2017 Lakeside World Championship Preview

“It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday, etc, etc…” sang Billy Joel, but the Minuteman Dart League’s Tom Sawyer is looking forward to 2.15pm on Sunday!  While a fair few of the regular crowd are shuffling in, Sawyer becomes the new kid on the block as he makes his debut on the Lakeside stage.  His opponent, England’s Paul Hogan, certainly is one of the “regular crowd”, with seven World Championship appearances under his belt, but that won’t worry the Bostonian.

No, international play is nothing new to our Tom, as he already has a brace of WDF World Cup medals, and a notable triumph over the current World #1 behind him.  Still, this is a moment to savor as he steps up onto the most revered stage in darts, thanks to a fine string of performances which left him in pole position in the 2015/16 USA Regional Table.

So, remember, 2.15pm this Sunday (the 8th).  That’s local time, which is 9.15am Eastern/8.15am Central.  A win against Hogan will set up a clash with the legendary Martin Phillips (Wales) at 7.oopm (2.00 Eastern/1.00 Central) on Monday.

Reigning champion Scott Waites doesn’t enter the fray until Tuesday night, when he faces the winner of the preliminary round clash between England’s Dennis Harbour and New Zealander Craig Caldwell.  2015 champ Scott Mitchell and three-time victor Martin Adams also have to wait on the prelims for their first-round opponents.  Top seeded Glen Durrant opens the tournament on Saturday afternoon against Welshman Nick Kenny.  Don’t forget to keep an eye out for our friends from north of the border, David Cameron, and last year’s Lakeside runner-up, Jeff Smith.

Sadly, there are no Americans qualified for the women’s event, and Canadian Patricia Farrell is the sole representative from the continent.  Three previous winners are on show, with Anastasia Dobromyslova, Lisa Ashton, and ten-time (and reigning) champion Trina Gulliver MBE all looking to add to their account.  With three runner-up spots behind her, Deta Hedman is still searching for the one title that has eluded her…

Finally, next Thursday sees the culmination of the BDO’s World Youth Championship as Justin van Tergouw (NL) takes on Scotland’s Nathan Girvan.  Let’s not forget that young Nathan ended the qualification hopes of our own Dominik Pundt.

The schedule of play is available here.

Updates will be posted here during the week-long event, and full details will be available at on the BDO website.

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