Carlow’s Steve Lennon will begin his World Darts Championship journey tomorrow when he goes up against Daniel Larsson in the first-round at the Alexandra Palace.
Lennon will be hoping to get past the first round of the tournament for only the second time in his career, having previously been knocked out at the first hurdle in 2018 and 2020 and the second-round in 2019.
Lennon’s performances in major competitions this year are a cause for concern. He has only got passed the first round in the U.K. Open where he was eventually knocked out in the third-round. He goes into tomorrow’s game as the clear favourite, however. Larsson is making his second appearance at darts showpiece event. The Swede was defeated in the second-round in 2019, losing 3-0 to the experienced Belgian Kim Huybrechts.
Carlow man Lennon should have enough in his locker to avoid the fate of his fellow Irish competitors so far in the tournament. Meath’s Keane Barry was defeated in the first round against Canadian number one John Smith while Lennon’s World Cup partner Willie O’Connor was defeated 3-2 by Daryl Gurney in his second-round encounter.
If Lennon can overcome the Swede tomorrow, he will set up a tie with crowd favourite Devon Petersen in the second-round. Lennon will be hoping that he can go far in what is possibly the most open tournament in years. His is the first game of tomorrow’s afternoon session and should begin at 12.15pm.
