QUARTET SET TO DO BATTLE FOR BWIN WORLD CUP OF DARTS TITLE
ENGLAND, Australia, the Netherlands and Northern Ireland will compete for the bwin World Cup of Darts title on Sunday night after winning through the quarter-finals at the Sporthalle Hamburg.
Reigning champions England were the only nation to win through to the semi-finals without the need for a Doubles decider on a dramatic Sunday afternoon, as their rivals were pushed all the way.
2010 winners Netherlands overcame Belgium 2-1 as they produced their best form in the Doubles contest to set up a semi-final with Northern Ireland, who overcame Scotland in the same fashion.
Kim Huybrechts had averaged 106.76 in a superb 4-2 comeback win against World Champion Michael van Gerwen, only for Raymond van Barneveld to defeat Ronny Huybrechts by the same scoreline.
The Dutch then capitalised on missed doubles from their oponents to win the opening two legs of the Doubles clash to take command, with van Barneveld's 119 finish followed by van Gerwen hitting the winning double in the next three as they progressed.
"Kim him some fantastic shots against me and deserved to win but it's about winning the whole game and we didn't do anything wrong in the Doubles game," admitted van Gerwen.
"There's a lot of pressure on us and we want to keep this going now into the semi-finals. Northern Ireland played really well to beat Scotland and it will be tough for us."
Northern Ireland's Dolan produced arguably the best individual performance of the quarter-finals as he defeated Peter wright 4-2 in their Singles clash and then took out finishes of 156 and 136 in the Doubles decider after Robert Thornton's 4-3 win over Michael Mansell - in which the Scot averaged almost 108!
"We're very proud to have got into the semi-finals against two brilliant opponents," said Dolan. "We believed in ourselves and did a good job.
"I was feeling good because Michael had made Robert Thornton pull out the game of his life in the Singles and that lifted me going into the Doubles.
"It's going to be very tight in the semi-finals and I think it will be close, but we're full of confidence. I know how good everybody else is, but I know I can beat everyone and if we keep our heads we can go a long way.
"Our seeding said we should have only got to the quarter-finals so we've surpassed that, but now we're in the semi-finals we want to win it."
Reigning champions England's bid for a third successive World Cup of Darts title continued as they enjoyed a 2-0 win over South Africa.
Phil Taylor hit a 167 checkout as he edged out Devon Petersen 4-3 in their opening Singles game, before Adrian Lewis sealed a 4-2 win over Graham Filby with a 107 checkout to set up a semi-final with Australia.
"Devon pushed me all the way and it was a weird game because every leg went against the darts, but I wanted to make an impression and then Adrian went on and did the business against Graham too," said Taylor.
"It's down to the nitty gritty now and we're in the zone. We've gelled as a pair and I think Australia will be more worried about us in the semis than we are against them.
"It would mean a huge amount to us if we can go on and win this again tonight."
England's semi-final will be a repeat of the 2012 World Cup final in Hamburg, which had gone all the way to a sudden-death leg against Australia, for whom Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson are aiming to avenge that loss.
Whitlock was in inspired form against Wales as he defeated Mark Webster 4-1 in the opening Singles game, and though Richie Burnett saw off Nicholson 4-2 to send the tie into the Doubles, the Australians powered to a 4-0 pairs victory to progress.
"I've had a lot of experience playing Pairs in Australia and I believe I'm one of the best in the world when I feel confident like this," said Whitlock.
"I've won all my Singles games so far, and even though I'm using a brand new set of darts - after breaking a point yesterday on my other set - I'm feeling great.
"Paul's a great partner and we've got some good chemistry, and I think we're going to be the ones to beat now. We've got the experience of being in the later stages so there's no reason why we can't win.
"I'm a very proud Australia and I wear the colours in my beard and my hair, and it would be up there as one of my best results ever to win this World Cup tonight."
The £200,000, 32-nation tournament will conclude on Sunday evening, with the semi-finals to be followed by the final, which will feature four Singles games and the possiblity of a decisive Doubles clash.
