Jarno Bottenberg and Kirsty Hutchinson were the standout performers in the afternoon session on day two of the 2023 CT1 WDF Lakeside World Championships.
Sweet stuff for Bottenberg as he dumps out Lewis
Jarno Bottenberg produced the performance of the tournament in the final game of the session as he blew away the former PDC World Championship semi-finalist Jamie Lewis.
‘Bottie’ was absolutely electric in the first set, averaging in excess of 103 as he won legs in 12, 16 and 17 darts and threw two 180s.
Lewis got on the board in the opening leg of the second set, pinning a 100 finish for a 14-darter, but he wasn’t able to force a deciding set as Bottenberg sealed progress with a three-leg burst highlighted by successive 17-darters.
Next up for the 20-year-old will be a tantalising clash with the rapid American Danny Lauby.
Hutchinson dumps out Ouchi
Last year’s finalist Kirsty Hutchinson got her campaign off to a winning start with a relatively comfortable 2-0 victory over Japanese debutant Mayumi Ouchi.
County Durham native Hutchinson raced out of the blocks, taking the opening set 3-0 and she looked on course to repeat the feat when she broke Ouchi in the opening leg of the second set.
Ouchi battled back though and after immediately breaking back, she took out a fantastic 117 checkout to move 2-1 up. She missed set darts though, allowing Hutchinson to level the scores before sealing her spot in the second round with a match-best 16-darter.
Blom breezes past Takács
Earlier in the afternoon, Bottenberg’s compatriot Moreno Blom also sealed his spot in the second round with a straight sets victory over Gábor Takács.
After the Hungarian took the first two legs in the opening set, Blom won three on the spin in 13, 19 and 20 darts.
The young Dutchman, a recent WDF title winner in Serbia, produced a similar three-leg burst in the second set as he upped his 180 count to three and ran out a 2-0 winner.
Tantalising Torbjörnsson marches on
It’s been a great WDF World Championships for Sweden so far and that continued on Sunday afternoon as Edwin Torbjörnsson became the third Swede from three to win their opening round game.
‘Herkules’ raced through the first set in just 50 darts and kicked off the second with an impressive 90 finish on the bull.
Laszlo Kadar, making his second Lakeside appearance, got on the board with a great 112 finish and then recorded a break of throw to move 2-1 up in the second set. ‘The Teacher’ wasn’t able to make further inroads though, busting 80 in the next leg and being punished as Torbjörnsson won the last two legs in 18 and 19 darts.
The Swede’s final average was 85.6 and based on the strength of his performance, he’ll be hugely competitive in his second round meeting with Jelle Klaasen.
Steenbergen pips Mitchell in a thriller
A quarter-finalist in 2022, Priscilla Steenbergen won her opening game in 2023 but she had to come through an almighty battle against Australian debutant Kym Mitchell.
Steenbergen took the opening set 3-1 and looked on course for a relatively trouble-free victory before Mitchell dug in and showed some real quality in the second set. An improvement in the Australian’s scoring saw her win legs in 18 and 15 darts before sealing the deal with a 51 finish.
Mitchell was again impressive in the third set, producing finishes of 96 and 130 to force a deciding leg. She squandered two match darts though and was dutifully punished, Steenbergen taking out 55 in two darts to book a second-round meeting with Lisa Ashton.
Maendl-Lawrance edges out Gillet
Sunday afternoon’s opening game saw a tightly contested battle between two debutants that eventually ended with Liam Maendl-Lawrance sealing a spot in the second round.
The first ten legs of the match went with throw, meaning that the Welshman Mike Gillet took the opener before German teenager Maendl-Lawrance returned the favour in the second.
The first break of the match came in the opening leg of the third set, with Maendl-Lawrance going out in 19 darts. He doubled his advantage in the second and although Gillet was able to hold throw, he wasn’t able to stop Maendl-Lawrance winning the set 3-1 and the match 2-1.
3rd December 2023 – Evening Session Results
Liam Maendl-Lawrance 2-1 Mike Gillet
Kirsty Hutchinson 2-0 Mayumi Ouchi
Edwin Torbjörnsson 2-0 Laszlo Kadar
Moreno Blom 2-0 Gábor Takács
Priscilla Steenbergen 2-1 Kym Mitchell
Jarno Bottenberg 2-0 Jamie Lewis
All photo credit to Chris Sargeant / Tip Top Pics
