England’s Luke Humphries and Luke Littler will face Cristo Reyes and Jose Justicia in the second round of the World Cup of Darts after the Spain duo topped Group K in Frankfurt.
In a winner takes all shoot-out in against Japan’s Motomu Sakai and Haruki Muramatsu, Spain made it through thanks to an inspired performance from Reyes in his first World Cup appearance since 2019.
It was a 145 checkout on the bull that was the starring moment to send Spain through to the second round for the first time in this format.
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Cristo Reyes hits the bulls to checkout on an incredible 135 with his Spanish Jose Justicia teammate joining him to celebrate with a roar to the crowd afterwards
Wales will face USA in the second round after a 4-1 victory over Thailand.
The Welsh duo of Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny needed to pick up two legs against Thailand in Group C and after a nervy start with 12 trebleless visits, Clayton clinched 71 on tops to send him and new partner Kenny into the second round.
Two-time winners Wales are without Gerwyn Price for this year’s version of the tournament after he made himself unavailable, which saw Kenny come in..
USA’s Stowe Buntz and Adam Sevada held off a comeback from North American foes Canada for a 4-2 win that sets up their clash with Wales.
In what was a tricky group, 2022 winner Australia crashed out.
Reigning champions Northern Ireland, who are once again represented by Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, will take on Belgium’s Mike De Decker and Dimitri van den Bergh, who can consider themselves lucky to have progressed from Group B as Slovenia beat Hong Kong 4-2.
Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee needed just three legs to progress, but the nerves got to them as the sixth seeds survived an almighty scare.
Second seeds Netherlands, who will be represented for the first time by world No 3 Gian van Veen and world No 4 Michael van Gerwen are set for a clash with Sweden’s Jeffrey De Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak, in their third World Cup as a duo after their decisive 4-1 win over Mongolia in Group F.
Norway’s Cor Dekker and Kent Sivertsen came through a last -leg thriller against Hungary in Group L to set up a contest with fourth seed Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies.
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Craig Galliano finishes off a 135 checkout superbly as him and his Gibraltar teammate Justin Hewitt look to put pressure on Rep of Ireland’s William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell
Republic of Ireland’s Willie O’Connor and Mickey Mansell face Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Bialecki in the last 16 after they came up trumps with a 4-2 victory in a straight shoot-out with Switzerland.
Ireland progressed from Group D into the last 16 after a brilliant contest against Gibraltar, a sensational 158 checkout from the team that were called up at the last minute due to Uganda’s visa issue sending the Frankfurt crowd into frenzy.
The Polish duo are seen as dark horses for this tournament and their steeliness proved why, Bialecki bringing his Development Tour form to the big stage after winning three titles over the weekend.
Roared on by their home crowd, Germany surged into the last 16 with a 4-2 win over New Zealand in Group A, Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler combining well with power scoring and finishing. With the victory, they will play Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek and Adam Gawlas after they topped Group H.
Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko sent out a statement with their group stage performances at the World Cup of Darts
Finally, Latvia and France will face off in the last 16 after they both came through dramatic contests.
Latvia needed to win three legs against Trinidad and Tobago to progress from Group J and despite getting that over the line, Trinidad and Tobago’s Joshua Balfour and James Walkin won the deciding leg to clinch the match 4-3 and make history with a victory on their debut year.
Meanwhile, France’s Thibault Tricole and Nicolas Thuillier pulled off an almighty comeback from 3-0 down to win 4-3 against Austria’s Mensur Suljovic and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in a straight shoot-out to progress from Group I.
Group stage: Final standings
What’s next?
The second round begins from 12pm, live on Sky Sports, with the likes of Scotland, Wales, and the Republic of Ireland in action.
The last 16 then concludes from 7pm, with England’s Luke Littler and Luke Humphries in action, ahead of a bumper Finals Day on Sunday.
Who will win this year’s World Cup of Darts? Northern Ireland will be defending their title and you can watch all the action on Sky Sports from June 11-14. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
