WDF World Championship Saturday evening Round-up | Jimmy van Schie gets off to winning start as Mikuru Suzuki marks return to Lakeside with victory

The number one seed Jimmy van Schie ended the Saturday evening session in the WDF World Championship with a decent 3-0 win against Alex Williams.

He began by taking out 80 in two before following with a 15-dart break. Another one soon came along but climaxing with a 120 checkout as van Schie breezed through the early stages against his Welsh opponent.

The tall Dutchman was not able to reach down to double two as Williams had his first chances at double. They both eventually ended up in the madhouse where Williams finally got on the board, followed by a sarcastic celebration. He then missed tops for a 106 checkout and found himself level again. After busting 81, van Schie made no mistake the next time. It looked like he was going to go 2-0 ahead but Williams had other ideas, taking out 126 on the bull. He then missed six set darts as the World Masters champion pinned double 18. It was a similar situation to William’s round-one clash against Romeo Grbavac. Whilst he completed the comeback yesterday, lightning did not strike twice at Lakeside. Williams ran into a 2-1 lead and missed set darts, but van Schie was there to end William’s debut at the event.

Once more, Baby Shark was blasted in Lakeside as Mikuru Suzuki made a highly anticipated return. She is a two-time world champion and bestows a lot of respect and honour in women’s darts. She managed to get the better of Kirsi Viinikainen 2-0.

After they both pinned tops to get a leg on the board, Viinikainen missed double 18 for a 114 checkout and a break, with Suzuki holding. The Japanese darter was sat on 56 for the set but Viinikainen clinically took out 82 in two to force a deciding leg. Fortunately for Suzuki, she got the edge to propel her closer to the next round.

It looked like she would continue to run away from her opponent. After breaking the throw, she missed a dart at top for a 120. Viinikainen was there to pounce on the mistake, brilliantly taking out 118 on double 19. She followed it up with a 115 outshot before double 10 was cooly found by the Finn to level up affairs. Whoever took the last set would set up a tie with Deta Hedman. Suzuki was up to the task, taking out 97 in two before pinning double 18 to move one away. She completed this with a 110 checkout to fend off a very tricky opponent.

Kicking off the evening’s action, Jonas Masalin marked his debut at Lakeside with a 3-1 win over Ryan Hogarth. Masalin almost began in terrific fashion, missing tops for a 105 checkout. He was able to come back to pin double ten for a crucial break. He backed that up with an 18-darter on the same target. The Scot got a leg on the board on double 16 but wasted numerous opportunities on the outer ring. The Finland native punished him and took the first set. More sloppiness from Hogarth allowed Masalin to hold but he managed to level instantly after. A 13-darter put Masalin in the driving seat but was upstaged by a 12-darter by Hogarth after 121 was taken out on the bull. The world class darts was prolonged with another 13-darter from Masalin to go 2-0 ahead. The ‘HeadHunter’ found a no-look 180 enroute to getting his first leg on the board but was in for a whitewash fourth set as Masalin advanced. For Hogarth, it was more disappointment in Frimley Green as he walked off the stage without shaking the referee’s hand.

Daniel Bauerick survived numerous match darts as he completed a mesmerising comeback to defeat Karl Schaefer 3-2. Bauerdick flew out of the blocks, taking a 2-0 lead amid a whole host of missed doubles. Schaefer dragged himself back in it as he broke straight back but two missed darts at double 18 opened the door for the German to clinch the first set. It was a well-needed response from the Aussie, who broke the throw before showing his opponent how to take out 84. He swiftly levelled up before breaking to go 2-1 up in the third, inevitably taking the overall lead of the tie after taking out 76 in three. The routing would continue as Schaefer’s lead grew. Bauerdick mounted a fightback but missed a number of darts to take the set. The Aussie made no mistake on double 16. From then it should have been the end for Bauerdick, but he was offered a second chance after six match darts were missed. The match would go to a fifth set, which was kicked off by a tops-tops finish by Bauerdick to ahead. This would put him on the road to success, as he progressed into the next round.

Maria Carli produced a solid display to dispose of former semi-finalist Irina Armstrong 2-1. Carli looked on top in the early stages, finding a 13-darter to take a 2-0 lead. She missed five doubles to go a set to the good as Armstrong, in her first chances at the outer ring, took her rare opportunity. She would the take authority on her throw to force a showdown for the set, which the Canadian took with open arms on double 10. She should have broken the throw instantly but had a mere on the outer ring, subsequently allowing her rival to hold. This would come back to bite her. The pressure of a 180 would not faze Armstrong one bit as she pinned tops for a level tie. The Canadian was the one to prevail. Her scoring saw her create more chances which she took. It was a sketchy ending for both players. Carli ended up in the madhouse after missing ten match darts, along with Armstrong having the chance to prolong this tie, but she just about managed to scramble over the finishing line.

Jeffrey Sparidaans and Brian Raman were involved in a very even match which went the full distance, but it was Sparidaans who triumphed 3-2. Raman made Sparidaans rue missed doubles to break in the opening stages but was reeled back instantly by the Dutchman with a 16-darter. Another break for the Belgian followed by more misery trying to complete the legs. Sparidaans prolonged the breaks before culminating them with a 15-dart hold to take the set. The breaks kept coming in the second set. Sparidaans continued his positive form by going ahead before a 116 checkout from Raman kept him on par. He would then be punished for missing chances to hold as the Dutchman went on to take the second set. Raman was not going down without a fight, as he took out 115 and 112 enroute to firmly putting himself back in contention. Despite finding himself a break down in the fourth set, Raman took out notable finishes of 94 and 76 before sneaking ahead to his opponent to force a one-set shootout. Four holds saw a tense final-leg decider. In the end, the reigning Dutch Open champion proved to have the winning cards. He took out 87 on double five to secure a gritty victory.