World Cup - Third Day

GERMANY THRILL CAPACITY CROWD AT BWIN WORLD CUP OF DARTS AS HONG KONG MAKE HISTORY
HOSTS Germany set up a quarter-final tie with England at the bwin World Cup of Darts with a superb 2-0 defeat of rivals Austria on Saturday night, with the Netherlands and Scotland cruising through as Hong Kong caused a huge shock.

German pair Max Hopp and Jyhan Artut thrilled the capacity 3,000 crowd at Franfurt's Eissporthalle as the overcame Austrian duo Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez in their second round tie.
Artut initially held his nerve to edge out youngster Rodriguez in a decider - after the Austrian took out 100 and 106 to silence the home crowd as he levelled from 2-0 down - before teenager Hopp defeated Suljovic 4-2 in their Singles contest.
"It feels fantastic - but I've never been as nervous in my life as when I was 2-0 up! With so many people supporting you, you don't want to let them down and it's really hard to play in front of them. Rowby played well and was 3-2 up with the pressure, but I was lucky that he didn't play well in the end and I was so happy when the dart went into the double four."
Hopp added: "It was awesome tonight and we're looking forward to that game against England because Adrian and Phil are two legends - but it's a World Cup so anything can happen and we'll just play our game and see what happens."

The German pair will now meet two-time champions England in Sunday afternoon's quarter-finals, with Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis cruising past Japanese duo Haruki Muramatsu and Morihiro Hashimoto with the minimum of fuss.
Taylor took out finishes of 102 and 98 as he defeated Muramatsu 4-0 by hitting four doubles from as many attempts, while Lewis dropped only one leg as he saw off Hashimoto to keep the 2012 and 2013 champions on course for a title hat-trick.
"We're maybe trying too hard but we really want to win this," said Taylor. "In practice we're missing nine-darters every five minutes and we're going to click, and once we know we're up against it I think you'll see the proper England team. We've been in this together three times, won it twice and lost in the final so we know what we're doing."

Reigning champions Netherlands and stormed into the quarter-finals as they overcame South Africa 2-0, with Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld producing the best displays of the tournament so far.
Van Gerwen averaged 103.37 and took out 148 as he whitewashed Graham Filby in under seven minutes, while van Barneveld opened his game with flamboyant Devon Petersen with an 11-darter and averaged 99.93 in a 4-1 triumph.
"It was a nice win for me and I'm really happy with my performance but we prepared hard for this game and both played like we can and weren't in danger at any time," said van Gerwen. "Now we can prepare properly for Sunday, which is going to be a really hard day. I think we're the team to beat, as the defending champions, and I think we're a great time; Raymond has a lot of experience and we know what to do."

The Dutch duo now take on Northern Ireland in the last eight, after the 2014 semi-finalists defeated New Zealand 2-0 with two Singles victories.
Brendan Dolan initially came from a leg down to defeat Rob Szabo 4-1 before left-hander Mickey Mansell whitewashed Warren Parry 4-0.
"I had a scare against New Zealand on my debut in the World Championship a few years ago when Preston Ridd beat me 4-0, so I had a worry about New Zealand players!" admitted Mansell. "They won in the first round and showed that they're able to beat anybody, and I was trying extra hard so I was happy with how I played. I'm a totally different player to four years ago but we're a team and Brendan was superb getting the ball rolling and I didn't want to let the side down."

Number two seeds Scotland also moved into the last eight with a 2-0 triumph over Hungary, with World Champion Gary Anderson defeating Nandor Bezzeg 4-2 before Peter Wright whitewashed Gabor Takacs.
"The Hungarian lads played well and it's great when you play these countries; you don't do it very often and you can see the standard that they're bringing, and darts is in a good place now," said Anderson. "I didn't see their first round game but they played well so it's good to be through but it will be hard again to play Hong Kong. They're two great lads and they've done brilliantly so far, so we'll know what we're up against."

Scotland will now face Hong Kong in the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon, after Ting Chi Royden Lam and Scott MacKenzie knocked out the Republic of Ireland's William O'Connor and Connie Finnan in a thrilling Doubles decider.
Lam had made a superb start for Hong Kong by winning his Singles game against William O'Connor 4-1, leading the win with a 121 checkout. MacKenzie then looked set to give his country comfortable passage into the last eight when he took a 3-0 lead against Connie Finnan in their Singles contest - only for the Irish ace to hit back and level. Finnan then punished six missed match darts from MacKenzie in the seventh leg to complete a superb comeback and take a 4-3 win to send the tie into a Doubles decider
The drama continued as Hong Kong moved 2-0 up only to see Finnan's 80 checkout followed by a brilliant 132 combination of two bullseyes and double 16 from O'Connor. Lam landed double top in the next for a 3-2 lead, but the Hong Kong pair would miss three more match darts as O'Connor finished double four to level and send the game into a one-leg shoot-out. MacKenzie landed a 140 as Hong Kong were first to a finish, leaving Ireland waiting on a double as he returned to take out 86 on double 16 to redeem his earlier misses and snatch victory.
"I'm pretty chuffed - very happy to get through," said a relieved MacKenzie. "Royden was playing so well and it seemed for me like I was letting the side down but we did well. In the Singles I had so many chances but I didn't feel comfortable up there and I was so nervous. I had chances to win and couldn't hit it, so I'm happy to hit the last double in the final game. I hope the darts can come together and I can be more relaxed in the quarter-finals. Darts in Asia is booming and there are so many good players out there, and it's a proud moment for Asia."

The second round also saw former finalists Australia and Belgium claim victories as they progressed to a quarter-final tie.
Although Australia claimed a 2-0 win over Gibraltar, the victory came in dramatic circumstances, with Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson both enduring scares in their Singles wins over Dyson Parody and Manuel Vilerio.
Whitlock overcame a raft of missed doubles before he eventually whitewased Parody, but Nicholson had to come from 2-1 down to defeat Vilerio 4-3 in a deciding leg to seal progression for the 2012 finalists.
"We're a very good team," said Whitlock. "I was very focused and confident and knew I've been playing well, and I was very comfortable. We're playing really well as a team, practising well together and very confident at the moment."

Brothers Kim and Ronny Huybrechts both produced fine displays as they sent 2013 runners-up Belgium past Belgium with a 2-0 victory.
Ronny opened the tie by coming from a leg down against Cristo Reyes to take a 4-1 win, hitting a 124 checkout in the process, before younger brother Kim took out finishes of 110 and 100 in his 4-1 win over Antonio Alcinas, who finished 136 to claim his only leg.
"Ronny did the job and that made it a bit easier for me, but I still had to do my job too," said Kim Huybrechts. "I'm playing well and felt good again today, and when I feel good I'm a dangerous player. We've got self-belief, and if we believe in ourselves nobody can beat us, and we've got a good chance of winning the title."







Contact © Global Darts. All Rights Reserved. Impressum