Legandary Paul Lim, 70, rallies to defeat Stone and keep remarkable run going
Singaporean legend Paul Lim, who continued to roll back the years with a comeback victory over Gary Stone.
Stone started the better, producing an 11-dart break to go 2-0 up in the first set, only for Lim to win three on the bounce with finishes of 90 and 96 along the way to take it 3-2.
The Scot overcame that disappointment to level things up going into the break, taking the second set 3-2 with finishes of 100 and 70 in the process, before firing in front by winning the third set to nil in 49 darts.
Lim found a second wind though, taking the fourth set with three 180s, and he extended that run to six straight legs, dramatically taking the deciding set 3-0 to win 3-2 and advance to a first World Championship quarter-final in 34 years. He will meet Jarno Bottenberg in tomorrow’s quarter-final.
At the opposite end of the age range their was another sensational story brewing.
Paeshuyse powers past Laumanis to reach last four
Teenage sensation Lex Paeshuyse delivered a statement performance on Thursday afternoon at the Lakeside as the quarter-finals in the Men’s and Women’s World Championships took shape.
13-year-old wonderkid Lex Paeshuyse continued where he left off at the Boys World Masters, dominating Ralfs Laumanis on his Lakeside debut to reach the Boys semi-finals.
Paeshuyse opened the match with a 92 out and promptly followed it with further legs in 15 and 17 darts to take the first set 3-0.
Latvia’s Laumanis got on the board in the second, holding throw twice, but he was unable to convert set darts and that allowed Paeshuyse to pin an 18-darter for the win.
The Belgian finished with a 92.81 average and will return on Saturday to face either Kendji Steinbach or Archie Self in the semi-finals.
De Graaf ousts Ouchi to reach quarter-finals
Last year’s finalist Aileen de Graaf made a winning return to the Lakeside stage, defeating Mayumi Ouchi 2-0 to reach the Women’s World Championship quarter-finals.
Ouchi hit the highest checkout of the match in the first set, an 82, but the set went the way of the Dutch ace who took it 3-1.
Set two went all the way to the deciding leg, Ouchi levelling it at 2-2 with a 16-darter, only for de Graaf to hit a 16-darter of her win to seal a straight sets triumph.
De Graaf is the third Dutch woman through to the last eight after the success of compatriots Aletta Wajer and Lerena Rietbergen on Wednesday.
Brandon motors through the gears to dump out Gijbels
Jason Brandon delivered another impressive performance in his debut Lakeside campaign, thrashing Sybren Gijbels in straight sets to reach the Men’s quarter-finals.
The American dropped just one leg in his opening win over Hannes Schnier and his meeting with Belgium’s plucky Sybren Gijbels started the same way, Brandon taking the first set 3-0 with 96 and 124 outs.
Gijbels got on the board in set two, but all five legs went with throw and that meant Brandon doubled his advantage going into the break.
The Belgian took the first leg after they returned to the stage but it was one-way traffic for the Tennessee man after that, Brandon winning the next three legs in 48 darts to seal a 3-0 victory with an 87.68 average.
Junghans scraps past Wilkinson to reach maiden quarter-final
Thomas Junghans has gone one step further than he managed in 2023, defeating Carl Wilkinson in a five-set tussle to reach the quarter-finals.
‘TJ’ opened the match with a 70 checkout but a scrappy first set went the way of England’s ‘Wilky’, who took out 25 to win it 3-2.
Wilkinson also won the first leg of the second set before Junghans found his mojo, taking out 78 and 85 on the way to taking it 3-1.
Those checkouts were part of what was ultimately a seven-leg burst from the Swiss, who won the third set 3-0 and opened the fourth with a 14-darter. Wilkinson stopped the rot with a two-dart 94 finish and ultimately kept the match alive by pinning 50 in the set’s deciding leg.
Despite finding a 107 finish in set five, Wilkinson was outscored by Junghans, who produced a 50 out of his own to take the set 3-1 and the match 3-2.
Junghans will return to the stage on Friday afternoon to face Belgium’s Francois Schweyen.
Machin beats Prior to keep Aussie hopes alive
The last Australian left in this year’s World Championship, Peter Machin kept Aussie hopes alive with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Cliff Prior.
England’s Prior looked improved from his opening win over Scott Walters as he took the first set 3-2, pinning a 138 finish before sealing it with a 13-darter.
From there, it was all ‘Machie’ though. The experienced Australian only lost more leg after that first set, winning nine of the last 10 with finishes of 97, 112, and 113 along the way.
