One of the tournament favourites, Leonard Gates, got his tournament off to an impressive start in the evening session of the second day of the 2023 CT1 WDF Lakeside World Championships.
Gates wins hotly-anticipated tournament opener
Leonard Gates has impressed on UK stages this year and he continued that with a comfortable 2-0 first round victory over Brian Corbett.
Gates kicked off proceedings with a 15-darter and although Corbett immediately responded in kind, the Kiwi debutant wouldn’t find the outer ring again as ‘Soulger’ raced to victory.
A brace of 16-darters saw Gates round out the first set and he then took the second to nil, finishing with a tournament-best average of 92.11.
Corbett, a late replacement in this tournament, played well on debut and threw three 180s but didn’t quite have the consistency on his big stage debut to match the in-form American.
Swiss bliss for Junghans
Thomas Junghans made history as the first Swiss player to compete on the Lakeside stage and he made a night to remember with a win over David Pallett.
Pallett had endured a hectic day himself, travelling back-and-forth from Lakeside to Coventry to see his partner give birth, but never really got into it in the final game of the session.
After Junghans sealed the first set with a masterful 11-darter, he didn’t drop another leg and ultimately ran out a comfortable 2-0 winner with four maximums and an 82.63 average.
Kirwan explodes into round two
Davie Kirwan produced an assured display to defeat Benjamin Pratnemer in straight sets in his Lakeside debut.
The Scotland international opened the match with a 15-darter and after Pratnemer responded with an 80 finish, Kirwan edged out the next two legs to take the first set.
The impressive showcase of finishing continued in the second set. Pratnemer took out 68 and 106 but he was powerless to stop ‘The Claymore’, who sealed his progress to the second round with successive outs of 108 and 103.
Kirwan, who won two medals for Scotland at the recent WDF World Cup, will return to the Lakeside stage on Wednesday afternoon to face Chris Landman.
Regnaud records impressive comeback
Two more debutants battled it out in the final game in the Women’s World Championship first round and it was Nicole Regnaud that came out on top against Anna Forsmark.
Forsmark impressed in the opening set, a break of throw in the first leg proving crucial as she took it 3-1.
That only seemed to rile up her Kiwi opponent though, who threw two 180s on route to taking the second set 3-0 and ultimately won six of the last seven legs to run out a 2-1 winner with a 68.33 average.
Next up for the talented New Zealander will be the former World Master and second seed Aileen de Graaf.
Olde Kalter eases past Allen
Dennie Olde Kalter produced a steady performance to dispatch Antony Allen 2-0 and advance to the second round on his Lakeside debut.
A back-and-forth first set saw Allen lead 2-1 one before Olde Kalter won legs in 14 and 17 darts to take it 3-2.
Allen also took the lead in the second set but was unable to seal the deal, Olde Kalter incrementally improving as he went out in 17, 16 and 15 darts to complete a 2-0 win with an 86.02 average.
Smith beats Monaghan to reach round two
In the first game of the evening session, Suzanne Smith secured first win on the Lakeside stage after coming through a scrappy game with Victoria Monaghan 2-0.
Both women struggled with their finishing throughout the match but in the end it was Smith that proved a little more clinical as she won both sets in the fifth and deciding leg.
3rd December 2023 – Evening Session Results
Suzanne Smith 2-0 Victoria Monaghan
Davie Kirwan 2-0 Benjamin Pratnemer
Leonard Gates 2-0 Brian Corbett
Nicole Regnaud 2-1 Anna Forsmark
Dennie Olde Kalter 2-0 Antony Allen
Thomas Junghans 2-0 David Pallett
All photo credit to Chris Sargeant / Tip Top Pics