The bwin World Cup of Darts will be screened live worldwide through the following territories:
Sky Sports HD - UK & Ireland
RTL7 - Netherlands
Sport1 - Germany (Evening Sessions)
Fox Sports - Australia
Sky - New Zealand
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Fox - Turkey, Malta, Greece & Cyprus
OSN - Middle East
Measat - Malaysia
Viasat - Denmark, Norway & Sweden
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www.LIVEPDC.TV for International Pass Subscribers outside of UK, Ireland & Netherlands
bwin World Cup of Darts
Sunday June 8
Afternoon Session (2pm-6pm local time, 1pm-5pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Northern Ireland 2-1 Scotland
Singles 1 - Brendan Dolan 4-2 Peter Wright
Singles 2 - Michael Mansell 3-4 Robert Thornton
Doubles - Dolan/Mansell 4-1 Wright/Thornton
Netherlands 2-1 Belgium
Singles 1 - Michael van Gerwen 2-4 Kim Huybrechts
Singles 2 - Raymond van Barneveld 4-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Doubles - van Gerwen/van Barneveld 4-0 Huybrechts/Huybrechts
Wales 1-2 Australia
Singles 1 - Mark Webster 1-4 Simon Whitlock
Singles 2 - Richie Burnett 4-2 Paul Nicholson
Doubles - Webster/Burnett 0-4 Whitlock/Nicholson
England 2-0 South Africa
Singles 1 - Phil Taylor 4-3 Devon Petersen
Singles 2 - Adrian Lewis 4-2 Graham Filby
Doubles (not needed)
Evening Session (8pm-12am local time, 7pm-11pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Netherlands v Northern Ireland
Singles 1 - Michael van Gerwen v Brendan Dolan
Singles 2 - Raymond van Barneveld v Michael Mansell
Doubles (if needed) - van Gerwen/van Barneveld v Dolan/Mansell
England v Australia
Singles 1 - Phil Taylor v Simon Whitlock
Singles 2 - Adrian Lewis v Paul Nicholson
Doubles (if needed) Taylor/Lewis v Whitlock/Nicholson
Final
Netherlands/Northern Ireland v England/Australia
Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals
The Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play. In the event of both nations winning one Singles match apiece, a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.
Final
The Final will be played as four best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play the first two matches, and then Reverse Singles following. The first team to win three games is declared the winner. In the event of both nations winning two Singles matches apiece, a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.
MATCH INFORMATION
Northern Ireland v Scotland
Singles 1 - Brendan Dolan v Peter Wright
1-0 - Dolan misses tops for a 147 finish, but returns to hit the bed at the second time of asking to win the opening leg.
1-1 - Dolan lands a 180 and leaves himself on 32, only for Wright to take out 118 on tops to level.
2-1 - Wright misses his chance to break throw as Dolan steps in on tops to move back in front.
2-2 - Wright opens with a 180, and finishes 78 on tops to hit back.
3-2 - Dolan scores 140, 137 and 180 before finishing double 16 for a superb 11-dart leg.
4-2 - Dolan secures victory with a break of throw on double ten to give Northern Ireland the opening Singles win.
Singles 2 - Michael Mansell v Robert Thornton
0-1 - Mansell fires in a 180, but Thornton replies in kind before finishing tops for a 13-darter.
1-1 - Mansell finishes 64 on double eight for a 14-dart finish to level.
1-2 - Mansell lands another maximum, only for Robert to add another 180 before finishing double 18.
2-2 - Left-hander Mansell levels the game by finishing double one with a pressure third dart.
2-3 - Thornton takes out a superb 121 finish on the bull to move a leg away from the win as he takes his average to almost 110 for the game.
3-3 - Mansell finishes 80 on the bullseye to send the tie into a deciding leg.
3-4 - Thornton hits his third 180 of the game before finishing 66 on double 18 for a 14-darter to send the game into a Doubles decider, averaging 107.97 in a superb performance.
Doubles - Dolan/Mansell v Wright/Thornton
1-0 - Thornton misses the bull for a 170 finish, allowing Dolan in on double eight.
2-0 - Thornton is unable to land two darts at double 16, and Mansell posts tops to double Northern Ireland's lead.
3-0 - Dolan takes out a brilliant 156 checkout to move Northern Ireland a leg away from the win.
3-1 - Dolan kicks off the leg with a 180, but Wright finishes 104 to keep Scotland's hopes alive.
4-1 - Thornton scores 139 to leave 32 for Scotland, but Dolan finishes a superb 136 checkout to claim victory for Northern Ireland and a first ever World Cup semi-final appearance.
Result: Northern Ireland 2-1 Scotland
Netherlands v Belgium
Singles 1 - Michael van Gerwen v Kim Huybrechts
1-0 - van Gerwen finishes 76 to win the opening leg.
2-0 - The World Champion lands a 180 and finishes 80 to double his lead.
2-1 - Huybrechts fires in a 168 score before hitting tops to hit back.
2-2 - The Belgian takes out 64 on the bull to level the game.
2-3 - van Gerwen leaves 36, but Huybrechts finishes a stunning 160 checkout to take the lead.
2-4 - Huybrechts finishes 84 on double 11 to complete a brilliant performance, averaging 106.76 to give Belgium the opening Singles game.
