TENSIONS reached boiling point in the bwin World Cup of Darts as Belgium won through to the semi-finals with a Doubles win over Australia on Sunday afternoon, as Scotland, England and holders Netherlands also enjoyed quarter-final wins.
Belgian brothers Kim and Ronny Huybrechts emerged victorious from a fiery and dramatic last eight clash with fellow former finalists Australia, for whom Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson suffered an agonising loss.
The Australians had seemed set to power into the last four when Whitlock defeated Ronny Huybrechts 4-2 in their Singles tie and Nicholson took a 3-0 lead against the younger brother in the second contest.
However, Kim Huybrechts clawed his way back into the game before punishing Nicholson for six missed match darts across two legs to force a decider, which he won on double eight to take the clash into a Doubles decider.
With both nations fired up, Belgium held throw twice only for Nicholson to twice land the winning double as Australia levelled, but Kim Huybrechts took out 105 for a 3-2 lead before Ronny Huybrechts finished 86 on the bull to claim victory.
"In the Doubles I know me and Ronny can do serious damage and it was an emotional Doubles game, so tense, but we're on top of the world," said Kim Huybrechts.
"Paul is very similar to me, we're both emotional when and very enthusiastic when we play. He was giving it loads when he went 3-0 up and I needed to get the crowd on my side and I think it got to him a bit and he missed match darts.
"In the Doubles, Ronny was brilliant and the 86 was a massive shot for the match, so big respect for that.
"Now we have to focus on the next game because we have to play this evening, so we have to relax now, forget about this and prepare for the semis now."
Belgium will now face England in a repeat of the 2013 World Cup of Darts final, after Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis produced two superb individual displays to knock out hosts Germany.
Taylor averaged over 104 in his 4-1 win over Jyhan Artut, whose only leg came with a fine 12-darter, before Lewis posted a 105 average in his brilliant 4-0 whitewash of teenager Max Hopp, which was book-ended by two 13-darters.
"That's a good win for us," said Lewis. "Jyhan played great against Phil and I had a tough contest against Max Hopp, but I hit him early on and kicked on from there.
"We're through to the business end of the competition and we're practising really well, so if we can put it all together there's no reason why we can't win it."
The other semi-final will see reigning champions Netherlands face Scotland, who won through to their first semi-final in the five-year history of this event with a 2-0 defeat of Hong Kong.
World Champion Gary Anderson kicked off the tie with a 4-2 win over Ting Chi Royden Lam, before team-mate Peter Wright matched that score in his defeat of Scott MacKenzie.
"I've been making hard work of things but hopefully I'll come good tonight," said Anderson. "I don't think I've played Royden before and he was nervous before the game, but he did alright and he'll learn from that.
"It's been a tournament where we've been playing against players we don't know, but in the semi-finals we know what to expect."
Dutch pair Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld needed a Doubles decider in their tie against Northern Ireland, but repeated last year's 4-0 win at the semi-final stage against Brendan Dolan and Mickey Mansell with another superb whitewash.
Van Gerwen had defeated Dolan 4-2 in their Singles tie before Mansell produced a superb display to overcome van Barneveld in a deciding leg, but the Northern Irish pair had no answer to a 107 average from their opponents in the Doubles game.
The £250,000 tournament concludes on Sunday night, with the semi-finals followed by the final at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, as four of the top five seeds in the tournament compete for the title.
Live Television Coverage
RTL7 - Netherlands
Sport1 - Germany
Fox Sports - Australia
Sky - New Zealand
Viasat - Scandinavia, Bulgaria & Baltic States
OSN - Middle East & North Africa
CCTV - China
Nova - Czech Republic & Slovakia
ESPN3 - America
www.LIVEPDC.TV for International Pass Subscribers outside of UK, Ireland & Netherlands
bwin World Cup of Darts
Sunday June 14
Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals
Belgium 2-1 Australia
Scotland 2-0 Hong Kong
England 2-0 Germany
Northern Ireland 1-2 Netherlands
Evening Session (8pm local time)
Semi-Finals
England v Belgium
Scotland v Netherlands
Final
England/Belgium v Scotland/Netherlands
MATCH INFORMATION
BELGIUM v AUSTRALIA
Singles One: Ronny Huybrechts v Simon Whitlock
0-1 - Double four moves Whitlock ahead.
0-2 - Five missed doubles from Huybrechts allow the Australian in to double his lead on double 12.
0-3 - Whitlock fires in a 180 to leave 63 before completing the checkout on double 16 to move three legs up.
1-3 - Huybrechts opens the leg with 180 and 140 before finishing double ten to get off the mark.
2-3 - Whitlock opens with a 180 but misses four match darts, allowing Huybrechts a let-off for four missed doubles of his own as he returns on double five.
2-4 - Whitlock recovers from his earlier misses by taking out a brilliant 140 checkout to seal the opening match for Australia.
Singles Two: Kim Huybrechts v Paul Nicholson
0-1 - Nicholson initially bursts his score when needing 44, but Huybrechts misses tops for a 119 checkout to allow the Australian back in as double eight fives him the opener.
0-2 - Huybrechts misses the bull and two darts at double 16, allowing Nicholson in to break throw on double ten.
0-3 - Nicholson lands double top to move three legs clear, putting Australia to the brink of another semi-final.
1-3 - Huybrechts finally gets off the mark, landing double ten to keep Belgium's hopes alive.
2-3 - Nicholson misses five match darts across three visits, allowing Huybrechts to finish double four to continue his revival.
3-3 - Huybrechts misses double 16 to complete a 70 combination, but Nicholson misses one more match dart, at double 18, to see the Belgian step in on double eight to force a decider.
