PDC World Darts Championship 2015: Daily Results and Updated 3rd Round Schedule

Just 16 men remain in the 2015 edition of the World Darts Championships, and after a plethora of enthralling matches in the earlier rounds of the competition, expect more of the same as we move towards the sharp end of the tournament.

The vast majority of the big names remain in contention for glory at the Alexandra Palace, and Round 3 has churned out some intriguing ties to sample. The highlight of the round looks set to come when five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld takes on two-time PDC winner Adrian Lewis.

Reigning world champion Michael van Gerwen was the first man to book his place in the quarter-finals after a confident 4-1 win over Terry Jenkins. Phil Taylor, the 16-time world champion needed to come from behind to get past Kim Huybrechts, punching his ticket to the next round on Tuesday.

Full Results for Round 3

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Tuesday, 30 December

Afternoon Session

• Peter Wright 4-0 Andy Hamilton
• Gary Anderson 4-1 Cristo Reyes
• Dean Winstanley 2-4 Vincent van der Voort

Evening Session

• Adrian Lewis 3-4 Raymond van Barneveld
• Phil Taylor 4-3 Kim Huybrechts
• Stephen Bunting 4-2 Michael Smith 

Monday, 29 December

Evening Session

• Michael van Gerwen 4-1 Terry Jenkins
• Benito van de Pas 0-4 Robert Thornton

Results courtesy of PDC.tv

Updated Draws and Schedule

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The third round of the World Darts Championship has been completed. Here is the draw for the quarter-finals:

Thursday January 1

7.10pm Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton

9.00pm Peter Wright v Gary Anderson

Friday January 2

7.10pm
9.00pm
Games will be Phil Taylor v Vincent van der Voort and Stephen Bunting v Raymond van Barneveld, with order of games TBC.

Schedule courtesy of PDC.tv

Tuesday Recap

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Afternoon Session 

• Peter Wright 4-0 Andy Hamilton
• Gary Anderson 4-1 Cristo Reyes
• Dean Winstanley 2-4 Vincent van der Voort

Evening Session

• Adrian Lewis 3-4 Raymond van Barneveld
• Phil Taylor 4-3 Kim Huybrechts
• Stephen Bunting 4-2 Michael Smith 

Tuesday's afternoon session saw little excitement or upsets, with the losing parties winning just three sets between them as Peter Wright, Gary Anderson and Vincent van der Voort all booked their tickets to the semi-finals.

Wright and Anderson will face each other in the next round in an all-Scottish affair, and last year's runner-up has to feel good about his chances to do one better in 2015 after his demolition of Andy Hamilton on Tuesday.

Snakebite averaged over 102 and took full advantage of the struggles of his opponent, who had a complete off-day. Hamilton averaged more than 10 under his opponent and hardly saw time on the doubles, winning just four legs in total.

Wright's five 180s and 50 percent on the checkout look encouraging heading into the final stages, and speaking to PDC.tv, he believes his form is trending upwards:

"

In the first two sets he give me chances and I took them to be honest. He could have been 2-0 up but I took my chances and I was 2-0 up so I knew I had to keep him down because Andy Hamilton's a fighter and he can always come back at you.

He was a bit down on his usual form but you just have to keep on pushing and make sure you get the win and now I'm through and starting to play a bit better than earlier in the tournament.

"

Cristo Reyes' magical run came to an end against Anderson, as the Spaniard couldn't cause a third straight upset, falling 4-1. Reyes came through the Iberian qualifiers and displayed tremendous confidence on the doubles all tournament, but Anderson was just too good on Tuesday.

The Spaniard averaged an impressive 98.52 and 58.33 percent on his doubles, but his Scottish opponent clocked a ridiculous 104.54 to give himself breathing room in every single leg.

The Flying Scotsman needed one set to get into a groove, but once he started finding his range, he hit eight 180s and overwhelmed Reyes, who can look back on an incredible tournament and bowed out with his head held high.

Van der Voort continues to impress in London, sweeping the first two sets against Dean Winstanley on his way to a 4-2 win.

Adrian Lewis hit the first nine-darter of the tournament during Tuesday's evening session, but it wasn't enough to see Jackpot get past the in-form Raymond van Barneveld, who advanced to the quarter-finals after a pulsating match.

Barney and Lewis had never met at the World Championship, and fans knew they were in for a magical night when Jackpot hit his nine-darter in the decider of the opening set, stunning his Dutch opponent.

Lewis pretended as if it was nothing before sharing an embrace with Van Barneveld, as the crowd went wild. You can see the nine-darter by clicking here.

The pair traded blows until the deciding set, where Jackpot started to struggle on the doubles and nearly gifted Barney the match. It's a shame to see Lewis go out of the tournament in such fashion, but his fantastic match on Tuesday will surely stad as one of this year's finest.

Phil Taylor was on the verge of elimination, coming back down from a 3-2 deficit to beat Belgium's Kim Huybrechts in a decider.

Huybrechts held the lead and kept things even until 2-2 in the sixth set, before the Power shifted gear. He never gave the Belgian a dart for the match and hit a 12-and 13-darter in the final two sets, sweeping the seventh to book a date with Van der Voort in the quarter-finals.

Stephen Bunting took a 4-2 win over Michael Smith in the final match of the third round, setting the field for the quarter-finals, which will start on New Year's Day.

Monday Recap

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Evening Session

• Michael van Gerwen 4-1 Terry Jenkins
• Benito van de Pas 0-4 Robert Thornton

Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen became the first man through to the quarter-finals of this year's tournament, as he beat Terry Jenkins 4-1 in a routine victory. The Dutch maestro was pegged back after taking the first set, but from that point on, his class shone through, thrilling those in attendance at the Alexandra Palace.

As noted here by Live Darts, the performance from Van Gerwen was resemblant of a man who is primed to make it two wins in two years at the World Championships:

"

A 99.6 average and 56% on the doubles from the reigning champion as he keeps his title defence firmly on track at the palace! #WorldDarts

— Live Darts (@livedarts) December 29, 2014"

He may not be at his brilliant best quite yet, but the champion seems to be growing into the tournament. That's wholly understandable, too, for it's a new experience for Van Gerwen, who has been the subject of intense focus in the buildup to his maiden title defence.

But after winning here, he can put his feet up on Tuesday and watch the other challengers slog it out for a spot in the quarter-finals.

He certainly seems at ease, and here's what he had to say after the match, per Live Darts:

"

Van Gerwen: "I felt good and to win games like this you need to feel relaxed. I feel confident and I can show everyone how to do it."

— Live Darts (@livedarts) December 29, 2014"

The second match of the night was an even more convincing affair, as Robert Thornton dispatched of Benito van de Pas 4-0 in what was a highly impressive display. The Scot began the match with a real swagger and showed immense composure throughout to barely give his opponent a sniff of victory.

As we can see here, courtesy of the PDC Twitter account, it was a real struggle for the 21-year-old:

"

MATCH STATS: Match averages from Robert Thornton's 4-0 win over Benito van de Pas at Ally Pally! #WorldDarts pic.twitter.com/Uw1IQfPdRk

— PDC (@OfficialPDC) December 29, 2014"

Van de Pas will learn from this defeat, and it's clear from his performances in the early rounds that he has the class to make a big impression at the very top level.

But Thornton will be delighted with his display, and after never really making an impact in the most illustrious events on the calendar, with a quarter-final match in his sights, the experienced Scot may just fancy his chances of glory this year. He'll have to conquer Van Gerwen in the next round if he's to do so, though.