The 2025 Lakeside World Championship has boiled itself down to what many see as their dream finale: the immovable No.1 seed Jimmy van Schie versus the unstoppable teenage comet Mitchell Lawrie in the ‘Open’ catagory.
The young Scot booked his place hours earlier; then the Dutchman stepped up, ripped through Sybren Gijbels 5–1, and coolly punched his own ticket to Sunday’s showpiece.
Van Schie was in full command from moment one. He breezed through the opening set, suffered a brief jolt when Gijbels levelled with a ruthless 3–0 sweep, and then simply hit the nitro. From that moment on, the Breda powerhouse operated in a different weight class—dropping just a single leg for the remainder of the match and flattening the Belgian fairy-tale with a brutal professionalism.
Gijbels leaves as one of the stories of the week: a reserve player drafted in late, who somehow stormed to the semi-finals. But this stage belonged to Van Schie, who now stands one win from joining the elite Dutch alumni of Barneveld, Klaassen and Kist who have tasted triumph in Frimley Green’s iconic venue.
Across the stage waits Lawrie, and if the Scottish prodigy pulls it off, darts history will need a rewrite. At fifteen, he’d obliterate the record books and join fellow Scots Les Wallace and the legendary Jocky Wilson as Lakeside champions — but by a margin that may never be matched again. A grandstand finish awaits.
From Scotland’s past to England’s present, the great Deta Hedman marches into another world final — needing only to conquer top seed Lerena Rietbergen to complete the one achievement her extraordinary career has somehow never delivered. Rietbergen earned her place the hard way. Her semi-final against Rhian O’Sullivan was a marathon of nerve and stamina, every single set going the full five legs. O’Sullivan struck first, then struck again, twice nicking deciding legs to sit one set from the final.
But champions respond — and the Dutchwoman did exactly that. She clawed back to 2–2, pushing the match into an all-or-nothing decider. Even then, she trailed 2–1 in legs, but showed remarkable heart to turn it around, snatching the last two legs and sealing her spot in the title match. A blockbuster awaits: Hedman chasing destiny, Rietbergen chasing the crown. Something special is brewing.
Meanwhile, Mitchell Lawrie’s schedule tomorrow is fairly well stacked. Not content with reaching the Open final, he’s also blasted into the Open Youth final — sweeping rival Kaya Baysal 3–0, though the scoreline barely reflects how fierce the contest was.
Baysal started like a lad possessed, racing 2–0 ahead in legs on the opening set before Lawrie reeled him in and stole it. That turning point hung heavy over the match. Lawrie then withstood another flying start from Baysal in set three — once again 2–0 down, once again the Scot flipping the script — and closed out a polished performance, averaging north of 90. Kaya averaged almost the same but came away with nothing. The English youngster can hold his head high; Lawrie is simply operating in a different dimension this week. Two world finals in a single day await Wee Sox. Not bad for someone who can’t legally buy a pint.
And then came the shocker of the afternoon: Paige Pauling’s defence of her Girls’ World title is over. She led 1–0, looked fully in command, and then watched Zehra Gemi rip the match away from her with a stunning comeback to reach the final. With that win, Gemi becomes the first Turkish player ever to reach a WDF World Championship final — and that includes the BDO days — since the women’s event began in 2001. No matter what happens now against Ireland’s Rebecca Allen, history is already in the books. More could follow. The seedings promised Pauling v Grey. Reality delivered Allen v Gemi. Frimley Green never did like sticking to the script.
SATURDAY 6th DECEMBER – EVENING SESSION RESULTS
Women SF – Lerena Rietbergen 3-2 Rhian O’Sullivan
Open Youth SF – Mitchell Lawrie 3-0 Kaya Baysal
Girls SF – Paige Pauling 1-2 Zehra Gemi
Open SF – Jimmy van Schie 5-1 Sybren Gijbels
SUNDAY 7th DECEMBER – FINALS (1pm start)
Open Youth- Florian Preis (GER v Mitchell Lawrie (SCO) – best of 7 sets
Girls – Zhera Gemi (TUR) v Rebecca Allen (IRE) – best of 5 sets
Womens – Lerena Reitberger (NED) v Deta Hedman (ENG) – best of 7 sets
Open – Jimmy van Schie (NED) v Mitchell Lawrie (SCO) – best of 11 sets
—–ENDS—–
Images: Chris Sargeant / WDF