4-3 - Huybrechts follows a 140 with his best visit of the game as a 171 score leaves 94 - and though he misses the bull he returns to land double eight to complete a stunning comeback.
Doubles: Ronny & Kim Huybrechts v Simon Whitlock & Paul Nicholson
1-0 - Nicholson misses two darts at tops, and Ronny Huybrechts takes out 72 on double nine to give Belgium the opener.
1-1 - Kim Huybrechts lands a 180, but brother Ronny is unable to land the winning double to allow Nicholson in to take out 77 to put his double troubles behind him.
2-1 - Ronny Huybrechts misses double 18, but younger brother Kim returns to hit the bed for Belgium.
2-2 - Whitlock's 180 is matched by Ronny Huybrechts - who follows a seven score in his opening visit with a maximum - before Nicholson finishes 60 on tops to level.
3-2 - The roles are reversed as Ronny Huybrechts' 180 is followed by a maximum from Whitlock, with Kim Huybrechts then taking out 105 to move Belgium a leg away from the semis.
4-2 - Whitlock hits his third 180 in as many legs, but misses double 18 to finish 115 to allow Ronny Huybrechts in to finish 96 on the bull.
Final Score: Belgium 2-1 Australia
SCOTLAND v HONG KONG
Singles One: Gary Anderson v Ting Chi Royden Lam
1-0 - Anderson lands double ten with his third dart to claim the opening leg.
1-1 - Four missed doubles from the World Champion allow Lam in, with the Hong Kong ace having hit a 159 score to leave 16 before double two levels.
2-1 - Lam lands a 180, but Anderson finishes 86 on the bull to move back in front.
3-1 - Double five moves Anderson a leg away from the win.
3-2 - Lam keeps his hopes alive with a classy 102 checkout, hitting single 20, bullseye and double 16.
4-2 - Anderson fires home two 180s before finishing 48 on tops to claim victory in clinical fashion.
Singles Two: Peter Wright v Scott MacKenzie
1-0 - Wright finishes double ten to claim the opening leg.
2-0 - The Scot doubles his lead by finishing 116.
2-1 - MacKenzie lands two 180s in the leg before hitting tops to respond.
2-2 - Double ten sees MacKenzie level the match for Hong Kong.
3-2 - Wright edges back in front, landing a 180 and double 12.
4-2 - Double 16 for Wright sees him claim victory to send Scotland into their first semi-finals at the bwin World Cup of Darts.
Doubles: Not Needed
Final Score: Scotland 2-0 Hong Kong
ENGLAND v GERMANY
Singles One: Phil Taylor v Jyhan Artut
1-0 - Taylor lands a 180 and finishes double 16 to win the opening leg.
1-1 - Artut levels with a superb 12-darter which features scores of 140 and 171 and a 94 finish on double ten.
2-1 - Artut kicks off the leg with six perfect darts by landing two 180s, but misses two darts at doubles to allow Taylor back in from his own missed bullseye to take out double eight.
3-1 - Taylor is first to a finish, and recovers from misses in two visits by landing double one.
4-1 - Taylor fires in a 180 before taking out 87 on the bull to seal an impressive win, ending with a 104.31 average.
Singles Two: Adrian Lewis v Max Hopp
1-0 - Lewis lands a 180 in a 13-darter to open the game in style, hitting double top to claim the first leg.
2-0 - Lewis finishes 63 on double six to break throw and move two legs up.
3-0 - Lewis kicks off the leg with a 180 before tops moves him to the brink of sealing England's semi-final spot.
4-0 - Lewis wraps up the win with another 13-darter, almost predictably landing a 180 and tops - ending the contest with a 105.47 average.
Doubles: Not Needed
Final Score: England 2-0 Germany
NORTHERN IRELAND v NETHERLANDS
Singles One: Brendan Dolan v Michael van Gerwen
0-1 - van Gerwen storms out of the blocks, taking out 84 for a 12-darter.
1-1 - Dolan lands a 180 before posting double eight to level, after van Gerwen misses double five to take out 87.
1-2 - van Gerwen fires in a 180, and has enough breathing space to miss six doubles across three visits before hitting double one.
2-2 - Dolan takes out 76 in two darts to level.
2-3 - Both players land 180s before van Gerwen finishes a third-dart double four to hold throw.
2-4 - van Gerwen's third dart comes to his rescue again as he land double eight to seal victory for the Netherlands in the opening Singles tie.
Singles Two: Mickey Mansell v Raymond van Barneveld
1-0 - Four missed doubles from the five-time World Champion allow Mansell in on tops.
2-0 - Double ten sees the Northern Irish left-hander level the game.
2-1 - van Barneveld finishes a pressure 122 on double seven to get off the mark.
2-2 - Double six sees van Barneveld level the tie.
3-2 - Mansell moves back ahead with a superb 12-darter, which he opens with a 180 before ending on double 16.
3-3 - van Barneveld lands a 180 to leave 40 as a 14-dart finish sends the game into a decider.
4-3 - Mansell, with the advantage of throw, clinically finishes 64 to claim victory and set up a Doubles decider - the countries also ended up in a Doubles clash in last year's semi-finals!
Doubles:
0-1 - van Gerwen lands double 16 to give the Netherlands the opening leg in 13 darts.
0-2 - van Gerwen doubles the advantage on tops for a 64 checkout.
0-3 - Both Dutchmen land 180s as they move three legs up.
0-4 - van Gerwen takes out 70 for a 14-darter to complete the Dutch whitewash.
Final Score: Northern Ireland 1-2 Netherlands