Preview Friday WDF World Championship Lakeside including McGuirk-Van Schie in key title clash and touted talent Mitchell Lawrie returns

At the WDF World Championship we have now reached the quarter-finals in both the men's and women's tournament. Mitchell Lawrie, the 15-year-old super talent stands out but also we will get the tie between Van Schie and McGuirk. The women's Quarter-Finals are also all played today. The men's quarterfinals will be played to best-of-7 sets, the women's to best-of-5 sets.

The afternoon session at Lakeside opens with James Beeton against Sybren Gijbels, with both men making their quarter-final debuts. Fourth seed Beeton was pushed to the limit in a five-set thriller against New Zealander Caleb Hope, while Gijbels enjoyed a smoother passage, dispatching Benjamin Pratnemer 3–1.

Priscilla Steenbergen faces Lorraine Hyde for a place in the semi-finals. Hyde, the No. 2 seed and this year’s World Masters champion, enters as the slight favourite. But with the women’s field proving incredibly tight, Steenbergen will feel far from outclassed.

Is this the year Deta Hedman finally erases the one gap on her glittering résumé? The 66-year-old icon—aptly nicknamed The Heart of Darts—has captured nearly every major honour but a world title, having fallen short in three finals. She meets last year’s beaten Lakeside finalist Sophie McKinlay in a compelling quarter-final showdown.

In the boys’ youth quarter-finals, played over the best of three sets, third seed Mason Teese takes on Hungary’s Benedek Szabo. The English youngster starts as the clear favourite.

The afternoon concludes with Ben Robb against Jenson Walker. Robb has been one of the standout performers of the tournament and is widely viewed as a genuine title contender. But he will be wary of Walker, who produced a notable upset in the last round by eliminating 11th seed Raymond Smith.

The evening session begins with Lerena Rietbergen and Eve Watson. The Welsh Lakeside debutant pulled off a surprise win over eighth seed Aileen de Graaf in the previous round, and now aims to take another major scalp—but Rietbergen will be a far tougher test.

The final boys’ youth quarter-final pits Germany’s Florian Preis against England’s Archie Self. Despite Preis being the No. 2 seed, it is Self who enters as the favourite after lifting last year’s WDF World Junior Championship with a 3–2 win over Jenson Walker.

Mitchell Lawrie and François Schweyen then take centre stage. Lawrie, just 15 years old, has yet to concede a single leg and has averaged over 90 in every match—a remarkable feat that places him firmly among the title favourites. Schweyen, however, reached the semi-finals last year and will be determined to at least match that achievement.

Maria Carli meets Rhian O’Sullivan in the evening’s penultimate tie. Carli cruised past fourth seed Nicole Regnaud 2–0 in the previous round, while O’Sullivan—runner-up in both 2010 and 2011—comfortably dispatched Jitka Cisarova.

The evening concludes with a blockbuster men’s quarter-final: top seed Jimmy van Schie versus reigning world champion Shane McGuirk. Van Schie impressed once again in his victory over Germany’s Paul Krohne, combining heavy scoring with clinical finishing. But McGuirk is also in superb form, having edged Finn Jonas Masalin in a high-quality encounter. If both reproduce their earlier performances, this has all the makings of a gripping, high-class contest.