Singles 2 - Raymond van Barneveld v Ronny Huybrechts
1-0 - van Barneveld takes out double eight to break throw immediately.
1-1 - Huybrechts levels by breaking back with a two-dart 64 finish.
2-1 - van Barneveld lands a 180, before hitting double ten with his third dart as he breaks throw to move ahead again.
2-2 - Double 16 sees Huybrechts level once more, as a fourth successive leg goes against the throw.
3-2 - Huybrechts lands a 177, but misses the bull to finish 84 as van Barneveld finishes a pressure double nine to break again.
4-2 - van Barneveld opens with a 180, and though Huybrechts hits another 177 as he leaves 40, the Dutch ace holds his nerve to take out 64 on double 16 to claim the win and send the tie into a Doubles Decider.
Doubles - van Gerwen/van Barneveld v Huybrechts/Huybrechts
1-0 - Kim Huybrechts misses double 16 for a 102 finish, and van Barneveld capitalises with a superb 119 finish.
2-0 - The Dutch duo are given a huge let-off as both Huybrechts brothers miss three doubles apiece, allowing van Gerwen to finish 25 on double eight after van Barneveld had burst his score on their previous visit.
3-0 - van Gerwen pegs double 16 to move the Netherlands a leg away from the semi-finals.
4-0 - Kim Huybrechts opens the leg with a 174 score, but misses double five to keep Belgium's hopes alive and van Gerwen hits double ten to seal victory for the Netherlands.
Result: Netherlands 2-1 Belgium
Wales v Australia
Singles 1 - Mark Webster v Simon Whitlock
0-1 - Whitlock opens with a 180 before finishing 120 to win the opening leg.
1-1 - Webster fires in a maximum in reply before pinning double six.
1-2 - Whitlock kicks off with another 180 and adds scores of 140 and 105 before finishing 76 for a 12-darter.
1-3 - Whitlock breaks throw by taking out 100.
1-4 - Webster lands a 180 but misses a dart at tops, and Whitlock capitalises to seal victory by hitting the same bed.
Singles 2 - Richie Burnett v Paul Nicholson
1-0 - Burnett opens with a 180 and finishes 83 on double eight to win the opening leg.
1-1 - Both players land maximums before Nicholson finishes 65 on tops to level.
2-1 - Burnett finishes 68 on double 16 to move back ahead.
2-2 - Nicholson opens with 180 and 140, and though Burnett adds his third maximum of the game, the Australian ace finishes double 16 to square the contest.
3-2 - The duo trade 180s for a third time in the game, before Burnett takes out 80 on double ten to move a leg away from levelling the match.
4-2 - Burnett misses the bull for a 121 finish, but returns to finish double four to claim the win and send the tie into a Doubles decider.
Doubles - Webster/Burnett v Whitlock/Nicholson
0-1 - Nicholson takes out 52 to claim the opening leg for Australia.
0-2 - Whitlock fires in a 180 before taking out 112 to break throw and double Australia's advantage.
0-3 - Nicholson lands double ten to move Australia one leg away from the semi-finals.
0-4 - Webster misses a dart at tops to keep the game alive, and Whitlock fires in double ten to seal Australia's semi-final berth.
Result: Wales 1-2 Australia
England v South Africa
Singles 1 - Phil Taylor v Devon Petersen
1-0 - Petersen hits a 180 but wastes his chance to claim the opening leg as Taylor returns from missing the bull for a 167 finish and two darts at double eight to land double four for an immediate break.
1-1 - Petersen breaks throw on double eight.
2-1 - Taylor regains the lead by taking out 87 on double 18, with Petersen left waiting on 20.
2-2 - Petersen finishes 62 on double eight to level with a fourth successive break of throw.
3-2 - Taylor takes out the highest checkout of the tournament this year so far with a 167 finish.
3-3 - Taylor misses the bull to finish 85 for victory, and Petersen takes out 72 to send the contest into a deciding leg.
4-3 - Taylor scores 171 and 136 to leave 40 after 12 darts, and pins tops to win the tie in 13 darts.
Singles 2 - Adrian Lewis v Graham Filby
1-0 - Lewis takes out double 18 to win the game's opening leg.
1-1 - Filby finishes 68 to level the contest.
2-1 - Double eight moves Lewis back into the lead.
2-2 - Filby opens with a 180 before returning from a missed bullseye to land double eight to level.
3-2 - Filby misses double 16 to break throw, and Lewis lands tops to regain the edge.
4-2 - Lewis fires in a timely 180 before finishing 107 to secure England's semi-final place.
Doubles (not needed)
Result: England 2-0 South Africa