The Lakeside World Championship isn’t just a tournament. It’s a cathedral. A tungsten-soaked shrine. A living, roaring monument to everything that has ever made darts a deliriously addictive spectacle. Ever since the very first gladiators marched onto that iconic Frimley Green stage in 1985, Lakeside has stood as the sport’s spiritual heartbeat — a sanctuary where legends are forged, underdogs erupt, and history refuses to stay quiet.
Yes, the politics have changed. Yes, the earthquake that swallowed the BDO in 2020 left fault lines still visible today. But prestige? Aura? Mythology? Lakeside has never surrendered those. Reborn under the WDF banner in 2022, the tournament continues to gleam with old-school majesty — stubbornly, beautifully resistant to the corporate polish and high-octane bombast of modern darts. It is tradition incarnate.
And now, in a seismic statement of intent, the WDF has inked a brand-new multi-year alliance with one of the sport’s most elite manufacturing powerhouses: Target Darts. This is no token partnership — it’s a declaration. A thunderous promise that Lakeside will not merely survive, but evolve. The deal signals momentum, investment, ambition. A clear commitment to giving elite amateur stars another grand, glittering stage on which to sculpt their destinies.
Scheduling has shifted in recent years, with the WDF extravaganza now igniting in late November, wrapping up neatly before the PDC World Championship engulfs the darting universe in festive chaos. But timing doesn’t matter — the aura remains the same. The walk-on lights are still blinding. The stage still hums with nostalgia. The ghosts of past champions still linger like cigarette smoke from a bygone era.
And stepping back into that cauldron comes the defending king: Ireland’s Shane McGuirk. Twelve months ago, he marched through Lakeside like a man fated for the trophy. Now he returns with history on the line, hoping to become the first back-to-back men’s champion since Glen Durrant’s unforgettable three-in-a-row reign half a decade ago.
McGuirk came agonisingly close to earning his seat at Ally Pally through the PDC World Championship qualifier, only to fall at the final hurdle to Red Dragon Champion of Champions winner David Davies. But the Irishman, ever composed, knew he had a golden parachute: the right to defend his Lakeside crown. His mission begins against Finnish qualifier Petri Rasmus.
But Lakeside’s magic has always extended beyond one division. Each year, another narrative seizes the spotlight — and this time, it’s a story defined by absence. Beau Greaves, the teenage phenom who has torched the women’s scene with her fearless brilliance, will not defend her crown. Had she triumphed again this year, she would have secured a fourth consecutive title — a staggering feat last achieved by the indomitable Trina Gulliver, who reigned uninterrupted from 2001 to 2007. Without Greaves, the women’s field becomes a battlefield of opportunity.
And then there are the youth titles — the lifeblood of Lakeside’s future. Archie Self and Paige Pauling lifted the Boys and Girls trophies last year, and now an entire generation of rising prodigies is ready to follow in their footsteps, bathed in the dazzling glow of the stage where so many careers have begun.
With £50,000 awaiting the new Open champion and £25,000 for the women’s victor, the stakes have never felt sharper. Legacies, careers and bragging rights will all be carved into the boards when the action explodes into life on 28th November.
—–ENDS—–
Originally published in Darts World Extra (23)
Images: Chris Sargeant / WDF
