A packed Lakeside afternoon delivered four World titles with at least one being dipped in pure darting romance, as the sporting gods finally delivered the ending the entire darting world had been begging for. After decades of near misses, heartbreaks, and, at times, carrying women’s darts on her back like a colossus, Deta Hedman has at last claimed the crown that always felt like her destiny — World Champion.
Her 4–1 dismantling of top seed Lerena Rietbergen didn’t just look inevitable… it felt celestial. At 66 years old, the Caribbean Queen summoned the composure and ruthlessness of a player half her age, turning the Lakeside stage into something closer to a coronation than a contest.
Chris Sargeant / WDF
For a generation of fans, the question had never been if Deta would one day win it, only when. Now the wait is over, and the résumé that already towered over the sport finally has its missing jewel.
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If anyone at Buckingham Palace has been paying attention, they may want to warm up the medals. Deta Hedman, OBE — World Champion. And Damehood? At this point, it’s just paperwork.
SUCH AN EMOTIONAL MOMENT: Deta Hedman EMOTIONAL after Lakeside win
Meanwhile, the Open final delivered a plot twist so dramatic even Lakeside’s walls needed a moment to process it. From three sets down, top seed Jimmy van Schie staged an almighty comeback to crush the dreams of Scotland’s teenage phenomenon Mitchell Lawrie and claim the 2025 Open World Championship. For a glorious half-hour, it looked like the Lakeside might witness the oldest and youngest champions crowned on the same night.
FOLLOW LAKESIDE IN FACTS AND FIGURES: Check out the WDF World Championship on dartsdatabase.co.uk
Lawrie, just 15, came flying out of the traps, blitzing his way to a 3–0 lead and threatening to rewrite the record books in permanent marker. Then the Dutchman woke up. With all the icy steel of a seasoned campaigner, van Schie rattled off six consecutive sets, turning the match on its head and crushing Scottish hopes with a tidal wave of scoring and composure. Heartbreak for Wee Sox. Elation for the Netherlands. And a comeback that will echo through Lakeside folklore for years.
Earlier in the afternoon, Lawrie had at least pocketed one world title, producing another fearless display to take the Open Youth crown with a 4–2 win over Germany’s Florian Preis. The Scot raced into a two-set lead, survived a strong pushback from Preis, and eventually overpowered his rival in a battle of teenage artillery.
It wasn’t the trophy he truly wanted — and it wasn’t the double he’d dreamed of — but at 15 years old, time is very much on his side. You don’t watch Mitchell Lawrie and think if he becomes world champion. You think how soon.
The day also belonged to Turkey, as Zehra Gemi detonated a darting shockwave through the Girls’ World Final with a clinical 3–0 demolition of Ireland’s Rebecca Allen. Her semi-final comeback over defending champion Paige Pauling had already raised eyebrows, but the final was an outright statement. Ice-cold finishing, heavy scoring, and the swagger of a player who clearly didn’t get the memo that Turkish darts isn’t supposed to be on the world map. It is now. Gemi leaves England a world champion. She will return to Turkey a pioneer.
WDF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS
Open Youth Final - Mitchell Lawrie 4-2 Florian Preis
Girls Final - Rebecca Allen 0-3 Zehra Gemi
Women's Final - Lerena Rietbergen 1-4 Deta Hedman
Open Final - Jimmy van Schie 6-3 Mitchell Lawrie
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