"I'm not here to make the numbers up, I'm here to win this tournament" - Defiant James Richardson determinedly fighting for Lakeside success

Surviving a late comeback from a spirited Christian Goedl, James Richardson booked himself a spot in the second round at the WDF World Championships.

"I'm happy with my performance, could have tweaked it a bit more but I'll say first round's are dangerous," Richardson recapped post-match in conversation with Tungsten Tales. "This guy, I don't know anything about him and he played some good stuff at the right time. His timing shots were really really good. I had to dig in deep and I'm delighted to get through."

Not knowing Goedl, Richardson admits the uncertainty around his opponent was somewhat troubling. "I mean he probably knows about me. I don't know his background, I don't know what he does back in Austria. All I know is he's a qualifier from the WDF qualifier and the problem is you can't take them lightly. You've just got to go up there and play your game and I tried to focus so hard on my game but I knew in the back of my mind he has a game. It's always there, you've got to produce your shots at the right time to be quite honest. And fair play to the guy, he played well."

Richardson, who famously beat Raymond van Barneveld at the 2012 edition of the PDC World Darts Championship, also reached the second round at Lakeside last year, before losing out 3-2 to Scott Marsh. This time around, Peter Machin awaits in Round 2 for Richardson and the 49-year-old Englishman is determined to go keep the winning momentum going.

"I always have the belief. I'm not here to make the numbers up, I'm here to win this tournament," Richardson declares defiantly. "I take each round as it comes. I'm now on Monday afternoon and yeah, we prepare for that now."

🍛 𝙍𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙍𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙣

James Richardson survives a late flurry from Christian Goedl to set up a second round meeting with Australia's Peter Machin.

⏭️ NEXT: Aletta Wajer Vs Paula Jacklin #Lakeside2023
📺 https://t.co/yiUMADIKYF pic.twitter.com/FTZhgG7El1

— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) December 2, 2023