James Richardson recorded the highest average of the 2023 CT1 WDF Lakeside World Championships so far as he and five other players booked their spots in the second round in Saturday’s evening session.
Ruthless from Richardson
James Richardson successfully fended off a fightback from debutant Christian Goedl to record a 2-1 win and advance to the Last 32 at Lakeside.
Goedl, the first Austrian to compete at Lakeside since Mensur Suljovic in 2001, began the match with a 15-darter but ‘Ruthless’ Richardson won three legs on the trot to take the first set.
Legs in 18 and 14 darts at the start of the second set moved Richardson within one of rapid progression to the second round, only for Goedl to then produce a three-leg burst of his own to keep his hopes alive.
After the first two legs in the deciding set went with throw, Richardson moved 2-1 up after throwing two 180s in a match-best 11-darter and then sealed victory with a 15-darter.
The Englishman, whose final average was 88.14, will return to the iconic Lakeside stage in the first game of Monday’s afternoon session against Australia’s 12th seed Peter Machin.
Tata pips McDonald in nail-biter
Despite an eight-point deficit in the match averages, a dramatic 101 finish saw New Zealand’s Jonny Tata defeat Shaun McDonald in the first match of the tournament to go all the way to a third set deciding leg.
McDonald had the better of the opening few legs but an impressive burst from Tata in the final leg of the set saw him take out 341 in eight darts and move 1-0 up.
More consistent scoring in favour of the Scotsman saw him win three legs on the spin to take out the second set and he then held throw twice in the third set to move within a leg of victory. He never got a match dart though, with Tata levelling the score with a 14-darter and then pinning 101 with McDonald waiting on 56.
Up next for ‘JT’ will be a meeting with Northern Ireland’s Barry Copeland.
Hyde turns the tables to beat Turner
Lorraine Hyde recorded her first win on the Lakeside stage as she came from behind to beat Laura Turner 2-1.
Turner held a 100% win record over Hyde coming into this game and it looked as though that was set to continue as she recorded a 13-darter on the way to winning the first set 3-1.
She also took the opening leg of the second set but from there the turns tabled with Hyde, who threw two 180s in the match, winning six of the next seven legs to eventually run out a 2-1 winner.
Her reward for that impressive victory will be a second-round clash with defending champion and top seed Beau Greaves.
Captain America takes down ‘The Planer’
Quite a lot has happened in the life of Jim Widmayer since his last Lakeside appearance in 2019 but he got his 2023 return off to a winning start with a gritty victory over Patrik Kovacs.
The first set saw Widmayer, the new ADO President, come out on top as all five legs went with throw.
It was a very different story in the second set as the first four legs were all against the darts and then it was Kovacs that triumphed, taking out tops in the only hold of the set to level the scores.
Kovacs also took the opening leg of the final set but that was as good as it got for ‘The Planer’ on his Lakeside debut as Widmayer won successive legs in 14, 15 and 16 darts to win 2-1 with an 82.26 average.
Plain sailing for Konterman
In the quickest game of the day, rapid Dutchman Arjan Konterman recorded an impressive debut victory over Australia’s Danny Porter.
Although Porter hit the only 180 of the match in the sole leg that he won, Konterman’s more consistent scoring saw him take the first set 3-1.
Konterman’s level dropped a little bit in the second but he proved far more clinical on the outer ring than his fellow debutant, taking it to nil as he finished with an 84.07 average.
Wajer sails through
Paula Jacklin’s winless run at Lakeside continued on day one of this year’s World Championships as she was beaten by Aletta Wajer.
A brace of 20-darters put Jacklin 2-0 up in the opener but that was as good as it got for her, with the heavily pregnant Wajer then winning six consecutive legs to seal a solid 2-0 victory.
2nd December 2023 – Evening Session Results
James Richardson 2-1 Christian Goedl
Aletta Wajer 2-0 Paula Jacklin
Jim Widmayer 2-1 Patrik Kovacs
Jonny Tata 2-1 Shaun McDonald
Lorraine Hyde 2-1 Laura Turner
Arjan Konterman 2-0 Danny Porter
All photo credit to Chris Sargeant / Tip Top Pics
