WDF World Championship 2026: Former finalist Sophie McKinlay seals Lakeside return in Las Vegas

Former women’s finalist Sophie McKinlay will return to the Lakeside stage after joining Berry Pater and Liam Maendl-Lawrance in qualifying for the 2026 WDF World Championships.

The three players secured their places through the World Championship Qualifiers staged in Las Vegas following the conclusion of the WDF World Masters and World Open.

Two Lakeside places were available in the Open qualifier, which featured a field of 140 players. Pater claimed the first by recording a convincing 6-1 victory over Carsten Hoffmann in his decisive match. The Dutchman averaged 78.43 as he completed a six-match run through the knockout competition.

His route included victories over Danio Aalders and Shane Sakchekapo during the closing stages. Pater defeated Sakchekapo 5-3 in the quarter-finals before dropping only one leg against Hoffmann.

Maendl-Lawrance secured the second Open place by beating Robbie Phillips 6-3 with an 86.90 average.

The German had produced some of the strongest darts seen during the qualifier earlier in the day. He averaged 97.72 in a 4-2 victory over David Flowers before recording a 91.07 average as he defeated Callum Francis 5-3 in the quarter-finals.

The result confirms another Lakeside appearance for Maendl-Lawrance, who has competed at the WDF World Championships in each of the previous three editions.

McKinlay emerged from the 64-player women’s qualifier, where one World Championship place was available. The Scot defeated Anca Zijlstra 6-3 in the final, producing a 72.21 average against the Dutch player’s 68.41.

McKinlay had previously overcome Sonja Underwood, Nadine Spet, Steph Clarke and Yukie Sakaguchi before beating Rachna David 5-3 in the semi-finals.

Her qualification comes two years after her breakthrough appearance at Lakeside in 2024. McKinlay reached both the girls’ and women’s finals during that tournament, becoming the first player to contest both title matches at the same edition of the WDF World Championships.

She was beaten by Paige Pauling in the girls’ final before facing Beau Greaves for the senior women’s title. McKinlay won the opening set of that contest, but Greaves recovered to complete a 4-1 victory and secure her third consecutive championship.

Pater, Maendl-Lawrance and McKinlay will now return to England later this year to compete for the WDF’s biggest titles at the Lakeside Country Club.