TRIO RECORD SHOCKS IN BWIN WORLD CUP OF DARTS AS NETHERLANDS & SCOTLAND CRUISE
NEW ZEALAND, Hong Kong and Hungary caused upsets in the bwin World Cup of Darts first round on Friday night, as reigning champions Netherlands and number two seeds Scotland enjoyed opening victories at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.
The second day of the £250,000 tournament saw the first round conclude with eight Pairs games, with three seeded nations exiting in the opening three games on a night of shocks.
New Zealand's Rob Szabo and Warren Parry kicked off the drama by knocking out Canada's three-time World Champion John Part and Ken MacNeil with a narrow 5-4 game in a see-saw opener.
The Canadians hit back from a 2-1 deficit with an 80 finish from Part and a 120 checkout from MacNeil as they moved ahead, only for Szabo to move the Kiwis ahead by taking out 102.
Part forced a deciding leg, but Parry finished 92 to give New Zealand a 5-4 win for their first World Cup victory since the inaugural event in 2010.
"It was a great battle," said Szabo. "We'd been discussing what our game plan was going to be during the week and it worked in our favour and I'm grateful that we got the win.
"The feedback we've been getting over the last few days from home has been phenomenal and they were getting up early in the morning to watch this game, so to get the win is the icing on the cake.
"We look forward to the second round and we've got room to improve and we can do better, but we'll enjoy this moment and then see what happens tomorrow."
That success was followed by a superb display from Hungary as they knocked out Sweden 5-2 to claim their own maiden World Cup victory, as left-hander Nandor Bezzeg and debutant Gabor Takacs.
Sweden's Magnus Caris and Daniel Larsson had led 2-1 early on, but Bezzeg's 67 checkout levelled after two misses from their rivals, before Takacs landed the winning double in the next three legs to record a memorable win.
Hong Kong's Ting Chi Royden Lam and Scott MacKenzie then knocked out a third seeded nation of the evening as they overcame Welsh duo Mark Webster and Jamie Lewis 5-3.
Webster - part of the Welsh team which reached the 2010 final - took out 72 and 95 to help his nation into a 2-1 lead, only for Hong Kong to take the next three, including a 131 checkout from Lam, to move 4-2 up.
Tops from Webster saw Wales hit back, but Lam landed double ten in the next to seal Hong Kong's progression to the last 16.
"We're delighted to win this game," said Lam. "I was so nervous that my hand was shaking - but that shows what it means to us and also all our supporters who stayed up during the night in Hong Kong to watch us."
Holders Netherlands, meanwhile, booked their spot in the second round with a strong display as Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld overcame American pairing Darin Young and Larry Butler 5-2.
Van Gerwen kicked off the game with a 150 finish before checkouts of 105 from Young and 100 from Butler saw the Americans pull back to 4-2, but van Barneveld applied the finishing touch with double 16.
"America was one of the toughest draws which we could have got so it's a good result for us," said van Barneveld, a two-time World Cup winner.
"It's totally different to any Singles competition but we know what we can do and we'll play well in the next round. We're used to playing Singles matches so that will suit us on Saturday but we play well as a team too."
The Dutch pair now take on South Africa in the second round, after Devon Petersen and Graham Filby prevailed 5-4 in a deciding leg against Finland.
The Finnish pair of Kim Viljanen and Marko Kantele led 2-0 and 3-2 - despite checkouts of 75 from Petersen and 93 from Filby, who also hit the winning double in back-to-back legs to move South Africa 4-3 up.
Viljanen levelled on double four, but Kantele missed one dart at tops for the match in the final leg - to complete a 120 finish - before Petersen stepped in to take out double ten for victory.
Number two seeds Scotland, represented by World Champion and Premier League winner Gary Anderson and world number five Peter Wright, overcame Singapore's Paul Lim and Harith Lim 5-1 to move through to face Hungary.
The game saw Wright hit four out of the five winning doubles for the Scots, who led 4-0 before experienced ace Paul Lim finished double top, and a second 180 of the game from Wright helped the Scots seal their last 16 spot.
Ireland's William O'Connor and Connie Finnan recorded the night's only whitewash as they knocked out Polish debutants Tytus Kanik and Mariusz Paul to set up a second round date with Hong Kong.
