We’re guaranteed four brand-new WDF World Champions after a dramatic second session of semi-final Saturday at the Lakeside.
Jimmy van Schie continued to live up to his billing as top seed, defeating Belgium’s Sybren Gijbels 5-1 to book a final showdown with Scotland’s Mitchell Lawrie.
The first three sets of the game followed a pattern, all ending 3-0. Van Schie took the first and third, with Gijbels trying to hold his own by taking the second.
Set four was the first to break the pattern, Gijbels taking the first leg before van Schie responded by winning the next three legs to make his lead 3-1 at the break.
After that gap, van Schie pulled clear, winning the next six legs, as he finished with 8 180s and a 93.07 average.
Top seed Lerena Rietbergen is through to the Women’s World Championship final after coming from two sets down to defeat Rhian O’Sullivan.
The match was an incredibly close affair, with 24 of the 25 possible legs played and it ultimately finishing 12 legs apiece.
O’Sullivan took the first courtesy of finishes of 76 and 105 before taking the second 3-2 after Rietbergen had missed a dart to level it up.
Set three all went with throw, Rietbergen halving the deficit with a 96 out, before she produced a pair of breaks in set four to level the match.
She only managed to do that after O’Sullivan missed a match dart and she ultimately made it count, winning set five 3-2 to book a meeting with Deta Hedman with a 73.86 average.
Mitchell Lawrie will have the chance to become a double WDF World Champion at Lakeside after progressing to the Youth final on Saturday night with a 3-0 victory over Kaya Baysal.
Baysal took the first two legs of the first set, only to then miss seven darts for the set. Lawrie duly punished his close friend, reeling off six legs on the spin to go into the break 2-0 up in sets.
Set three was similar to set one, with Baysal again getting a break to go 2-0 up, only for Lawrie to respond strongly, pinning a 104 finish and a pair of 14-darters.
It was a 91.91 average in the end for ‘Wee Sox’, who pinned four 180s during the game, and will face Florian Preis in tomorrow’s final.
There was an upset in the Girls’ World Championship, as Turkiye’s Zehra Gemi came from behind to dump out 2024 winner Paige Pauling.
Pauling, the top seed, started strongly by taking the first set 3-1 but then dropped the second 3-0 as Gemi improved the quality of her scoring.
Pauling started the third set with a match-best 13-darter but Gemi broke her throw in the third leg of the set. She then made the most of it, converting with a 17-dart hold of throw to ensure a final meeting with Ireland’s Rebecca Allen.
Photos: Chris Sargeant/Tip Top Pics
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WDF World Championships
Lakeside
WDF Majors