There were also three maximums for the former World Trophy winner, who faces Shane McGuirk for a spot in the last four.
Photos: Chris Sargeant/Tip Top Pics
Jarno Bottenberg delivered an incredible showing to eliminate tournament favourite Jimmy van Schie on a night that also saw Paul Lim and Neil Duff advance to the Men’s quarter-finals.
Bottenberg stuns WDF No.1 van Schie to reach last eight
Jarno Bottenberg produced a career-best performance to beat fellow Dutchman Jimmy van Schie, who had recorded the tournament’s highest average in the Last 32.
Van Schie won the opener in 16 darts but the first set went the way of Bottie, who took out a 110 finish followed by a 12-darter to take the first set 3-1.
Set two went all the way to a deciding leg, with van Schie missing a set dart on a 108 finish and Bottenberg capitalising to double his lead with a successful shot on double 15.
Van Schie looked stronger after the break, opening up with a 13-darter and eventually taking the set 3-2 with a 17-darter.
Finishing continued to prove troublesome for van Schie though, with Bottenberg going through the gears to take the final set 3-0 with legs in 16, 14 and 13 darts.
Bottenberg finished with six 180s and a 92.31 average, announcing himself as a title contender in the process.
Lim rallies to defeat Stone and keep fairytale run going
Bottenberg’s opponent in tomorrow’s quarter-finals will be the Singaporean legend Paul Lim, who continued to roll back the years with a comeback victory over Gary Stone.
Stone started the better, producing an 11-dart break to go 2-0 up in the first set, only for Lim to win three on the bounce with finishes of 90 and 96 along the way to take it 3-2.
The Scot overcame that disappointment to level things up going into the break, taking the second set 3-2 with finishes of 100 and 70 in the process, before firing in front by winning the third set to nil in 49 darts.
Lim found a second wind though, taking the fourth set with three 180s, and he extended that run to six straight legs, dramatically taking the deciding set 3-0 to win 3-2 and advance to a first World Championship quarter-final in 34 years.
Duff downs The Daddy in all Northern Irish clash
Neil Duff continued his bid to win back the WDF Men’s World Championship with a hard-fought victory over friend and compatriot Barry Copeland.
Doubles were an issue early on for Duff, who was duly punished by Copeland after he missed six darts to win the opening set.
Roles were reversed in the second though, with Duff converting an early 2-0 lead in the set by taking out tops after Copeland had missed three darts at double seven for the set.
Duff moved in front for the first time by taking the third set 3-1, sealing it with a 90 out, but he wasn’t able to close it out in the fourth set. Duff took out the 121 finish that Copeland had left numerous times in the game, but he missed three match darts and Copeland punished him with successive legs in 16 and 13 to force a decider.
The final set went all the way, all five legs going with throw and Duff going through the gears in the last leg to win it in 13-darts.
Duff, who averaged 86.53, faces Jason Brandon in Friday’s quarter-finals.
McKinlay battles back to beat returning Armstrong
Irina Armstrong’s first appearance on the Lakeside stage in more than 9 years started strongly but ultimately ended in defeat against Scotland’s teenage star Sophie McKinlay.
German international Armstrong took a high-quality opening set, breaking McKinlay’s throw in the final leg of the set with an 88 out.
She had chances to wrap it up 2-0 but was unable to convert, missing multiple match darts and McKinlay punishing her with a two-dart 52 out.
The standard dipped in the fourth set as both women showed signs of fatigue but McKinlay had the edge, taking it 3-0 to wrap up a 2-1 victory.
McKinlay was the last player to book a spot in the quarters, and the 18-year-old standout will face off against second seed and 2023 finalist Aileen de Graaf.
Self downs Steinbach in fast-paced youth clash
Archie Self outlined his potential title credentials with victory in the WDF Boys’ World Championship quarter-finals.
‘The Archer’ registered an early break of throw to lead 2-0 in the first set, and although Steinbach came back at him, the young England player found a 14-darter in the deciding leg to go 1-0 up.
Second seed Steinbach got going in the second set, a 12-darter the highlight as he won it 3-0 to level the game at 1-1.
Steinbach extended his run of legs to four by taking the opener in the third against the darts, only for Self to then win three on the spin to win 2-1 with an 81.12 average.
Self, who finished with three maximums, will face Belgium’s brilliant Lex Paeshuyse in the semis.
—–ENDS—–
Images: Chris Sargeant/Tip Top Pics and WDF