Last year's semi-finalists Northern Ireland, represented again by Brendan Dolan and Mickey Mansell, overcame a slow start against Thailand before recording a 5-2 triumph.
The Thai pairing of Attapol Eupakaree and Thanawat Gaweenuntawong shared winning doubles as they took a 2-1 advantage, but Dolan finished 58 and 61 to move Northern Ireland ahead before taking out 61 to claim a fourth successive leg as they set up a second round tie with New Zealand.
The second round sees the ties kick off with two Singles games over the best of seven legs. In the event of both nations winning one Singles match apiece, a best of seven legs Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.
Saturday's afternoon session will begin as 2013 finalists Belgium play Spain before 2012 runners-up Australia come up against Gibraltar.
Two-time champions England are in action during the evening session against Japan before host nation Germany take on Austria.
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2015 bwin World Cup of Darts
Friday June 12 (8pm start local time, 7pm BST)
First Round
Canada (11) 4-5 New Zealand
Sweden (15) 2-5 Hungary
Wales (7) 3-5 Hong Kong
Republic of Ireland (10) 5-0 Poland
Northern Ireland (6) 5-2 Thailand
Scotland (2) 5-1 Singapore
Netherlands (3) 5-2 United States of America
South Africa (14) 5-4 Finland
Saturday June 13
Afternoon Session (14:00-18:00 local time)
Second Round
Belgium v Spain
Australia v Gibraltar
Northern Ireland v New Zealand
Hong Kong v Republic of Ireland
Evening Session (20:30-00:30 local time)
Second Round
Scotland v Hungary
Netherlands v South Africa
England v Japan
Austria v Germany
MATCH INFORMATION
CANADA v NEW ZEALAND
John Part & Ken MacNeil v Warren Parry & Rob Szabo
0-1 - Six missed doubles from Canada are punished when Parry eventually claims the opening leg for New Zealand on double ten - with their eighth dart at a double.
1-1 - Parry first in a 180, but Szabo misses tops to allow MacNeil in to hit the same bed.
1-2 - Szabo lands double five to edge the Kiwis back in front, after both nations missed further doubles.
2-2 - Szabo opens with a 180, but Part finishes 80 to level the game.
3-2 - MacNeil finishes 120 as he moves Canada ahead for the first time.
3-3 - MacNeil misses the bull, allowing Parry to land double ten to hit back immediately for New Zealand.
3-4 - Szabo moves the Kiwis back ahead with a superb 102 finish.
4-4 - Double four sees Part level for Canada to send the tie into a deciding leg.
4-5 - Parry finishes 92 on double 16 to claim New Zealand's first World Cup victory since 2010.
SWEDEN v HUNGARY
Magnus Caris & Daniel Larsson v Nandor Bezzeg & Gabor Takacs
0-1 - Double top gives Hungary the opening leg.
1-1 - Sweden initially miss nine darts at a double before Larsson lands double four to level for his nation.
2-1 - Larsson finishes double ten to move Sweden ahead.
2-2 - Caris misses two darts at double 16, allowing Bezzeg to take out 67 to level for Hungary.
2-3 - Takacs lands a 177 to leave 22, with Bezzeg initially missing three darts at double 11 to allow his team-mate back in to win the leg.
2-4 - Takacs lands double eight to move Hungary a leg away from their first ever World Cup win.
2-5 - Caris misses the bull to finish 123, and Takacs takes out 90 on double 15 to claim a memorable win for Hungary.
WALES v HONG KONG
Mark Webster & Jamie Lewis v Ting Chi Royden Lam & Scott MacKenzie
1-0 - Webster makes a confident start for Wales, landing a 180 before finishing 72 on tops.
1-1 - MacKenzie lands double five to level for Hong Kong.
2-1 - MacKenzie fails to leave himself a double when needing 121, and Webster steps in to take out 95 on tops for Wales.
2-2 - Hong Kong hit back once again to level.
2-3 - MacKenzie and Lam both land 180s in successive visits, before double ten sees them break to lead.
2-4 - Lam finishes 131 on double 16 to move Hong Kong a leg away from an upset win.
3-4 - Lewis misses two darts to win the leg, but MacKenzie misses the bullseye to finish 110 for the match and Webster hits back for Wales.
