Schedule WDF World Championship 2024 on Friday: Jarno Bottenberg battles darts legend Paul Lim for spot in semifinals at Lakeside

We have arrived at the second Friday of the 2024 WDF World Championship at Lakeside. Today is quarterfinal day; with each session featuring two quarterfinals from the men's tournament, two quarterfinals in the women's and one quarterfinal from the boys' tournament.

In the men's tournament, there is a special milestone. The eight quarterfinalists come from eight different countries, spread across no less than four different continents. It is the first time in Lakeside history that there are eight different nationalities in the last eight. Among the ladies, it is mainly a European party; with three Dutch players, two English, a Czech, Scottish and Australian player.

We begin the eighth day of play at the WDF World Championship 2024 with the third quarterfinal of the boys' tournament. After Lex Paeshuyse and Archie Self reached the last four on Thursday, it's the turn of Balazs Szotak and Florian Preis on Friday afternoon. In the evening, Jenson Walker and Mason Teese will compete for the final spot in the semifinals.

The first quarterfinal in the women's tournament is a Dutch affair. Lerena Rietbergen won her Lakeside debut in the first round against Maud Jansson (2-0) and then managed to pull off a surprise against third set leader Rhian O'Sullivan (2-0). Most encouraging was that Rietbergen managed to boost her average by over eighteen points; from 59 to over 77 average. Aletta Wajer had a bye in the first round, and then managed to deal with Paula Murphy (2-1). Both players can reach the semifinals of a WDF major for the first time in their careers.

Possibly even a Dutch semifinal awaits, as on the same side of the bracket Aileen de Graaf will take on Sophie McKinlay. De Graaf made it to the quarterfinals at Lakeside for the ninth time by defeating Mayumi Ouchi 2-0. Her opponent McKinlay caused a huge sensation in the first round by defeating four-time women's world champion Lisa Ashton. This was also followed by a 2-1 victory over Irina Armstrong.

On the men's side, Francois Schweyen makes his appearance in the afternoon session. The Belgian managed to knock out compatriot Brian Raman 3-2 in the previous round, after previously beating Michael Cassar (2-0) and Danny Porter (3-0). His next opponent is Thomas Junghans, who managed to fight his way past James Beeton (3-2) and Carl Wilkinson (3-2).

The final match of the afternoon is between Shane McGuirk and Peter Machin. McGuirk is perhaps the biggest surprise at the WDF World Cup. The Irishman convincingly defeated Mark Barilli (2-0), Edwin Torbjörnsson (3-0) and Brandon Weening (3-0), throwing averages of 92.81, 96.16 and 93.62. With that level, McGuirk is easily the favorite for the title in Frimley Green. Machin, surprising winner of the BDO World Trophy in 2017, won over Mike Gillet (3-0) and Cliff Prior (3-1) in his first two duels.

Deta Hedman continues her hunt for a first women's world title on Friday night. 'The Heart of Darts' has won more than 200 titles in her career, but the crowning glory is still missing. In 2012, 2014 and 2016, Hedman lost in the final at Lakeside. After a 2-1 victory over Kirsty Hutchinson, she now takes on Nicole Regnaud, who managed to win her two matches against Greta Tekauer (2-0) and Wendy Harper (2-0) without a set loss.

For the winner of the duel between Hedman and Regnaud, a confrontation with the all-time top favorite Beau Greaves possibly awaits. In the first two rounds, the 20-year-old Englishwoman recorded the highest average (82.89) by far in the women's competition and won 2-0 against Kirsi Viinikainen. She now meets Jitka Cisarova, who previously eliminated Anca Zijlstra (2-0) and Desi Mercer (2-0).

In the men's tournament, there is one more player who has already won the WDF World Championship once. That is Neil Duff, who claimed the world title at the first edition in 2022. The Northern Irishman won in the third round from his good friend Barry Copeland (3-2), having earlier defeated Reece Colley (3-2) after an exciting five-setter. Duff will face Jason Brandon in the quarterfinals. The American did not concede a set in his duels against Hannes Schnier (3-0) and Sybren Gijbels (3-0).

We conclude the evening with a fun affair between Jarno Bottenberg and Paul Lim. Bottenberg is the last remaining Dutchman in the tournament after his fine 3-1 victory over top favorite Jimmy van Schie. Moreover, the Dutchman has been playing better and better. In his first round match against Matthew Edgar (2-0), Bottenberg reached a moyenne of 88, followed by an average of 89 in his match against Ryan Hogarth (3-1). Against Van Schie, 'Bottie' even threw an average of 92 per turn.

Bottenberg faces darts legend Paul Lim in the quarterfinals. At the age of 70, the Singaporean has matched his best World Championship performance ever. Lim previously reached the quarterfinals at Lakeside in 1990, where he also produced a historic performance that year by throwing a nine-darter. Still, "The Singapore Slinger" is the only player ever with a perfect leg on the Lakeside stage. Lim recorded handsome victories over Moreno Blom (2-0), Kai Fan Leung (3-2) and Gary Stone (3-2) earlier in the tournament. Will Lim manage to add to his last World Championship appearance?

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 pool 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

Balazs Szotak v Florian Preis ( boys)

Lerena Rietbergen v Aletta Wajer ( ladies)

Francois Schweyen v Thomas Junghans (men)

Aileen de Graaf v Sophie McKinlay (ladies)

Shane McGuirk v Peter Machin ( men)

Jenson Walker v Mason Teese (boys)

Deta Hedman v Nicole Regnaud ( ladies)

Neil Duff v Jason Brandon ( men)

Beau Greaves v Jitka Cisarova ( ladies)

Jarno Bottenberg v Paul Lim (KF men)