Andy Baetens, Aileen de Graaf and Bradley van der Velden were the first three players to book their spots in the finals of the 2023 CT1 WDF Lakeside World Championships.
Baetens engages beast mode to see off spirited Nilsson
Top seed Andy Baetens went through the gears in the final game of the session to beat Dennis Nilsson 5-2 and book a spot in the Men’s World Championship final.
After dropping two of the first three sets to his Swedish opponent, Baetens won the fourth set 3-0 to level it up going into the second commercial break. The man known as ‘The Beast from the East’ then kicked it up a notch in the fifth set, throwing five 180s in three legs as he won the set in just 40 darts and moved 3-2 ahead.
Baetens’ impressive run extended to eight legs as he went 2-0 up in the sixth set, pinning a 125 out before producing a 16-darter. Nilsson stopped the rot with a 14-dart break but was unable to capitalise, with Baetens sealing a 4-2 lead with a 15-darter of his own.
Set seven went all the way, with Nilsson leading 2-1 and eventually missing multiple darts to make it 4-3 in sets before Baetens booked his final place by landing double 10.
The Belgian knows he’ll face a Dutch opponent in the final, it just remains to be seen whether it’ll be Chris Landman or Jelle Klaasen.
De Graaf downs Ashton to reach maiden Lakeside final
Aileen de Graaf became the first Dutch finalist in the Women’s World Championship in 14 years after recording a 3-1 victory over four-time winner Lisa Ashton.
Just like in the previous two rounds, Ashton endured a slow start and dropped the first set 3-1 to de Graaf, who produced a 105 out to break Ashton’s throw in the second leg of the match.
Ashton produced finishes of 76 and 106 to take the next set by the same margin, but her finishing let her down in the third set as ‘The Lancashire Rose’ missed six set darts to move 2-1 up.
De Graaf duly punished her on double 10 and then swept the fourth set 3-0, pinning double 16 to seal a 3-1 victory with a 77.89 average.
The Dutch ace will face either reigning champion Beau Greaves or Wales captain Rhian O’Sullivan in Sunday’s final.
Van der Velden beats Theobald in Boys last four
Bradley van der Velden secured the first spot in the 2023 WDF Boys World Championship final with a straightforward 2-0 victory over Mats Theobald.
The first set went entirely on throw, with van der Velden taking it 3-2 with a match-best 14-darter. The second set was more one-sided, with ‘Wolfpack’ taking it 3-1 to seal a 2-0 victory with a 74.55 average.
Facing van der Velden in the final will be either Ireland’s Adam Dee or the Hungarian Andras Borbely.
Saturday 9th December Afternoon Session Results
Bradley van der Velden 2-0 Mats Theobald
Aileen de Graaf 3-1 Lisa Ashton
Andy Baetens 5-2 Dennis Nilsson
All photo credit goes to Chris Sargeant / Tip Top Pics
