WDF World Championship - Report 4. Day
Afternoon-Session
2023 World Championship semi-finalist Dennis Nilsson and England's impressive Reece Colley were among the winners on Monday afternoon at the 2024 WDF Lakeside World Championships.Nilsson makes strong start on Lakeside return
Dennis Nilsson was a semi-finalist at Lakeside last year and he's off to a winning start in 2024 after defeating Howard Jones 2-0 in Monday's opening game.
Nilsson broke the Jones throw in a scrappy opening leg of the match and proceeded to improve from there, pinning double eight to take the first set 3-1.
Australia's Jones, who booked a debut through the South Australian Classic, showed his class by taking out 90 on the bull in the second leg of the second set but was unable to make further inroads, Nilsson pinning 96 in the following leg before sealing victory with an 18-darter.
The Swede finished with an 84.26 average and will take on Gary Stone on Wednesday evening in the second round.
Schnier shines against Kadar in last-leg thriller
Austrian debutant Hannes Schnier produced an impressive display to defeat Laszlo Kadar and book his spot in the Men's World Championship second round.Schnier played in the PDC World Championship 15 years ago and that stage experience was handy on his Lakeside debut, as 'The Ram' opened the match with a 13-darter and sealed the first set 3-1 by going out in 16 darts. Schnier started the second well with a finish of 80, but Romania's experienced Kadar dug in to respond, taking out 50 and then a tournament-high 164. Schnier rallied to pin 61 to force a deciding leg, where he missed a match dart that Kadar punished. 'The Ram' responded well to that missed dart, opening the third set with an 81 out followed by a tops tops 140. He couldn't convert it to 3-0 though, as two more match darts went begging and Kadar punished him with successive 16 and 14 dart legs.
The final was nervy, with Schnier hitting tops after both men had missed tops. Schnier ended with a 90.91 average and will return on Wednesday afternoon to face Jason Brandon.
Colley downs Johnson to book date with Duff
Reece Colley will face Neil Duff on Tuesday night after defeating Darren Johnson 2-1 in the final game on Monday afternoon.Colley, who won the Gold-ranked World Open in October to secure a second Lakeside berth, pinned a 115 finish to take the first 3-0. Experienced Yorkshireman Johnson rallied to win the second set, getting on the board with a 73 finish before finding successive 19-darters to repeat the favour 3-0. Momentum swang back in the favour of Colley in the third set, who upped his game throughout, finishing with three 180s and sealing victory with a 13-darter.
Rietbergen books final round two place
Lerena Rietbergen was a winner in the final first round game in the Women's World Championship, defeating Maud Jansson 2-0.Rietbergen had accumulated the third most ranking points in WDF Women's events in 2024 and she made the stronger start, breaking Jansson's throw in the opening leg. Doubles proved problematic for both players throughout, although after Jansson won the third leg of the first set, Rietbergen won four legs on the spin to seal a 2-0 win.
The 21-year-old Dutchwoman will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon against Rhian O'Sullivan.
Evening-Session
Paul Lim delivered a darting masterclass on a night that saw double Australian delight for Brandon Weening and Peter Machin and a comeback victory for Deta Hedman.Lim rolls back the years to dump out Blom
Paul Lim made his first appearance on the Lakeside stage in 30 years one to remember, as he dispatched young Dutchman Moreno Blom 2-0.
Blom won the opening leg with an 88 finish but Lim, the only man to hit a nine-darter on the Lakeside stage, immediately broke back with 76 out of his own.
'The Singapore Slinger' then won two legs on the spin to claim the opening set 3-1, and the second following the same pattern.
A 72 finish saw Blom take the opening leg, only for Lim to ping back-to-back legs with 92 and 83 finishes before sealing victory with a 16-darter.
Lim finished with a 90.26 average and will be back tomorrow night to take on former Hong Kong teammate Kai Fan Leung.
Machin dominates Gillet to book Last 16 spot
Former World Trophy winner Peter Machin produced an impressive display in the final game of the day, dominating Mike Gillet in straight sets.Machin raced into an early lead, producing an 11-darter and two maximums in the process of winning the first set 3-0. Gilet, who had impressed the night before against Ky Smith, got on the board in the second set, firing in three maximums and forcing it to a last-leg decider. He was unable to convert though, with Machin finding double five to double his advantage. The experienced Australian kept the momentum rolling in the third set, pinning tops to take it 3-1 and seal a comprehensive 3-0 victory with an 88.08 average.
'Machie' will return to the stage on Thursday to take on Cliff Prior.
Hedman fights back to reach quarter-finals
Three-time finalist Deta Hedman made a winning start to her 2024 WDF World Championship campaign, although she was made to work for it by Kirsty Hutchinson.Hutchinson started the stronger, breaking the Hedman throw in the opening leg of the match before taking out 40 to win the first set 3-1. She didn't get another look from there though, with Hedman starting the second set with a brace of 17-darters. Those two legs were the start of a six-leg run from 'The Caribbean Queen', who pinned double two to seal a 2-1 victory.
Hedman will be back on stage on Friday to face New Zealand's Nicole Regnaud in the quarter-finals.
Weening follows in his father's footsteps
26 years on from his father's last appearance on the Lakeside stage, Brandon Weening was a winner against Jun Matsuda.'The Python' made an impressive start against the Japanese, producing finishes of 88 and 90 as he took the first set 3-1. Matsuda battled back to level it going into the break, producing a 93 finish followed by a 14-darter to win the second by the same margin. The third set was scrappier but again finished 3-1, this time going Weening's way courtesy of 14-darter. Set four went all the way, with Weening rallying from 2-1 down by pinning double four and then taking the deciding leg in 17 darts.
Pictures with credit to Tip Top Pics/Chris Sargeant