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WDF World Championship 2024 | Day Eight Preview and Order of Play

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Paul Lim sets up Shane McGuirk showdown in WDF World Championship final

WDF World Championship 2024 | Semi-Finals Preview and Order of Play

Jamie Shaw in WDF Darts 07 Dec 2024

Paul Lim in action (Photo by Chris Sargeant/Tip Top Pics)

The final four in the men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ events at the WDF World Championship face off on Semi-Final Saturday at Lakeside.

An unmissable double-header at the ‘home of world darts’ sees a wealth of youth and experience looking to keep their Lakeside dreams alive.

The afternoon session commences with the opening Girls’ Semi-Final between top seed Paige Pauling, winner of multiple WDF ranking titles, and Belgium’s Jentl Fransen – the Antwerp Open Girls’ winner.

England’s Archie Self looks to follow up his quarter-final win over second seed Kendji Steinbach when he takes on 13-year-old sensation Lex Paeshuyse.

Paeshuyse exploded onto the Lakeside stage with a 92.8 average in a straight sets win over Latvia’s Ralfs Laumanis and is bidding to add the world title to his Youth World Masters crown.

The opening Women’s Semi-Final sees emerging stars Sophie McKinlay and Lerena Rietbergen go head-to-head.

McKinlay has taken the Lakeside stage by storm in her debut campaign at the age of 18, dumping out four-time champion Lisa Ashton, seventh seed Irina Armstrong and last year’s runner-up Aileen de Graaf.

Rietbergen, 22, has continued the form which has led her to five WDF ranking titles this year, defeating Maud Jansson, third seed Rhian O’Sullivan and compatriot Aletta Wajer along the way.

McKinlay will then return to the stage in the evening session for Part II of a unique double-header as she meets defending champion Aurora Fochesato of Italy in the Girls’ Semi-Finals.

The final match of the afternoon sees Shane McGuirk looking to maintain his perfect record on this stage so far when he meets Belgium’s Francois Schweyen.

Irish ace McGuirk has stormed into the semis without dropping a set, brushing aside Mark Barilli, Edwin Torbjörnsson, Brandon Weening and Peter Machin with a tournament average in excess of 90.

Schweyen, also unseeded in the draw, has defied the odds to reach his first televised semi-final, seeing off Aussie duo Michael Cassar and Danny Porter in straight sets, before edging out Belgian compatriot Brian Raman 3-2 and whitewashing ninth seed Thomas Junghans 4-0.

Jenson Walker aims to follow up his superb opening display in which he averaged 92.5 in defeating Mason Teese when he comes up against Germany’s Florian Preis in the second Boys’ Semi-Final.

Reigning women’s champion Beau Greaves aims to take another major step towards a third consecutive crown when she faces three-time finalist Deta Hedman.

Greaves has averaged 82 and 79 in straight sets wins over Kirsi Viinikainen and Jitka Císařová en route to this stage, but will be braced for a tough test from the 65-year-old icon of this stage – who edged out 2022 finalist Kirsty Hutchinson 2-1 before dispatching Nicole Regnaud in straight sets.

An historic showdown to round off the evening sees 70-year-old Paul Lim take on 11th seed Jason Brandon of the USA for a place in the men’s final.

Lim is remarkably through to a first semi-final in what is his 27th appearance in a World Championship since making his debut on this iconic stage back in 1982.

He has eclipsed his previous best performance, which saw him reach the quarter-finals in 1990 – the year he landed the first, and to date, only, televised nine-dart finish at Lakeside.

The Singapore Slinger has spent more than four hours of match time on stage this week, starting with a straight sets win over Moreno Blom, before coming through a trio of nail-biting last-set deciders against Kai Fan Leung, Gary Stone and Jarno Bottenberg.

Standing in the way of Lim and a fairy-tale date with destiny is American debutant Brandon – who swept aside Austria’s Hannes Schnier and Belgium’s Sybren Gijbels in straight sets before holding off a terrific comeback from Neil Duff in Friday’s quarter-finals.

Duff had recovered from three sets down to force a decider and led by two legs to nil, before Brandon landed a sensational 148 checkout on his way to rescuing the situation and dumping out the 2022 champion.

The action gets under way from 2pm GMT, with Boys’ and Girls’ Semi-Finals to be contested over the best of three sets, Women’s Semi-Finals best of five and Men’s Semi-Finals best of nine.

WDF World Championship 2024 Semi-Finals Schedule

Saturday December 7

Afternoon Session (2pm-5pm)
Girls’ – Paige Pauling v Jentl Fransen
Boys’ – Archie Self v Lex Paeshuyse
Women’s – Sophie McKinlay v Lerena Rietbergen
Men’s – Francois Schweyen v Shane McGuirk

Evening Session (7pm-11pm)
Girls’ – Sophie McKinlay v Aurora Fochesato
Boys’ – Jenson Walker v Florian Preis
Women’s – Beau Greaves v Deta Hedman
Men’s – Paul Lim v Jason Brandon

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