World Grand Prix of Darts 2013: Updated Fixtures, Event Schedule and Predictions

With the opening round matches settled, the remaining 16 competitors in the 2013 World Grand Prix of Darts in Dublin, move on to second round action in Day 3.

The favourites, ten-time winner Phil Taylor and last year's winner Michael Van Gerwen, will face off against Paul Nicholson and Raymond Van Barneveld, respectively, in what should prove to be two truly ferocious duels for the right to progress to the quarter-finals.

A full rundown of the Day 3 fixtures can be found below, followed by a recap of Day 2's action, the tournament schedule and predictions for who will prosper in round two.

Day 2 Recap

Day 2 of the tournament saw the second batch of first round matches take place.

Reigning champion Van Gerwen began the defence of his title with a scintillating display against Canadian John Part, setting up for an all-Dutch second-round clash with Van Barneveld.

After his opening 2-0 win, Van Gerwen spoke to PDC.tv, the tournament's official site:

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"It's a very good win for me, and to start with a 104 average is amazing. The first set was great and I was very happy with that, but to win the game was the most important thing, and I've settled into the tournament now. It's good for my confidence to win this game 2-0 because John's a fabulous player and there was a lot of pressure on the game.

"I'm really looking forward to the second round against Raymond. He beat me in the Grand Slam of Darts final last year but I've won the last few games on stage, and we always have good matches."

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His opponent in the round of 16, five-time world champion Van Barneveld, enjoyed a similarly impressive straight-sets win against Stuart Kellett and may fancy his chances again against his compatriot.

World No. 3 Adrian Lewis had to take his first round tie against Brendan Dolan to sudden-death before he could claim victory, while Dave Chisnall won a hard-fought 2-1 battle with Ian White to advance into the next stage. 

Predictions for Day 3

Van Gerwen's titanic clash with Van Barneveld could go either way, with both men more than capable of clinching victory. It could easily go to sudden death, but the reigning champion gets the benefit of the doubt over his fellow Dutchman.

Warmed up and ready to go after his 2-1 win on Day 1, World No. 1 Taylor will be looking to set a marker against Nicholson. Should he be able to take his play up a gear in anticipation for the latter stages, the tournament favourite could win handsomely.

Newton may have had a tougher time of it in Round 1 compared to Anderson, but he arguably overcame a stronger opponent. For that reason he gets the nod, while Wade will look to end fairytale of this year's unfancied dark horse Finnan, who will go down fighting.

Though Baxter did well in his opening match, Whitlock should prove too much for the Englishman. Meanwhile, Chisnall and Hamilton could find joy against Jones and Painter respectively, with Lewis putting his first round wobbles out of sight and out of mind to put Pipe out of this year's Grand Prix.

Event Schedule

With the first round of qualifiers decided, the fixtures for the second round at World Grand Prix of Darts 2013 are confirmed as below: 

Further Coverage

For more information on the format of the 2013 World Darts Grand Prix, read Tom Sunderland's tournament rundown here.

You can also follow all the action with Ben Blackmore and me on our daily scores, schedule and recap blog here.