Teenage sensation Luke Littler resumes his incredible assault on the World Championship on Wednesday.

The 16-year-old took the tournament by storm before Christmas by winning his first two matches and he headlines a spectacular evening session on its resumption, with defending champion Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen also on the bill.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what to look out for in the second half of the competition.

Can Littler be the big man?

Outside the darting world, no one had heard of Luke Littler until last week when the teenager burst onto the scene by winning his first two matches at Alexandra Palace. Now, everyone is sitting up and taking notice as he dreams of World Championship glory. Matt Campbell stands between him and a spot in the last 16, but it will be no gimme for Littler on Wednesday night. Campbell beat James Wade in the second round, but has been home to Canada over Christmas, so his travelling may play a factor.

Will Smith hit the double?

This time last year Michael Smith was gearing up to win his maiden world title, triumphing in that memorable final against Michael van Gerwen where he hit a nine-dart finish in the greatest leg in the history of the sport. Things have not gone so well since that magical night at Ally Pally, and he has failed to win any major tournaments in 2023, but Smith has all eyes on winning a second successive crown. He opened the tournament way back on December 15 and should have no problems getting past Madars Razma. Expect him to click through the gears as the business end of the tournament approaches.

Barney’s silver anniversary

It is 25 years since Raymond van Barneveld claimed his first world title, winning the BDO crown in 1998. He won another three at Lakeside before switching to the PDC and winning another, while also kicking off an enduring rivalry with Phil Taylor which dominated the sport. The 56-year-old, who came out of retirement two years ago, has set his sights on marking the 25th anniversary of that first title with another at Alexandra Palace. A spectacular quarter-final with Littler looms in a potential match that would get the tastebuds tingling.

Van Gerwen aiming to end the drought

When Michael van Gerwen won the World Championship for a third time in six years in 2019, it looked like he would dominate the sport for years to come. But that turned out to be the end of a golden period as he has not won it since as other contenders have come up on the rails. The Dutchman usually remains the man to beat, having lost in two finals since then, while Covid-19 ruined his 2022 campaign. The four-year drought hurts Van Gerwen, who still considers himself the best player and will be desperate to get his hands back on the Sid Waddell Trophy.

Price is right?

Gerwyn Price must have been a tad wary about returning to Ally Pally after how his last visit ended. The Welshman lost in the quarter-finals after a particularly vociferous crowd made his life so difficult that he resorted to wearing ear defenders midway through the match. Price got a much more favourable reaction in his opening match before Christmas, and he will be dreaming of getting the chance to reign supreme in front of fans at the Palace after his 2021 title was played behind closed doors.

Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a third World Championship title by easing into the third round.

The Dutchman has not won the biggest tournament in darts since 2019 and is ready to end that drought, opening his campaign with a 3-0 win over Keane Barry.

The highlight was an impressive 167 checkout, finishing with an average of 98.17 at Alexandra Palace.

Van Gerwen knows there is room for improvement but is happy to be in the next round.

“I’m a little disappointed with my scoring, the most important thing is I won my first game,” he said during his on-stage interview.

“You don’t want to let yourself down, you have to fight for every leg, and when things like the 167 work it gives you a great boost.

“It’s the first round of the World Championship no one wants to lose, there is pressure on me, like there is all the top boys. The most important thing is I’m back after Christmas.”

Matt Campbell is flying home for Christmas after sending 13th seed James Wade crashing out.

The world number 57 beat the four-time semi-finalist 3-2 to record the biggest win of his career and win back-to-back matches at Ally Pally for the first time in his career.

He will now return home to Canada before returning for the post-Christmas last 32.

“The flight back is going to suck,” he said. “I have been doing it for two years flying back and forth, I’ve got to the Worlds twice.

“I think I need to fly home and see my family more than anything. If I stay awake when I fly back there is no jetlag, right?”

Wade, who became the first seeded player to exit the tournament, did not shake Campbell’s hand after the match but the Canadian had no hard feelings.

