"I've been the form player in the WDF, but I know what Raymond Smith can do": Jenson Walker survives gruelling battle to set up showdown with one of Lakeside title favourites

Jenson Walker battled through a scrappy, tense encounter on Wednesday night to defeat sixth seed David Fatum 3–1 and reach the last 16 of the 2025 WDF World Championship — before openly admitting afterwards that he never found anything close to his A-game on the Lakeside stage.

Walker, who whitewashed Jiri Brejcha 3–0 in the opening round, now faces one of the tournament favourites in Australian contender Raymond Smith. And although the 19-year-old insists he arrives in top form, he was quick to stress that his next opponent is a different calibre of challenge entirely.

Walker’s clash with Fatum was a gritty, nervy, momentum-shifting match that rarely settled into rhythm. Both players missed key chances at vital moments, including Walker’s four missed set darts in the second set that allowed Fatum to level the match at 1–1.

“It feels brilliant,” Walker said of the win. “That was a scrappy game, you know, but we take it. David’s a very good player, very experienced, so I’m just pleased to get over the line really.”

He admitted that neither player produced their best. “My game didn’t happen today, and obviously David’s didn’t either. It was a case of trying to scrap through playing at 40–50%. Luckily I managed to be that person that got through — both of us could have been that person.”

One of the match’s standout moments came when Walker roared in celebration after a 48 checkout — only to realise moments later he had completely misread the scoreline.

“For some reason I thought it was one set all and I was two-nil up in legs,” he laughed. “Hence I gave it large — gave it massive! Then I came back to the table thinking, why is Dave standing back? Turns out I’d read it wrong.”

Despite the confusion, he regathered himself and closed out the set moments later. "I thought, ‘Jenson, you absolute so-and-so,’ but luckily I managed to win that set to make it 3–1. I’m happy to get over the line in the end.”

Walker refused to dwell on the uneven performance, insisting that what happens on the Lakeside stage is often out of a player’s hands.

“I’m not too fussed about the performance,” he said. “The only thing I can control is the prep I put in the practice room. If I go on stage and average 100, or if I average 75 or 80, I can’t control what happens out there.”

His focus now turns entirely to preparing properly for Smith. “It’s Lakeside — many people have succeeded on that stage, many have failed. All I can control is the prep I put in. I’ll put the right prep in tomorrow again and be ready.”

Walker heads into the last 16 as one of the most in-form players in the entire WDF system, having lifted the Czech Open and Malta Masters across the last month.

“Over the last three or four weeks, many could debate I’d be the form player in the WDF,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of match practice — a lot of match practice winning — and people underestimate the practice of winning.”

But he made it clear he has no intention of underestimating Smith. “I know what Raymond can do. Raymond is an unbelievable player. I’m really excited for the game anyway — really excited.”