3-5 - MacKenzie misses another match dart, at double ten to take out 99, but Lewis is unable to finish 130 to allow Lam in, and he finishes double ten with his third dart as he claims another upset victory.
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND v POLAND
William O'Connor & Connie Finnan v Tytus Kanik & Marius Paul
1-0 - Tops from Finnan gives Ireland the opening leg.
2-0 - O'Connor fires in a 180 before Finnan posts double eight to double Ireland's lead.
3-0 - Poland miss the bull to hit back, and Finnan this time lands tops to wrap up a third successive leg for Ireland.
4-0 - O'Connor finishes 62 on tops as Ireland continue their charge.
5-0 - O'Connor lands double one as Ireland - eventually - wrap up a whitewash victory to move through to face Hong Kong on Saturday.
NORTHERN IRELAND v THAILAND
Brendan Dolan & Mickey Mansell v Thanawat Gaweenuntawong & Attapol Eupakaree
0-1 - Thanawat misses double 18 for a 156 finish, but Attapol steps in to win the leg on double nine.
1-1 - Mansell takes out 56 on double ten to level.
1-2 - Mansell misses tops to finish 145, and Thanawat hits the same bed to move Thailand back ahead.
2-2 - Dolan opens with a 180 and finishes 58 to square the game for Northern Ireland.
3-2 - Dolan finishes 61 on double 18 to move Northern Ireland ahead for the first time.
4-2 - Northern Ireland eventually win the leg with their 12th dart at a double as Dolan punishes the Thai pair for their misses by landing double one.
5-2 - Dolan secures victory by finishing 62 on double top.
SCOTLAND v SINGAPORE
Gary Anderson & Peter Wright v Paul Lim & Harith Lim
1-0 - Harith Lim misses double six to finish 94, and Wright posts double top to give Scotland the lead.
2-0 - Wright fires in a 180 and Anderson finishes double ten to give Scotland a two-leg advantage.
3-0 - Anderson's miss at tops allows Harith Lim a chance, but he is off-target with two doubles to allow Wright to finish double ten.
4-0 - Wright's fine finishing continues as he takes out 92 on double 16 to move Scotland four legs clear.
4-1 - Singapore keep their hopes alive, with Harith Lim landing a 180 and Paul Lim hitting tops.
5-1 - Wright lands a second 180 of the game before hitting double 16 to seal Scotland's win.
NETHERLANDS v UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld v Darin Young & Larry Butler
1-0 - van Gerwen mades a superb start by taking out 150 with two treble 19s and double 18.
2-0 - Butler misses two darts at doubles to level for America, and van Barneveld takes out 48 to double the reigning champions' lead.
3-0 - America miss another chance to get off the mark, with Butler missing a single 20 to leave tops when needing 80 to allow van Gerwen to finish double two.
3-1 - van Barneveld misses the bull to take out 164, and Young checks out 105 on tops to get America off the mark.
4-1 - van Gerwen opens the leg with a 177 and finishes it with double top.
4-2 - Butler lands a 180 and then finishes 100 on tops to five America their second leg.
5-2 - van Gerwen initially misses double 16 for the match, but van Barneveld steps in to seal victory as the holders begin their title defence in style.
SOUTH AFRICA v FINLAND
Devon Petersen & Graham Filby v Kim Viljanen & Marko Kantele
0-1 - Petersen misses double top and ten, and Viljanen lands double 16 to take the opening leg against the throw.
0-2 - Viljanen kicks off the leg with a 180 before Kantele lands double ten to move Finland two legs up.
1-2 - Petersen gets South Africa off the mark by hitting a 180 and finishing 75 in two darts.
2-2 - Filby levels the game for South Africa by finishing 93 in two darts on double 18.
2-3 - Viljanen lands his second 180 of the game before finishing double eight to edge Finland back ahead.
3-3 - Filby lands double 12 to square the game for South Africa.
4-3 - Filby fires in a maximum before hitting double ten to move South Africa ahead for the first time.
4-4 - Viljanen sends the game into a deciding leg by taking out double four.
5-4 - South Africa are first to a finish, but Filby misses double top before Kantele is off-target on the same bed to take out 120, allowing Petersen in to take out double ten to claim victory.