Francois Schweyen first semifinalist at Lakeside after resounding win over Thomas Junghans; Lerena Rietbergen into last four in ladies' event
WDF
Francois Schweyen advanced to the final four at the WDF World Championship on Friday afternoon. With a resounding 4-0 victory over Thomas Junghans, he became the first player to secure a spot in the semifinals of the men's tournament at Lakeside.
The Belgian managed to eliminate his compatriot Brian Raman 3-2 in the previous round, having previously won over Michael Cassar (2-0) and Danny Porter (3-0). Against Junghans, Schweyen thus won a match without a set loss for the third time in four duels.
In the first set, Schweyen took a 2-0 lead via a 16-darter and a 17-darter, after which Junghans came back to 2-2. Via a 15-darter in the fifth leg, however, the set still went to Schweyen.
Junghans then took a 15-darter lead in the second set, but Schweyen thundered over it with two 15-darters. The set then went 3-1 to the Belgian darter, who then also took the third set 3-1.
Schweyen then distanced himself in the fourth set with an 18-darter and a 17-darter. Schweyen then pulled out the win with a 16-darter. He will face the winner of the match between Shane McGuirk and Peter Machin in the semifinals on Saturday.
In the ladies tournament Lerena Rietbergen managed to reach the last four. That a Dutch player would reach the semifinals was already certain, as Rietbergen faced compatriot Aletta Wajer.
It was not a high quality duel between the two Dutch players, with an average of 66 for Rietbergen and 67 for Wajer. The first set went 3-2 to Wajer, before Rietbergen won the second set 3-1.
Wajer opened the deciding set with an 18-darter, after which Rietbergen took the lead with a 15-darter and a 19-darter. A bizarre leg followed, in which both players missed a lot of dimes. With a 35-darter Rietbergen made it 2-1. Rietbergen will meet the winner of the match between Aileen de Graaf and Sophie McKinlay in the last four.
In the boys' tournament, Florian Preis became the third semifinalist after Lex Paeshuyse and Archie Self. The German won easily 2-0 in sets over Hungarian player Balazs Szotak.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด! โฐ
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) December 6, 2024
Francois Schweyen drops just four legs as he destroys Thomas Junghans to reach the final four of the WDF World Championships. Shane McGuirk or Peter Machin await in the semi-finals!#Lakeside2024 pic.twitter.com/oyphVHOQj0
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UndartedWaters06-01-2025 - Two from the three of Price, Aspinall and Dobey should have been excluded, De Decker and Edhouse should have been in. I would have offered a place to Beau Greaves though i doubt she would have accepted it and probably not really ready for it confidence wise.Mysstree06-01-2025
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