“I woudldn’t be happy either,” he said. “I guarantee if I see him now he would come down and be like nothing happened. But in that moment, we work all hard all year for this, I don’t blame him for being disappointed.”

Keegan Brown will not want to hear the name Boris Krcmar again after enduring a chastening afternoon.

Brown was left confused when MC John McDonald mistakenly called out his opponent’s name when he was due to walk onto the stage before the first-round match.

Things got even worse once play began as the Croatian cruised to a 3-1 win.

Brown took the first set but things went downhill from there, with Krcmar coming back to reach the second round for the second successive year, with Dirk van Duijvenbode waiting for him in the next round.

Leading women’s player Mikuru Suzuki is still waiting for her first win at the Alexandra Palace after she was beaten 3-0 by German Ricardo Pietreczko.

Suzuki follows Fallon Sherrock out of the tournament.

There were also wins for Steve Beaton, Jeffrey de Graaf, Tomoya Goto and Mike De Decker.

Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock first-round exit at the Betfred World Matchplay in Blackpool, losing 10-7 to Brendan Dolan.

Three-time winner Van Gerwen could not have made a worst start to his title defence as world number 27 Dolan won the first three legs on his way to a 4-1 lead at the break.

Van Gerwen dug deep to level the scores at 5-5, aided by a 137-finish, but Dolan reasserted control to forge 9-6 ahead and although the world number three pulled it back to 9-7, the Northern Irishman was not to be denied.

World number one Michael Smith cruised through to the second round, but was far from his best as he beat Steve Beaton 10-2.

Smith hit the bull for a huge 161-finish on his way to a 4-1 lead and opened up an 8-2 advantage with the help of two more 100-plus checkouts before comfortably seeing the match out.

Luke Humphries produced another impressive display at the Winter Gardens as he stormed into the second round with a 10-2 win over Portugal’s Jose de Sousa.

World number six Humphries, who produced a 114-finish to open up an 8-1 lead, averaged 101.78 over the 12 legs.

Nathan Aspinall progressed into the second round with a 10-7 win over Poland’s former semi-finalist Krzysztof Ratajski, which included a 151-finish which had taken him into a 7-4 lead.

In Sunday’s afternoon session, world number eight Danny Noppert scraped through 10-8 after a late fightback from Germany’s Martin Schindler, and Dirk van Duijvenbode survived two match darts to beat Kim Huybrechts 12-10 after a thrilling tie-break.

Australia’s Damon Heta overcame Josh Rock 10-5 and Chris Dobey clinched his first World Matchplay win with a hard-fought 10-8 success against former champion James Wade.

Michael Van Gerwen is ready to carry on breaking the pain barrier in his pursuit of back-to-back World Matchplay titles.

The Dutchman has recently had intensive dental surgery, with more to come, but that has not affected him too much as he won the Poland Masters at the weekend.

He heads to the Winter Gardens in Blackpool aiming to follow up last year’s success and will again give it his all.

“It has been a really tough period, but the most important thing is you have to stand up and you have to battle,” said Van Gerwen ahead of his first-round match with Brendan Dolan on Sunday.

“It costs a lot of energy, but I always say if I am competing in something, I want to win it, and this tournament will be no different.

“I’m looking forward to the World Matchplay already. It’s one of the biggest tournaments we have, I want to play well and I want to defend my title.

“I always have pressure on my shoulders but I don’t mind that. I’m winning tournaments again and that gives you confidence.”

The tournament on the west coast is widely recognised as the second biggest event on the calendar behind the World Championships, which means that world number one Michael Smith is keen to add this title to his collection.

Smith, who plays Steve Beaton, won at Alexandra Palace in January and now wants to taste success at another famous venue.

“It’s an iconic venue. The crowd are right on top of you. It’s special for us as players,” the 2019 runner-up said.

“I’m feeling confident. I’m feeling good. I’ve had a few disappointments in this tournament, especially losing the final to Rob (Cross).

“This year feels different though. I’m going in as the world number one, and I’ve got to prove why I’m in that position.

