Preview Thursday WDF World Championship at Lakeside: Including 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie in action again tonight
WDF
A busy schedule is on the menu today at the WDF World Championship. For the men all matches of the third round will be played. Including Jimmy van Schie who take on German Paul Krohne in the third round. We are also looking forward to the 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie, who has already made a big impression this tournament.
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WDF World Championship 2025 playing schedule
Thursday, Dec. 4
Afternoon session (from 12:00)
| 12 p.m. | Men | R3 | James Beeton | v | Caleb Hope |
| 12:45 p.m. | Men | R3 | Matt Clark | v | Francois Schweyen |
| 1:30 p.m. | Boys | QF | Mitchell Lawrie | v | Adam Sepsi |
| 2:15 p.m. | Men | R3 | Benjamin Pratnemer | v | Sybren Gijbels |
| 3 p.m. | Ladies | R2 | Rhian O'Sullivan | v | Jitka Cisarova |
| 15:45 | Men | R3 | Jonas Masalin | v | Shane McGuirk |
Evening session (from 6 p.m.)
| 6 p.m. | Men | R3 | Jimmy van Schie | v | Paul Krohne |
| 6:45 p.m. | Boys | QF | Kaya Baysal | v | Thees Kogelnik |
| 7:30 p.m. | Men | R3 | Ben Robb | v | Stephen Rosney |
| 8:15 p.m. | Ladies | R2 | Aileen de Graaf | v | Eve Watson |
| 9 p.m. | Men | R3 | Jenson Walker | v | Raymond Smith |
| 9:45 p.m. | Men | R3 | Mitchell Lawrie | v | Jeff Springer Jr |
James Beeton vs. Caleb Hope
The afternoon session at Lakeside will be kicked off by James Beeton. The fourth-seeded Englishman survived a thriller against Swede Dennis Nilsson in the previous round. Beeton will take on Caleb Hope for a place in the quarterfinals. The New Zealander, making his debut at the WDF World Cup this year, did far from unkind in the previous rounds with wins against Darren Johnson and Liam Maendl-Lawrance, respectively.
Matt Clark vs. François Schweyen
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Next it was the turn of Matt Clark and François Schweyen. Clark is back at Lakeside 22 years after his last appearance (then at the BDO World Championship), beating Japanese Haruki Muramatsu 3-1 in his opening match. Schweyen, on the other hand, survived a matchdart against Jeffrey Sparidaans to eventually prevail 3-2. The 36-year-old Belgian reached the semifinals last year and is aiming for another deep run at this World Cup.
Mitchell Lawrie vs. Adam Sepsi
A busy day for 15-year-old sensation Mitchell Lawrie! In the evening session he plays his match in the third round of the men's tournament, but in the afternoon session he comes out in the boys' tournament. The Scot will take on Hungarian Adam Sepsi in the quarterfinals. If Lawrie reaches the same level as during his first two matches in the men's tournament, it should almost be a very easy win.
Benjamin Pratnemer vs. Sybren Gijbels
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Benjamin Pratnemer placed fifth this year and in his opening match defeated German Daniel Bauerdick by clear 3-0 scores. Then Sybren Gijbels had a much harder time against Kevin Luke. Still, Gijbels eventually defeated the American 3-2 and then was too strong for Marcus Maier in the second round 3-1. So Gijbels is in the third round just like last year, can he beat Pratnemer to advance one more step?
Rhian O'Sullivan vs. Jitka Cisarova
In the penultimate match of the afternoon session, one of the favorites for the world title in the women's tournament will be in action with Rhian O'Sullivan. The 44-year-old Welshwoman was a two-time losing finalist at the BDO World Championship in the past. In her opening match she will take on Jitka Cisarova. The Czech has already had one match, in the first round she was too strong for Maud Jansson with 2-0.
Jonas Masalin vs. Shane McGuirk
The afternoon session will be closed by the reigning world champion Shane McGuirk. The Irishman is also in excellent form this year, as he proved by posting a 90+ average in his first two matches against Petri Rasmus and Stefan Schröder, respectively. McGuirk will take on Jonas Masalin for a place in the quarter-finals. The Finnish World Championship debutant defeated successively Ryan Hogarth and Corné Groeneveld.
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Jimmy van Schie vs. Paul Krohne
The evening session will be kicked off by world number one Jimmy van Schie. The tall Dutchman made short work of Alex Williams in the previous round and will meet Paul Krohne for a place in the quarterfinals. The German former PDC Tour Card holder was 3-1 too strong for the Czech Dalibor Smolik in the previous round.
Kaya Baysal vs. Thees Kogelnik
In the quarter-finals of the boys' youth tournament, the particularly talented Englishman Kaya Baysal will take on German Thees Kogelnik. The winner of this match is likely to meet Mitchell Lawrie in the semifinals.
Ben Robb vs. Stephen Rosney
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Next up is Ben Robb. The New Zealander impressed in the previous round against former world champion Neil Duff. 'Big Rig' clocked an average of 96.29, the second highest this World Championship. Robb will take on Stephen Rosney in the third round. The Irish World Cup debutant had no trouble in the previous round with the experienced Swiss Thomas Junghans and won with clear 3-0 figures.
Aileen de Graaf vs. Eve Watson
Aileen de Graaf has won just about every major women's title once or more, only at the World Cup did she fall short each time. De Graaf, seeded eighth this year, will take on Eve Watson in her opening match. The Welshwoman defeated Australian Joanne Hadley 2-0 in the first round.
Jenson Walker vs. Raymond Smith
In the penultimate match of the evening session, Jenson Walker takes on Raymond Smith. The 19-year-old Walker dealt with David Fatum in the previous round. Smith, who has reached the fourth round at the PDC Darts World Cup in the past, had no trouble in his opening match with Canadian Clint Clarkson, winning 3-0.
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Mitchell Lawrie vs. Jeff Springer Jr.
Rounding out the evening at Lakeside are Mitchell Lawrie and Jeff Springer Jr. Lawrie set this year's highest average in the previous round with 97.21. Together with Jimmy van Schie, the 15-year-old Scot is considered the absolute top favorite to win this year's World Cup. For a place in the quarter-finals, he has to get past Springer Jr. who did not have to play in the previous round because his opponent Andy Davidson dropped out at the last minute.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- 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