Wayne Jones guards against 'double trouble'

Wolverhampton's Wayne Jones is hitting the boards this week as he looks to guard against 'double trouble' in the PDC World Championship.

'The Wanderer' travels to the Alexandra Palace in London for his first round tie against Dean Winstanley on Sunday afternoon,

Sky Sports Darts takes over Sky Sports 3 from when the tournament begins on Thursday night, right up until the final on January 4.

Title holder Michael van Gerwen and 16-time world champion Phil Taylor will have already toed the oche by the time Jones starts his campaign.

And the 49-year-old thrower from Wednesfield will be using his time effectively from tonight, playing his pals in the shorter format of the game.

The double start and finish nature of 301 gives Jones plenty of chances to perfect his out-shot, which he reckons could make all of the difference.

He said: "I have started to play 301 with a couple of lads I know on a Tuesday night, just so I can get a bit more practice on my doubles.

"The more I go out and play, the more I feel like things are coming along and the more positive I be when I get there on Sunday.

"There's no point in me sitting around waiting for the game come because, after a while, it gets boring chucking on your own, although I like to have a couple of hours in the day.

"Even it just works with the one shot that wins the match, it will be worth it."

The former semi-finalist and now world No 37 is unseeded for the first time, having reached the last four in 2006 when the competition was still being staged at the Circus Tavern in the capital.

He's struggled time and again at the Ally Pally, only reaching the second round twice and third round once, going out to eventual winner Adrian Lewis in 2012.

Jones said: "It will be nice to play when the tournament is in full swing, but I haven't really performed at the Ally Pally. It's not been my luckiest venue, put it that way.

"I would rather play at night but, because I am on fourth, it's still not too bad. I will be on about 4pm. I will probably go for a breakfast about 9am and travel up."

[comments_cta header="What do you think?" text="How will Wayne Jones fare in the PDC World Championship?" button="Log in and start commenting"]