Double-session day at the PDC World Matchplay, with the action coming thick and fast. Thankfully, the quality on show was more than enough to wash away those World Cup blues. Mickey Mouse tournament anyway.

All in all, Sunday gave us what looked on paper, eight great contests. Some were absolute barn-stormers, one or two were a little below par, but that’s what you get in a major darts event. Nerves play just as big a part as anything. Put it this way, if everyone performed at their absolute best every time, we’d all be millionaires, own racehorses and have a six-pack. Sadly, reality tends to intervene.

So, let’s start with the afternoon session, because confusion is best combated when we go chronologically. Unless, of course, you’re a NASA astronaut and spend your working life listening to some overpaid bloke earn a small fortune for counting backwards from ten once or twice a year while everyone else does the actual difficult bit.

First up, Hollywood Chris Dobey didn’t exactly have things go to script, defeated by Dirk van Duijvenbode in an epic which, unlike the FIFA World Cup Final, neutrals were actually happy to see go into extra time. Pretty simple summary here.

If the Newcastle lad had pinned his doubles as effectively as normal, it should have been job done. He didn’t, and The Aubergenius fully capitalised. Dirk basically spotted an opportunity, grabbed it with both hands and sprinted off with it like a bloke who’s just found the last reduced Easter egg in Tesco.

Then the legendary Scot, Gary Anderson, took to the stage and showed exactly why he not only has the reputation of being a grumpy old git at times, but also one of the finest players ever to grace the oche. What makes the emphatic 10-2 scoreline over Ryan Joyce even more impressive is how well Relentless actually played.

But when the other fella is smashing in an average just shy of 110 and barely missing doubles, it’s a tough ask. It’s a bit like turning up to Sunday League football and discovering your opponent has accidentally brought prime Lionel Messi. Great start for Ando. Not so much for Geordie fans, whose afternoon was rapidly beginning to resemble a flat tyre on a deserted country lane.

Three-time Matchplay champion Michael van Gerwen then got past Andrew Gilding in a game where the great Dutchman was pushed hard for the first half. Goldfinger has the cool, calm demeanour of a man who often appears completely oblivious to where he is. In fact, I’m fairly certain he’d treat an historic walk on the moon with the same enthusiasm he’d show collecting his morning newspaper.

Neil Armstrong would be bouncing around taking photographs. Andrew Gilding would probably ask if there was a bench nearby. In the end, MVG pulled away to get the job done, proving once again that when he starts finding top gear, life becomes very unpleasant for whoever happens to be standing opposite him.

Bringing the afternoon session to a close, one half of Welsh hopes, Jonny Clayton, held off a spirited fightback from Damon Heta. At 6-2 up, The Ferret looked like he was cruising to the line with all the stress levels of a bloke floating down a river on an inflatable flamingo.

However, the Aussie dug in and made a real contest of it. Lots of 180s started arriving for the Perth man, followed by his trademark open-palm gesture towards his face. If anyone reading this has seen what I do after hitting D8 for a 28-darter, you’d think Damo’s celebrations were perfectly normal by comparison. It’s fair to say I look a right knob when ping a maximum. In the end, Jonny held firm.

A few hours’ break followed, giving Phill Barrs enough time in the Press Room to jump on Just Eat and seemingly order food for the entire Matchplay crowd, several nearby hotels and possibly half of Lancashire. Then we were back off again.

Debutant Willie O’Connor will be cursing his fortunes for a slow start against Ryan Searle. Going 6-1 down against last year’s World Championship semi-finalist is a mountain too steep even for Sherpas to fancy having a crack at. The Magpie did eventually get his arse in gear and started producing the sort of darts we’ve become accustomed to seeing from him recently.

Ultimately, though, Heavy Metal had the experience and composure to fend off any comeback attempts. By the time Willie got going properly, Ryan had already a grip on the game longer than his hair. And it was enough.

Next up came Mr Blackpool himself, James Wade, in what was effectively a Machine-monikered derby of sorts. His opponent, Jermaine Wattimena, has ‘Gun’ on the end of his nickname, but he wasn’t firing at the start. In fact, it looked like the decorated Englishman was going to run away with it.

First break: 4-1 Wade. Wattimena did then find his footing, but for all his brilliant shots there were far too many loose ones and missed doubles. Against James Wade, that’s like leaving your front door open on National Burglar Day and then acting surprised when you get robbed.

The evergreen leftie is always going to punish you. And punish Jermaine he did. Wade remains one of darts’ great serial killers of optimism. Give him a sniff and your hopes disappear quicker than free sandwiches at a business meeting.

What looked a bit of a coin toss between Gian van Veen and Krzysztof Ratajski eventually turned into a smoother ride for the youngster than most anticipated. We’ve seen two versions of Gian over the last twelve months. There’s the dynamic Dutchman who hits ton averages for fun and makes elite darts look about as difficult as microwaving soup. Then there’s the post-surgery version who, understandably, hasn’t always looked quite as deadly.

This performance ranked somewhere in between. If I was being generous, I’d call it Gian’s B+ game. As it happened, the Pole was also heading towards a similar grade. G-Dog (only I ever call him that) was always in control, and that’s pretty much the story of this one.

To wrap Sunday up, what I’d label as a real professional job by Wessel Nijman over Dave Chisnall. Similarly to his compatriot earlier in the evening, Wessel always looked in full control. Once he reached 4-0, it felt like damage limitation for the Saints slinger. Chizzy fans will, however, be delighted to see signs that that devastating form is edging its way back.

If Dave can rediscover it sooner rather than later, he’ll once again be located in the business end of most tournaments, just like he used to be. And let’s be honest, darts is a far more entertaining place when Chisnall is battering in maximums and looking like he might accidentally average 115 while barely noticing.

Job’s a good ’un. Onto tomorrow, where we wrap up round one with the final quartet of fixtures. Eight players, four matches, countless predictions that will inevitably age like milk left on a radiator.