Jenson Walker zooms past Florian Preis in Lakeside Boys Final; Paige Pauling hits sublime 157 to book Girls Final spot

Starting the day by reaching tomorrow’s final is a double success for the English players Jenson Walker and Paige Pauling are moving to WDF World Championships.

Pauling handled Jentl Fransen brilliantly. The rising English star, who is a multiple World Champion in the system, surprised Fransen with a characteristic conclusion. She scored 157, which is the best score anyone has achieved this week.

Pauling is the top seed this week, and while she didn’t get off to a great start in doubles, things improved when she won the first set 3-0 against the Belgian. Fransen won the first part of the second set sluggishly, but Pauling improved from there, hitting a 17-darter and putting one away before closing out the victory by a score of 157.

This is a double success for the top seeded players. Walker, who appeared at the UK Open earlier this year and, like Pauling, is tipped to be a future star, defeated Florian Preis 2-1 in straight sets despite being ten points behind in his opening match. In this match he defeated Mason Teese 2-0, averaging 92. In the first set, he shot for 72 in the money, and in the end he avoided the pressure, shot for 112 and won the set.

Preis responded with a 3-1 set success, but Walker returned to the lead to win the deciding set, scoring 108 points to clinch the set. Emerging talents are so good that most of them achieve better average results than their older colleagues.