Preview Thursday WDF World Championship at Lakeside: Including 15-year-old Mitchell Lawrie in action again tonight

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.

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.

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.

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 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.