After a brilliant comeback, 5-3 win over compatriot Jelle Klaasen in the semi-finals on Saturday, Chris Landman is into the WDF World Championship final at Lakeside.
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"I feel great right now," says Landman in his post-match interview, barely able to contain his smile. "At the beginning, I thought I played okay but my first dart was always above the treble 20 when I'd rather have it just below. But I just said to myself 'keep going' and the began to go in."
When he was trailing 3-1 to the 2006 Lakeside champion, not many would have seen Landman's blistering comeback on the cards. As Klaasen began to falter however, 'the Countryman' got better and better.
So what was Landman's catalyst for change? "As I said, the first dart is for me very important for me. If he's in a treble I can follow with the other ones but if I must go looking for it, then it's harder for me," he explains. "At the end they felt good. The doubles went in and I was very very happy."
The final, against Belgian Andy Baetens, is likely to be the longest match of Landman's career. Going in as the underdog though, he has slight less pressure than his opponent. "I'm very confident, but yeah, I've never played such a long format. But today, I got better the longer we played so we will see," Landman previews. "There's always a chance. Andy is a very good player, he's scoring so well but I know I can also do that. I have bring my A-game but we will see."
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.