Five players booked their places in the semi-finals of the 2024 WDF World Championships on an entertaining Friday afternoon of action at Lakeside.
McGuirk continues to impress in maiden campaign
Shane McGuirk was installed as the new bookies’ favourite for the Men’s WDF World Championship after Jimmy van Schie’s exit and he lived up to those expectations in the last eight, defeating Peter Machin of Australia 4-0.
Ireland’s McGuirk hadn’t dropped a set in any of his first three games and he continued that trend against ‘Machie’, taking the opener 3-1 courtesy of a 14-darter and two 17-darters.
Set two also ended 3-1, McGuirk punished missed doubles from his experienced opponent to double his advantage going into the break.
After the break things got closer, with Machin upping the consistency of his scoring. McGuirk was still more clinical though, taking out 108 before sealing the third set with a 14-darter.
The fourth set also went all the way, with Machin fighting back from 2-0 down to 2-2, only for McGuirk to go out in 14 to seal a 4-0 win with an 89.28 average and five maximums.
The Clock keeps ticking as Schweyen advances
Facing McGuirk on Semi-Final Saturday will be Belgium’s Francois Schweyen, who was a comfortable 4-0 winner over Thomas Junghans.
Schweyen, nicknamed ‘The Clock’, took a close first set 3-2 thanks to a 94 out in the deciding leg, and only dropped two more legs in the match after that as he motored through the gears.
Sets two and three both went the Belgian’s way 3-1, before he took the fourth out 3-0 with a brace of 17-darters and a 16-darter.
Schweyen’s final average of 88.53 was similar to his previous performances against Brian Raman and Michael Cassar, and put him in good stead for a tasty showdown with McGuirk.
McKinlay causes another upset to reach last four
Scottish teenager Sophie McKinlay has been an absolute revelation in this year’s World Championships and that continued on Friday afternoon as she beat 2023 finalist Aileen de Graaf in straight sets.
McKinlay broke de Graaf’s throw in the first leg of the match and that proved the difference in the first set, the Scot sealing it 3-1 with a 14-dart hold of throw.
The second set went all the way, with de Graaf going 2-0 up but being punished for erratic scoring by her younger opponent, McKinlay sealing victory with successive finishes of 78 and 74.
It was a 72.65 average in the end for the 18-year-old, who had beaten seventh seed Irina Armstrong and four-time World Champion Lisa Ashton in the previous rounds.
Rietbergen denies teammate Wajer in tight battle
Lerena Rietbergen was on the verge of tears after coming from behind to defeat Dutch teammate Aletta Wajer and seal a spot in the Women’s World Championship semi-finals.
Set one was a steady opening, with sixth seed Wajer winning all three of her legs on throw in seven visits to take it 3-2.
Rietbergen made the better start in set two, taking the first two legs in scrappy fashion before levelling the tie with an 18-darter.
The standard ramped up in the first few legs of the final set, with Rietbergen breaking Wajer’s throw in 19 darts to put herself in front in the match for the first time. What was ultimately the deciding leg was a nervy affair, with Rietbergen eventually finding double one to seal a 2-1 victory.
The 22-year-old Dutchwoman, a winner of five WDF ranking titles this year, will now face McKinlay for a spot in the final.
The Preis is right as Florian breezes past Szotak
Germany’s Florian Preis delivered a convincing victory in our opening game of the afternoon, defeating Hungary’s Balazs Szotak 2-0 in the Boys’ Quarter-Final.
Preis came out of the gates in rapid fashion, pinning 94 for an 11-darter in the opening leg, and then taking out 72 to win the first set 3-0.
The second set was scrappier and Szotak had more chances but the 14-year-old was unable to convert them, with Preis wrapping up the second set 3-0.
Preis finished with a 77.08 average and will take on either top seed Jenson Walker or Mason Teese in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Photos: Chris Sargeant/Tip Top Pics
