It's that time of year again as the 2024 WDF Lakeside Women's World Championship is upon us between November 29 - December 8 at the World Famous Country Club in Frimley Green. Beau Greaves will go for three in a row and our preview looks ahead at her chances and others of stopping her.
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As well as Greaves, there is a supporting cast of top names involved including Lisa Ashton, Deta Hedman, Kirsty Hutchinson, Rhian O'Sullivan and Aileen de Graaf.
Beau for three in a row?
Snubbing Ally Pally once again in a pretty interesting move always due to the fact that it is often the other way round with the men's draw at Lakeside pillaged due to many of the names involved qualifying for both.
But Greaves has stayed loyal to the WDF and admitted herself that she isn't huge on playing the men. There will likely become a point when 'Beau N Arrow' decides to step away from WDF and either play Ally Pally or the full PDC Tour. But like everything else thus far in her career, it is very much on her terms with no pressure put on to shift over despite outside voices perhaps saying otherwise.
After achieving her dream in 2022, she has a chance to become three-time champion and whilst there are some good names involved, others have also withdrawn. Namely Fallon Sherrock and Noa-Lynn van Leuven. Both of whom qualified for Lakeside but snubbed invites to play in the PDC version.
Albeit in Sherrock's case, she has a former World finalist as a replacement in Kirsty Hutchinson who lost two years ago during the first edition of the tournament held under the WDF banner. Unlike the men's tournament too both winner and finalist return as Greaves defeated Aileen de Graaf last year.
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Fallon Sherrock was the main snub for Lakeside once again.
With limited spots on offer for Ally Pally, it has enabled the likes of De Graaf and even Lisa Ashton to play Lakeside as well as commit to the Women's Series and other such tournaments in the PDC. Rhian O'Sullivan sits as De Graaf's major threat in her side of the draw. The seeds enter into the second round and face the winners of the opening round.
For instance Greaves faces either Amanda Loch or Kirsi Viinikainen. Desi Mercer or potentially the unseeded Anca Ziljstra likely await her in the Quarter-Finals. Deta Hedman is the seed also in her section but given her pretty poor record at Lakeside relative to her incredible career, it is an opportunity.
Hedman set for tough draw as trio of outsiders loom
Nicole Regnaud made a big impression last year on debut losing to Aileen de Graaf in an epic contest in the Last 16. The Kiwi known as 'The Renegade' continues to clean up in tournaments back home and comes in as perhaps an outside name to reach the latter stages.
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As does the first round in Hedman's section with Hutchinson or Veronika Ihasz who has shown her quality on the Lakeside stage before awaiting the legend. The Hungarian hit the highest outshot in history against Beau Greaves for a female player in the World Championship of 164 before losing to Greaves and lost to Lorraine Winstanley last year.
Aileen de Graaf (pictured) reached the final last year.
De Graaf could face Lorraine Hyde or Mayumi Ouchi in the second round in the section below while a former semi-finalist returns in Irina Armstrong. Previously the Russian born German played in the first and only PDC edition in 2010 and last played in the BDO back in 2015. But she has won multiple tournaments in the past two years to qualify again. She lost to Beau Greaves at the recent World Masters in the semi-finals and is seventh seed.
She faces either five-time World Champion, Lisa Ashton who lost last year to De Graaf and could play her again or rising Scot, Sophie McKinlay.
Perhaps Rhian O'Sullivan though has the best route. The other seed in her part of the draw is Aletta Wajer with the Dutchwoman facing either Paula Murphy or Paula Jacklin. The former faces Lerena Rietbergen or Maud Jansson and while it starts simple, it gets tougher likely later on. But it will likely be that the Welshwoman has too much quality and surges through the rounds.
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Format
Women
First round - best of 3 sets
Last 16 - best of 3 sets
Quarter-Finals - best of 3 sets
Semi-Finals - best of 5 sets
Final - best of 7 sets
Prize Money
In the ladies, a sum of £25,000 awaits the world champion. That amount also corresponds to the winner's cheque in 2023. The runner-up holds only 8,000 pounds, instead of 10,000 last year. The women's field consists of a total of 24 players. The players starting in the first round are guaranteed £750 in prize money.
A bone of contention as it has been cut from its previous amount albeit with some top names in particular in the women's draw.
