Lex Paeshuyse made an impressive debut on the Lakeside stage. The 13-year-old Belgian was in action Thursday afternoon in the first quarterfinal at the WDF World Championship in the boys category.
Paeshuyse already showed his good form recently by reaching the final of the JDC World Championship. So possibly a second World Championship final is in the cards for the young super talent.
The player from Belgium won convincingly in the quarter-finals of the WDF World Cup 2-0 in sets against Ralfs Laumanis. With an average of 92.81, Paeshuyse even threw an average higher than most men show in the men's tournament.
Paeshuyse started the match excellently. Thanks to a 92 finish, the first leg was within 15 darts and a second 15-darter made it 2-0. He then secured the set with a 17-darter.
He continued on the same footing in the second set, throwing a 14-darter to take the lead in the second set. His opponent Laumanis equalized via double 16, before Paeshuyse fired another 15-darter. It was 2-2 after a 13-darter from Laumanis, before Paeshuyse decided the match with an 18-darter. On Saturday, Paeshuyse will play in the semifinals of the boys tournament against the winner of the duel between Kendji Steinbach and Archie Self.
In the men's tournament, Thomas Junghans managed to qualify for the last eight of the WDF World Championship. The darter from Switzerland was the better man after a deciding set against Carl Wilkinson (3-2).
After Wilkinson won the first set 3-2, the momentum shifted to Junghans. The Swiss won the second set easily 3-1, and then saw Wilkinson miss a lot of doubles in set three. As a result, the third set went 3-0 to Junghans.
Junghans then got to match point by notching the 2-2 with a 50 finish in the fourth set. He was given six innings to finish it off, but failed. Wilkinson kept himself in the match by throwing out 50 to force a final set.
In the fifth set, Junghans took the lead with a 17-darter before Wilkinson produced a fine 107 finish. However, the Englishman then missed two chances for a break, before Junghans made it 2-1 with a 19-darter. TJ The Silent Assassin then ended the match with a 15-darter.
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— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) December 5, 2024
A stunning display from 13-year-old Lex Paeshuyse sees him defeat 17-year-old Latvian Ralfs Laumanis with 93 average to become the first boy into the semi-final#Lakeside2024 pic.twitter.com/A3FVnp4f4L