Former WDF World No.1 Brian Raman and England international Carl Wilkinson were among the winners as the 2024 WDF World Championship roared into life at the Lakeside Country Club.
Raman completes comeback to deny Groeneveld
The only player not making their debut in the session, Raman was a 2-1 victor in the night’s opening game against Dutchman Corne Groeneveld.
Groeneveld made the stronger start, producing finishes of 64 and 81 as he took the opening set 3-0 in 49 darts.
Raman got on the board in the opening leg of the second set with an 80 finish and would ultimately hold throw to take it, surviving a match-dart before pinning 65 in two.
Raman finished the game with three 180s and his scoring power told in the third set, winning legs in 14 and 17 darts before sealing his spot in the second round with a 16-darter.
Martyn Turner awaits on Saturday night for ‘The Riddler’, who finished with an 87.3 average.
Schweyen soars into round two
Raman’s compatriot Francois Schweyen is a dark horse for this year’s tournament and he opened his debut campaign with a straight sets win over Michael Cassar.
Australia’s Cassar won the opening two legs of the match but then missed five darts to take the opening set and was punished with Schweyen pinning a hat-trick of 16-darters.
Schweyen continued that momentum in the second set, opening up with a 70 checkout and taking his streak to six straight legs to win 2-0 with an 87.56 average.
Schweyen will return on Saturday evening to take on another Australian in the shape of top seed Danny Porter.
Wilkinson puts Taylor to the sword
Carl Wilkinson wrapped up the evening’s action with a solid straight-sets victory over fellow debutant Jacob Taylor.
The opening four legs of the first set went with throw before England international Wilkinson broke, firing in a 17-darter to take it 3-2.
Canada’s Taylor, who booked his Lakeside spot at the Las Vegas Open earlier this year, hit the front in the second set by taking the first two legs.
Taylor was unable to convert from there though, with Wilkinson producing three consecutive 18-darters to take it 3-2 and run out a 2-0 winner in sets.
‘The Sword’ will return to the Lakeside stage on Tuesday afternoon to take on eighth seed Benjamin Pratnemer.
Walters battles his way into round two
Local man Scott Walters has waited a long time to make his Lakeside debut but he made a winning start against New Zealander Craig Brown.
Walters, who was one leg away from qualifying in 2022, took the opening set 3-0.
Brown began to find his feet in the second set, taking the opening leg with a 76 finish and then levelling up the set at 2-2 with a match-best 17-darter.
Walters prevailed though, finding double five with the last dart in hand to triumph 2-0. He’ll be back on Sunday night to face close friend and travel partner Cliff Prior.
