World Cup of Darts 2017: Singapore, Wales Advance to Quarter-Final
Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will face hosts Germany in the 2017 World Cup of Darts quarter-final after beating USA 2-1 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, on Saturday.
The Netherlands were pushed to a doubles decider in the day's final match after Larry Butler beat Barney 4-2. Yet Van Gerwen took over in the doubles to help his nation seal a 4-0 win and qualify for the last eight.
Germany will join them after beating Brazil 2-0 in the evening session, while defending champions England dispatched South Africa by the same score, with Dave Chisnall and Adrian Lewis both in fine form.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
England will face Austria in the quarter-final after the latter were convincing winners against Canada.
Elsewhere, Singapore advanced to the quarter-final after beating Spain 2-1. Paul and Harith Lim continued their fine run after stunning Scottish pair Gary Anderson and Peter Wright on Thursday.
Singapore will be joined in the last eight by Belgium, Russia and Wales. Brothers Kim and Ronny Huybrechts dominated Greece to send Belgium through 2-0, while Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price won two tight games for a 2-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland.
Meanwhile, Russia needed to win in the doubles to get past Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson of Australia, 2-1.
Evening Recap
Costly misses on doubles haunted both Van Gerwen and Darin Young early on. It wasn't until he took out double-five in the fifth leg that Mighty Mike looked set to surge ahead.
MVG finished the job to win 4-2, but soon saw Van Barneveld fall a leg behind to Butler, when the latter took out 68. Butler then checked out on 120 to move two in front.
A double-16 completed a 109 checkout for Butler and gave Barney ample reason to start worrying. He needed a foothold and duly got one when he found tops at the second attempt to make it 3-1.
A superb maximum put Van Barneveld on the brink of breaking throw to close the gap to one, per PDC Darts:
However, Butler wasn't done, and a 180 completed a nine darter for the American. He then found bull to wrap a 95 checkout and force a doubles decider.
Live Darts detailed Butler's prolific form to close out the match:
Irked by the need for a decider, a determined MVG got started with yet another maximum. A double-16 from Barney made it 2-0, before Mighty Mike again started a leg with a 180. He soon hit double-16 to confirm the 3-0 lead.
Van Gerwen checked out on 52 to put the Netherlands into the last eight where the hosts await.
Chisnall was in sparkling form as he helped wrap up a comprehensive win for the defending champions. He got going with a 180 against Deon Oliver, before a checkout of 83 helped him break throw.
Earlier, Lewis steamrolled over Devon Petersen for an emphatic 4-0 win. Jackpot hit a 118 checkout to go three legs in front, as Petersen never recovered from missing costly doubles early on.
Chisnall was chosen to replace Phil Taylor this year, and Sky Sports Darts applauded how he did his bit alongside Lewis:
Before England booked their place in the last eight, hosts Germany brushed aside Brazil thanks to comfortable wins in the singles matches. First, Martin Schindler beat Alexandre Sattin 4-0, before Max Hopp saw off Diogo Portella.
Hopp made a strong start as he attempted to rattle Portella in front of home support, per PDC Darts:
To his credit, the Brazilian made a brief comeback at 3-0 down, but Hopp soon settled his nerves to send Germany through.
The evening session had begun with Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez sending Austria through at the expense of Canada. Their reward for qualifying is a quarter-final meeting with the defending champions.
Afternoon Recap
The conquerors of top seeds Scotland made a fast start against Spain when Paul Lim hit a 112 checkout to claim the first leg. He followed this by pinning double-16 for a 2-0 lead.
An 80 checkout from Paul saw the lead stretched to three legs as Antonio Alcinas looked increasingly rattled. Alcinas couldn't rally as Paul soon closed things out at 4-0.
However, Cristo Reyes proved a tougher opponent for Harith, building a 2-1 lead thanks to a 60 checkout, before holding throw to move 3-1 ahead. Reyes stayed strong to win 4-1 and force a doubles decider.
Singapore broke throw in the first leg for an early lead, before Harith took out double-19 and double-six to make it 3-0. Reyes and Alcinas were missing too many darts at doubles to stay in touch.
Harith was proving clutch in key moments and took out tops to send Singapore into the quarter-final where they'll meet Belgium.
Earlier, Russia needed to come through in the doubles to finally knock out Australia. Fortunately, Boris Koltsov and Aleksandr Oreshkin were near-flawless in the two-on-two format as a disappointing Whitlock and Anderson were sent packing.
PDC Darts showed Russia's spectacular celebrations:
Russia will now meet Wales in the last eight after Webster and Price overcame the Republic of Ireland. The Welsh won both singles meetings, with Webster needing to force a decider against William O'Connor, per Live Darts:
Webster was unerring on bullseye to seal a dramatic 4-3 win after Price had already beaten Mick McGowan by the same scoreline.
The day started with Belgium proving too strong for Greece as Ronny Huybrechts produced a 4-0 whitewash to beat John Michael. Belgium had gotten off to a winning start when Kim Huybrechts withstood a tough challenge from Ioannis Selachoglou to win 4-2.
Kim was ruthless on doubles, finding double-10 for a 3-2 lead before landing double-16 to wrap up victory.
England and the Netherlands have shown their credentials as potential winners, while Singapore's thrilling surprise run shows no signs on ending.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
