MICHAEL VAN GERWEN continues the defence of his William Hill World Darts Championship title on Wednesday as the tournament returns after the Christmas break.
The remaining four matches from the second round open Wednesday's action before the third round begins with two games to conclude the evening session at Alexandra Palace.
Two-time champion Van Gerwen takes on Welshman Gerwyn Price in the last match of the night after Vincent van der Voort, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, gets the last 16 underway against fellow Dutchman Raymond van Barneveld.
Van Gerwen was in sensational form as he whitewashed James Wilson in the second round in brutal fashion - winning all 12 legs played and averaging 108.65 as he showed his killer instinct.
"You're here to win, here to win your leg, your game, your set, the tournament," said Van Gerwen. "The only thing that should be in your mind should be to win, it doesn't matter what you have to do for it.
"It's all about not making mistakes and I've not been making them for some time now, hopefully I can play like that for the rest of the tournament."
Price had not made it beyond the first round of the tournament before this year, and after reaching the last 16 he insists the pressure is off him as he faces up to the toughest task in the draw.
"Michael's a good player but it's first to four, it's a short format," said Price. "I never used to like the sets format but it seems to be working for me this year.
"If I can get out of the blocks quick and put him under pressure...that's what I'm thinking."
Van der Voort will be a tough challenge for former World Cup parner Van Barneveld, having not dropped a set in the tournament so far as he continues to look at his very best after recovering from a career-threatening back injury.
After contemplating hanging up his darts 12 months ago, Van der Voort has been in excellent form at this event, beating Steve Beaton 4-0 with his best-ever World Championship average of 101.17.
"On this stage it's probably the best I've ever played," said the former UK Open finalist. "I think I calmed down after two sets, I was at my best but it's hard to keep that level up.
"I knew I was in good shape but I just had to keep it going."
Number two seed Peter Wright was still not at 100 percent after suffering with gallstones as he won his first round match with Diogo Portela, and he will need to be on form as he faces the talented Jamie Lewis.
The Welshman came through the PDPA Qualifiers to snatch an Ally Pally spot and made the most of it by winning his preliminary round tie with Kenny Neyens before beating compatriot Jonny Clayton.
"I've been in the PDC now for five years and I've still not really shown what I know I can do," admitted Lewis. "It is about time I do it so hopefully this week might be the chance."
Simon Whitlock was also not feeling the best in round one after having flu, and he knows he'll be in for a game against Darren Webster, who says it's all about getting his focus right.
"All I look at now is my next three darts," said Webster. "I don't care who I'm on stage with, all I care about is myself and my next three darts that's all I'm focusing on now.
"If I can do that and get it right I know I've got the game to obliterate anyone."
James Richardson was impressive in his 3-0 demolition job on 18th seed Kim Huybrechts as he returned to the tournament after five years in the wilderness, and he's keen to make the most of it as he plays Alan Norris.
"It's been five years since I've been on this stage, it's been five years of hard graft to get back here and I've done it," said Richardson.
William Hill World Darts Championship
Wednesday December 27
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Second Round
Simon Whitlock v Darren Webster
Alan Norris v James Richardson
Kevin Munch v Toni Alcinas
Evening Session (7pm)
Peter Wright v Jamie Lewis
Third Round
Vincent van der Voort v Raymond van Barneveld
Michael van Gerwen v Gerwyn Price
Thursday December 28
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
Kevin Munch/Toni Alcinas v Simon Whitlock/Darren Webster
Mensur Suljovic v Dimitri Van den Bergh
John Henderson v Rob Cross
Evening Session (7pm)
Peter Wright/Jamie Lewis v Alan Norris/James Richardson
Phil Taylor v Keegan Brown
Gary Anderson v Steve West
Friday December 29
Quarter-Finals
Afternoon Session (12.30pm)
2x Games
Evening Session (7pm)
2x Games
Saturday December 30 (7.30pm)
Semi-Finals
Monday January 1 (8pm)
Final
TICKETS
For information about tickets and Hospitality Packages for the William Hill World Darts Championship, please click here.
WATCH LIVE
The William Hill World Darts Championship will be broadcast live worldwide through the following broadcast partners:
PDCTV-HD - PDC Website for Rest of the World Subscribers
Sky Sports - UK & Ireland – dedicated “Sky Sports Darts” channel
RTL7 - Netherlands
Sport1 - Germany
DAZN - Germany, Austria, Switzerland Japan, Canada
Fox Sports - Australia
Sky - New Zealand
Nova - Czech Republic
Viasat - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, Baltic States
Pragosport - Hungary
OSN - Middle East & North Africa
Kwese - South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa
Eleven Sports - Belgium
BBC America - North America (excluding Canada)
Fox - Italy, Greece, Turkey, Malta, Israel
TVP - Poland
CCTV - China
RTL - Croatia (Dec 28 onwards)
Eurosport - France, Romania, Spain
Eurosport Player - Andorra, Estonia, France & Monaco, Georgie, Israel, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey & CIS (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
LISTEN LIVE
Commentary of the remainder of the William Hill World Darts Championship will be broadcast live on talkSPORT and talkSPORT2 - click here for further details.