It was Semi-Finals day at Lakeside today, and the Men and Women were joined by the Boys.

Starting with the latter, the first Semi was between German Mats Theobald and Bradley van der Velden (Netherlands). Every leg in the first set went with the darts, which meant that it went to van der Velden. The fifth leg was a particularly nice 14-darter (140, 100, 135, 86, 40). In a complete reversal of the first set, the first three legs all went AGAINST the throw, which gave young Bradley the advantage. He failed to hit a ton next leg, but he did enough to hold serve, and secure his place in tomorrow’s final.

The second Semi saw Hungary’s Andras Borbely take on Ireland’s Adam Dee. This was an evenly-matched contest, and Borbely won the first set 3-1, finihing from 118 while his opponent was sitting poised on 98. The first two legs of Set Two went with the darts, before Dee broke the Hungarian. Borbely broke straight back, but it was to no avail as Dee levelled with a 15-dart leg – checking out from the same 98 he required a set earlier! Dee took control in the third, winning the first, and then breaking with a 15-darter – which was capped by the second 118 finish of the day! Borbely broke straight back again, this time in 14 darts. He showed his class by cleaning up 259 in just five darts – 177, 82 out. This apparently did nothing to rattle the Irishman, who immediately broke back – with a nice checkout from 76 – for the match.

The first Women’s Semi brought together two of the most experienced players in the field, Aileen de Graaf and Lisa Ashton. De Graaf took the first set 3-1, only for Ashton to repay the compliment next set! Highlights of these two sets were de Graaf’s 105 check in the first set, and Ashton’s ever-so-slightly-better 106 check for the second set.

Next set, the pair traded breaks before trading holds, so we had a fifth-leg decider. Like the previous two legs, this went with the start – and the Dutch woman was ahead once more. Now, de Graaf found some true consistency, and won the fourth comfortably in legs of 17, 16, and 16.

If you think that was good, it was about to get better. Time for Beau Greaves and Rhian O’Sullivan…

Greaves took the first in 18, and, in a leg where both players hit a maximum 180, O’Sullivan tied it in 16. A pair of 15’s clinched the set for the reigning World Champ. The second set went to Greaves in straight legs, but Rhian did just wire her attempt at 156 in the third. Beau took out 79 for a 15 of her own.

At this point in the proceedings, the World #1 had yet to drop a set in the entire championship. She wasn’t going to start now, either! A brace of 15’s followed by a 17-darter sent her to the Final. A 90+ average for the red-hot favorite, but spare a thought for Rhian. Over ten legs, she averaged nigh on 80 – 79.29 to be precise, and that was only good enough to give her THREE darts at a double; D18 (which she hit), D11 (just missing an 80 out), and D18 (wiring a 156 out). I really don’t think that many women have done that…

The first Men’s Semi saw Sweden’s Dennis Nilsson – such an impressive winner yesterday – take on top-seeded Andy Baetans. Some remarkable consistency this week has seen a high average of 94.92. and a low of 93.27.

Nilsson kicked off in style, and took the first set 3-1. It seems that this irked Baetens, who needed just 42 darts to tie it up again; legs of 15, 14, and 31 gave him a set average of 107.36! All legs in the third went to the player throwing first, which meant that the Swede was back in front. Not for long, though…

Like the last time he dropped a set, the Belgian responded in styie. Two 15’s and a 16 made it 2-2. Baetens won Set Five also. In straight legs. With a set average of 112.73! Yes, this time he stuck in legs of 15, 14, and 11.

It wasn’t getting any easier for Nilsson, and it soon got tougher when his only reward for a good sixth set was a solitary 14-darter. The first four legs of the seventh all went with the darts, and Dennis was still in there fighting. However, six darts from 71 in the decider weren’t enough, and it was Baetens who emerged victorious. His final average was in his usual range – 94.13.

Who would Baetens meet in the final? We knew it would be a Dutchman as Jelle Klaasen faced Chris Landman. Twelve darts (140, 136, 134, 91) into the match, Klaasen already had a leg on the board. Inexplicably, he went right off the boil, and lost the set in three very mediocre legs. Now finding some spectacular consistency, he won nine of the next eleven legs (quickest leg 16, longest leg 18) to take a 3-1 lead. It wasn’t like Landman was far behind, and those two legs he won were both 15’s.

At 1-1 in the fifth set, Landman started to turn the screw, and took the remaining legs in 12 (3 x 140, 81) and 13 (131, 43, 180, 111, 36). Despite a quick 11-darter (180, 93, 134, 94) from Klaasen, the sixth went to Landman, and it was all square.

The 2006 World Champion did post a nice 14 in the seventh set, but so did his opponent – along with a 13, and a 12! Chris’ set average was a towering 114.59. One set from victory, and the # 7 seed booked his final spot in four legs.

Tomorrow promises to be something special, and you can follow it live on the WDF’s YouTube Channel

Full details from DartConnect

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