Schedule opening night at WDF Lakeside World Championship 2024 featuring Brian Raman and Jacob Taylor as top names in action

At Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green tonight the WDF World Cup gets underway. What is striking is that apart from Raman there are all debutants in action on the first night of this World Championship. It is therefore difficult to predict how most players will do on their debut at a World Championship, but we already have a look at the schedule.

The opening night will feature all first-round matches in the men's tournament. These are played to two winning sets. The first match sees Brian Raman take on Corné Groeneveld.

Raman, who sealed the title at this year's Italian Open, was only one of the last players to qualify for the World Championship late last month, but should by no means be underestimated. The 28-year-old Belgian had a PDC Tour Card in 2022 and 2023 and was even world number one in the WDF for a while in the past. In his previous participation in the WDF World Championship, he lost in the quarter-finals after a 4-2 defeat to Richard Veenstra. Groenveld on the other hand, who won the Antwerp Open last year, managed to qualify for this WC through the qualifying tournament. Raman and Groeneveld never played each other before. A potentially great match already announces itself. The winner of this match will return to action on Saturday evening against the sixteenth-seed Martyn Turner. In the second round, by the way, the match will be played to three winning sets.

After Raman-Groeneveld, it is the turn of Scott Walters, who takes on Craig Brown. For both men it will be their debut at a World Championship. Walters won this year's Tallinn Open. Little is known about Brown, the New Zealander qualified thanks to some good results at tournaments in his own country, but it remains to be seen how he performs outside his home territory. The winner of their duel will play again Sunday night against 12th-seeded Englishman Cliff Prior.

Next up is François Schweyen, the second Belgian in action on the opening night. The 33-year-old won both the Belgium Open and the Latvian Open last year and also managed to qualify for the Flanders Darts Trophy at the PDC this year. Schweyen is making his debut at a World Cup and so is his opponent Michael Cassar. The Australian was only called up as a replacement for Connor Scutt, who opted to go to the PDC's World Darts Championship. For both men, it will be their first mutual duel. The winner will play first-seeded Australian Danny Porter on Saturday.

Rounding out the first evening will be Carl Wilkinson and Jacob Taylor. Wilkinson, a 40-year-old Englishman making his debut at a World Championship, won this year's Isle of Man Classic. Taylor is also making his debut at a World Cup. The 56-year-old Canadian with the promising nickname "The Truth" won this year's Las Vegas Open. Also for these two gentlemen, it will be their first match. The winner will meet eighth-seeded Slovenian Benjamin Pratnemer on Tuesday.

Although the tournament cannot be televised in the UK until finals weekend, interested parties can follow the tournament via a live stream. All operations will be broadcast on the YouTube channel of GREAT! game. This means anyone with an Internet connection can watch all 10 tournament days for free, no matter where they are in the world.

The total prize fund for the WDF Lakeside World Championship includes £221,000 in prize money. That is a lot less than in 2023, when it was £257,000.

The main prize for the winner of the men's and women's tournament did remain the same. The winner in the men's will take home 50,000 pounds in prize money. The winner in the women's will receive a check for 25,000 pounds.

First round: Best of 3 sets

Second round: Best of 5 sets

Third round: Best of 5 sets

Quarterfinals: Best of 7 sets

Semifinals: Best of 9 sets

Final: Best of 11 sets

First round: Best of 3 sets

Second round: Best of 3 sets

Quarterfinals: Best of 3 sets

Semifinals: Best of 5 sets

Final: Best of 7 sets

Brian Raman v Corne Groeneveld (R1 men)

Scott Walters v Craig Brown (R1 men)

Francois Schweyen v Michael Cassar (R1 men)

Carl Wilkinson v Jacob Taylor (R1 men)