Youngsters in Action at PDC World Championships

Joe Cullen, Michael van Gerwen and Jelle Klaasen are all in action at Alexandra Palace this evening as the PDC World Championships continues at breakneck speed.

Van Gerwen kicks of the evening’s entertainment as the 21-year-old takes on Mensur Suljovic in his fifth world championship event. The Dutchman’s most notable appearance at the PDC World Championships came in defeat against Phil Taylor in the first round of the 2008 event. Van Gerwen had one dart to win the match and knock Taylor out of the event; he didn’t take it and Taylor went on to win 3-2.

Van Gerwen has long been touted as the next best thing in darts but in more recent years has failed to live up to his reputation. Suljovic has experience on the world stage and should push the youngster all the way; a point which is exemplified by the fact that the bookmakers are offering odds of 10/11 on each player.

Another 21-year-old in action tonight is Joe Cullen who takes on world number six Terry Jenkins. Cullen is making his debut at the World Championships but comes into the tournament high in confidence having beaten Taylor at a Pro Tour event in mid-October.

His experience in front of the TV cameras is limited and that gives Jenkins a notable advantage here. But he certainly has the ability to beat The Bull and if he can bring his A-game to the oche then we could see a notable upset here. Jenkins is 1/6 to go through to the next round and Cullen is 4/1 to cause achieve what would certainly be the shock of the round so far.

We also have the 2006 Lakeside World Champion Jelle Klaasen in action this evening as he faces Steve Brown. Klaasen crashed out at the first round of the event last year having enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals the year previous. He is 4/7 to go through to the second round where he would face the winner of the above Jenkins versus Cullen match; Brown is 13/8 to win.