot of stages but this was so overwhelming.
"I know it's in there and people can say it's not, but the World Championship is really different.
"My first three sets were so terribly bad for my feelings, but luckily then the nerves subsided a bit."
Wax lyrical
Luke Littler will soon be in Madame Tussards as a waxwork.
A source exclusively told The Sun said: “Talks are underway with Luke’s team and Madame Tussauds are thrilled that he’s keen to join their ranks.
“They’ll launch his figure exclusively at Blackpool’s attraction before bringing it to London."
Day 2 recap
Eight more matches come thick and fast from 12.30pm at the Alexandra Palace.
Yesterday's action saw a number of shocks, with James Wade and Cameron Menzies dumped out of the tournament.
Here's how the matches played out across two scintillating sessions:
- Wesley Plaisier 3-2 Ryusei Azemoto
- Luke Woodhouse 3-0 Lourence Ilagan
- Alan Soutar 1-3 Kai Gotthardt
- James Wade 0-3 Jermaine Wattimena
- Niels Zonneveld 1-3 Robert Owen
- Connor Scutt 3-0 Ben Robb
- Cameron Menzies 1-3 Leonard Gates
- Gerwyn Price 3-0 Keane Barry
Credit: Getty