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Schedule
Friday 29th November
7pm
Men’s R1 - Brian Raman (BEL) v Corne Groeneveld (NED)
Men’s R1 - Scott Walters (ENG) v Craig Brown (NZL)
Men’s R1 - Francois Schweyen (BEL) v Michael Cassar (AUS)
Men’s R1 - Carl Wilkinson (ENG) v Jacob Taylor (CAN)
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Saturday 30th November
1pm
Men’s R1 - Jordan Brooks (ENG) v Jun Matsuda (JPN)
Women’s R1 - Anca Zijlstra (NED) v Jitka Cisarova (CZE)
Men’s R1 - Mark Barilli (SCO) v Shane McGuirk (IRE)
Women’s R1 - Wendy Harper (NZL) v Greta Tekauer (HUN)
Men’s R1 - Patrik Kovacs (HUN) v Bjorn Lejon (SWE)
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7pm
Men’s R1 - Matthew Edgar (ENG) v Jarno Bottenberg (NED)
Women’s R1 - Amanda Loch (AUS) v Kirsi Viinikainen (FIN)
Men’s R2 - #1 Danny Porter (AUS) v Schweyen/Cassar
Women’s R1 - Kirsty Hutchinson (ENG) v Veronika Ihasz (HUN)
Men’s R2 - #16 Martyn Turner (ENG) v Raman/Groeneveld
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Sunday 1st December
1pm
Men’s R1 - Sybren Gijbels (BEL) v Kevin Luke (USA)
Women’s R1 - Lorraine Hyde (SCO) v Mayumi Ouchi (JPN)
Men’s R1 - James Beeton (ENG) v Bradley Kirk (ENG)
Women’s R1 - Paula Murphy (USA) v Paula Jacklin (ENG)
Men’s R2 - #13 Edwin Torbjornsson (SWE) v Barilli/McGuirk
7pm
Men’s R1 - Aaron Turner (ENG) v Jeff Springer Jr (USA)
Women’s R1 - Lisa Ashton (ENG) v Sophie McKinlay (SCO)
Men’s R2 - #12 Cliff Prior (ENG) v Walters/Brown
Women’s R2 - #5 Nicole Regnaud (NZL) v Harper/Tekauer
Men’s R1 - Mike Gillet (WAL) v Ky Smith (AUS)
Monday 2nd December
1pm
Men’s R1 - Dennis Nilsson (SWE) v Howard Jones (AUS)
Women’s R1 - Lerena Rietbergen (NED) v Maud Jansson (SWE)
Men’s R1 - Laszlo Kadar (ROM) v Hannes Schnier (AUT)
Men’s R1 - Darren Johnson (ENG) v Reece Colley (ENG)
7pm
Men’s R1 - Moreno Blom (NED) v Paul Lim (SGP)
Women’s R2 - #4 Deta Hedman (ENG) v Hutchinson/Ihasz
Men’s R2 - #4 Brandon Weening (AUS) v Brooks/Matsuda
Men’s R2 - #5 Peter Machin (AUS) v Gillet/Smith
Tuesday 3rd December
1pm
Men’s R2 - #8 Benjamin Pratnemer (SLO) v Wilkinson/Taylor
Women’s R2 - #8 Desi Mercer (NZL) v Zijlstra/Cisarova
Men’s R2 - #9 Thomas Junghans (SWI) v Beeton/Kirk
Men’s R2 - #15 Ryan Hogarth (SCO) v Edgar/Bottenberg
7pm
Men’s R2 - #2 Jimmy van Schie (NED) v Kovacs/Lejon
Women’s R2 - #1 Beau Greaves (ENG) v Loch/Viinikainen
Men’s R2 - #7 Kai-Fan Leung (HKG) v Blom/Lim
Men’s R2 - #3 Neil Duff (NIR) v Johnson/Colley
Wednesday 4th December
1pm
Men’s R2 - #14 Barry Copeland (NIR) v Turner/Springer Jr
Women’s R2 - #6 Aletta Wajer (NED) v Murphy/Jacklin
Men’s R2 - #6 Liam Maendl-Lawrance (GER) v Gijbels/Luke
Men’s R2 - #11 Jason Brandon (USA) v Kadar/Schnier
7pm
Men’s R2 - #10 Gary Stone (SCO) v Nilsson/Jones
Women’s R2 - #3 Rhian O’Sullivan (WAL) v Rietbergen/Jansson
Men’s R3 - Porter/Schweyen/Cassar v M Turner/Raman/Groeneveld
Men’s R3 - Weening/Brooks/Matsuda v Torbjornsson/Barilli/McGuirk
Thursday 5th December
1pm
Men’s R3 - Pratnemer/Wilkinson/Taylor v Junghans/Beeton/Kirk
Boys QF - #3 Ralfs Laumanis (LAT) v Lex Paeshuyse (BEL)
Men’s R3 - Machin/Gillet/Smith v Prior/Walters/Brown
Women’s R2 - #2 Aileen de Graaf (NED) v Hyde/Ouchi
Men’s R3 - Maendl-Lawrance/Gijbels/Luke v Brandon/Kadar/Schnier
7pm
Men’s R3 - Duff/Johnson/Colley v Copeland/Turner/Springer Jr
Boys QF - #2 Kendji Steinbach (NED) v Archie Self (ENG)
Men’s R3 - Van Schie/Kovacs/Lejon v Hogarth/Edgar/Bottenberg
Women’s R2 - #7 Irina Armstrong (GER) v Ashton/McKinlay
Men’s R3 - Leung/Blom/Lim v Stone/Nilsson/Jones
Friday 6th December
1pm
Boys’ QF - #4 Balazs Szotak (HUN) v Florian Preis (GER)
Women’s QF - TBC
Men’s QF - TBC
Women’s QF - TBC
Men’s QF - TBC
7pm
Boys’ QF - #1 Jenson Walker (ENG) v Mason Teese (ENG)
Women’s QF - TBC
Men’s QF - TBC
Women’s QF - TBC
Men’s QF - TBC
Saturday 7th December
2pm (Order TBC)
Girls’ SF - #1 Paige Pauling (ENG) v Jentl Fransen (BEL)
Boys’ SF - Steinbach/Self v Laumanis/Paeshuyse
Women’s SF
Men’s SF
7pm (Order TBC)
Girls’ SF - #2 Sophie McKinlay (SCO) v Aurora Fochesato (ITA)
Boys’ SF - Walker/Teese v Szotak/Preis
Women’s SF
Men’s SF
Sunday 8th December
5pm
Girls’ Final
Boys’ Final
Women’s Final
Men’s Final
THREE DAYS TO GO!
— WDF Darts (@DartsWDF) November 26, 2024
Not long now until the 2024 WDF World Championships get underway at the iconic Lakeside!
Tickets: https://t.co/8eOLoNERGY pic.twitter.com/1nyn2Vpbdx
Samuel GillChief Content Officer
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
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- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026