BDO World Darts Championship 2017: Thursday Scores and Results from Lakeside

Reigning men's champion Scott Waites came from behind to beat Mark McGeeney 4-2 on Thursday to secure his place in the quarter-finals of the BDO World Darts Championship.

Waites, seeded sixth, trailed 2-0 in the contest, although he found his form to eventually grab a comfortable victory in the afternoon session. He'll be joined by Danny Noppert after the 26-year-old Dutchman put on a show to beat Richard Veenstra 4-0.

Dennis Labanauskas will join Noppert and Waites in the last eight after surviving a back-and-forth encounter with Krzysztof Ratajski.

Elsewhere, there was a big win for third-seed Aileen de Graaf, who knocked out 2016 champion and 10-time winner Trina Gulliver 2-0; De Graaf will play second-seed Lisa Ashton in the semi-finals after she beat Fallon Sherrock.

Anastasia Dobromyslova also reached the semi-final in the women's event, along with Corrine Hammond.

Here's a look at all the results from Thursday's action at Lakeside:

Afternoon Session
Evening Session
(6) Scott Waites	4-2	(11) Mark McGeeney
(3) Aileen de Graaf	2-0	(6) Trina Gulliver
(2) Lisa Ashton	2-0	(7) Fallon Sherrock
(8) Darius Labanauskas	4-3	Krzysztof Ratajski
(3) Danny Noppert	4-0	(14) Richard Veenstra
(8) Corrine Hammond	2-0	Casey Gallagher
(5) Lorraine Winstanley	1-2	(4) Anastasia Dobromyslova

Evening Session Recap

Noppert raced into a two-set lead, but his fellow countryman battled back to take the first leg of the third. A brilliant maximum then put Veenstra on the brink of a two-leg lead. He duly took out tops to move two in front.

Noppert was rattled and things got worse when Veenstra struck off another classy 180. Yet Veenstra couldn't take out tops for the set, allowing Noppert to land double 10 and get back in it.

Now the pressure was on Veenstra to respond again. A Noppert dart bouncing off bull and two misses on treble 18 gave Veenstra his chance, but he twice failed to take out tops. Noppert answered with double 12 to even the set.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

He was soon three up, putting Veenstra on the brink of elimination. The fourth set started with Noppert finding bull to break throw and earn the first leg.

Noppert soon confirmed his win in style with a breathtaking 164 checkout. He hit treble 20, treble 18 and bull to wrap up a performance sure to earn plaudits throughout the darting community.

Noppert won at a canter, but Labanauskas was pushed to the brink by Ratajski. The former powered his way into a 3-1 lead, but Ratajski fought hard to force a decider.

Yet Labanauskas kept his composure in crunch time.

Earlier, Dobromyslova was in superb form to beat Lorraine Winstanley in the women's event. The Russian proved her class with some prolific scoring during the first set, per BDO Darts:

Winstanley briefly rallied to push things to a decider, but Dobromyslova was just too good on the day. She's now in the final four.

One player who won't be there is Casey Gallagher, conqueror of top-seed Deta Hedman in the first round. Gallagher was sent packing thanks to a fine effort from eighth-ranked Hammond.

Afternoon Session Recap

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Having won this title for the second time in his career last season, Waites cut a determined figure in his tournament opener against Dennis Harbour without really reaching his best; the same issues were on show against 11th-seed McGeeney, who made the champion pay.

Indeed, the underdog raced into a 2-0 lead, and with Waites well out of sorts, it looked to be a long way back for the champion.

As noted by the PDC's Dan Dawson, Waites' chances of moving into the next round were hanging by a thread at one point:

However, McGeeney was not ruthless enough when those opportunities came and allowed the sixth seed to get a foothold in the contest. Then, at 2-2 and with momentum behind him, Waites looked like the only potential winner.

Afterwards, Waites said he felt fortunate to have made it through having fallen behind early on in the contest:

The highlight of the day in the women's draw was always set to be the match between Gulliver and De Graaf, with the former seeking a remarkable 11th crown. However, De Graaf brought her best to the oche on the day and secured her second semi-final berth in as many years.

Having been beaten by Gulliver in the semi-final in 2016, it was no surprise to see the Dutchwoman so relieved after the contest, per Channel 4:

The win set up a mouthwatering semi-final with second seed Lisa Ashton, who found a wonderful rhythm to get the better of Sherrock 2-0.

The two-time world champion was much the better player in this one and posted a superior average to De Graaf on the day. If the second seed showcases the same standards again in the last four, she's going to be very difficult to prevent from progressing into the final.

Similar standards will now be expected of Noppert during the remainder of the men's event. He's now set the bar high after today's magnificent performance.