“I’m feeling comfortable and I’ve got to continue that winning run this year, hopefully starting with the World Matchplay.”

Michael van Gerwen has revealed his disappointment at missing the PDC World Cup of Darts after failing to recover from a dental problem.

The Dutchman has not recovered from an operation in time to feature in the second round of the competition on Saturday in Frankfurt, Germany.

The three-time PDC World Darts Championship winner will be replaced by Dirk van Duijvenbode, who will join up with Danny Noppert to form the Netherlands team.

“It’s really disappointing for me that I won’t be able to play in the World Cup this year, especially as I was feeling good about my game after winning the Premier League & US Darts Masters,” Van Gerwen tweeted.

“I wish Danny & Dirk good luck and I hope they can win a fifth World Cup for the Netherlands.”

Michael van Gerwen claimed his first European Tour title in a year after winning the Belgian Open.

Van Gerwen, who was a beaten finalist in Germany last month, overcame Luke Humphries 8-6 in the final to enter the winners’ circle for the first time since winning the European Darts Open in May 2022.

Humphries finished with a higher average and threw more 180s than Van Gerwen, but it was the Dutchman who prevailed thanks to his finishing prowess, which included a 129 checkout in the decisive 11th leg.

Van Gerwen, who now moves up to number two in the world behind Michael Smith, had earlier beaten Gary Anderson before gaining semi-final revenge on Josh Rock, the Northern Irish youngster who beat him in Leeuwarden last week.

It was a second successive final defeat for Humphries, top seed in this tournament, following his defeat to Dave Chisnall in Holland seven days ago.

The 28-year-old almost made darting perfection in the seventh leg but missed double 12 on his attempt at a nine-dart finish and then had to watch Van Gerwen lift the trophy.

Michael Smith wants to "take over the sport" after becoming world champion for the first time with a stunning 7-4 victory over Michael van Gerwen in an epic final on Tuesday.

Smith is a two-time runner-up at Alexandra Palace, having been beaten in the 2019 and 2022 finals by Van Gerwen and Peter Wright respectively, but he finally got over the line with a stunning display in which he hit a nine-dart finish - only the second time that has been done in a PDC World Championship final.

After Van Gerwen won the opening set, they took a leg each in the second before an extraordinary third leg, with the Dutchman missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish, only for Smith to step up to the oche and take out 141 for the nine-darter himself and send the crowd into ecstasy.

The match continued to be a topsy-turvy affair, with Van Gerwen looking to have seized control by taking a three sets to one lead, only for Smith to roar back and win four sets on the spin to open up a 6-3 advantage.

Van Gerwen pulled it back to 6-4, but Smith sunk in double-eight with the 11th set tied at two apiece to win the title, as well as become world number one.

Asked how being described as a world champion sounded, Smith told Sky Sports: "[It] sounds amazing. I don't want to start getting into the crying and emotions.

"Michael let me off there, and for once I finally took a chance I didn't deserve. I want to apologise to Michael, I've been in that position.

"It's 1-1 now in the worlds. I took my chances, but he knows and I do that it won't be the last world final between us. He is the best player in darts, I've said it for years, and you have to take your chances and I finally did that.

"I want to do what this man has [Van Gerwen] done, I want to take over the sport."

Smith says the crowd spurred him on to hit the incredible nine-dart finish, explaining: "I didn't hit a nine-darter in practice today but I keep going 180, 180, miss, so I thought, 'Do one now, give the crowd what they deserve.'

Van Gerwen was humble in defeat after missing out on the opportunity to become a four-time world champion, stating: "He played really well. I had my chances, we all know that.

"When you don't hit them, he'll throw everything at you. You can only blame yourself, but it doesn’t take anything away [from Smith] because he played brilliantly all the way through.

"I wasn't what I wanted to be, but that’s part of the game and you have to take it on the chin.

"It's part of the job unfortunately. When we celebrate it's a nice job, and when we lose games it's hard. We all know that."