Germany stun England on home soil to reach World Cup of Darts quarter-finals

Germany’s Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko pulled off a shock scalp of England’s Luke Humphries and Luke Littler on a memorable day of second round action at the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt.

Schindler and Pietreczko – roared on by a partisan German crowd – stormed to a sensational 8-4 victory over the world’s top two players to continue their bid for BetVictor World Cup glory at the Eissporthalle.

Humphries and Littler came into the tournament as overwhelming 4/11 favourites with title sponsors BetVictor, but their highly-anticipated debut as a partnership culminated in a shock early exit.

There was nothing to separate the teams after four legs, but a terrific five-leg burst from the German duo catapulted them to the brink of victory at 7-2, with World Cup debutant Pietreczko taking centre stage.

The 30-year-old landed nerveless 106 and 101 finishes during this spell, before fending off a late rally from Humphries and Littler to seal the deal with a clinical 62 outshot.

Germany will now face 2022 champions Australia in Sunday’s quarter-finals, and Schindler was buoyant after progressing to a third World Cup quarter-final in four years.

“We believed in ourselves, and that was the key,” said Schindler. “The double 16s from Ricardo when it mattered just went in, so we’re really happy.

“This is a big win for us. German darts is in good shape right now, and we’re pushing forward as much as we can.”

Despite Germany’s heroics, the performance of the night was produced by Netherlands, as Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen sensationally whitewashed Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright 8-0.

The Dutch duo won eight legs without reply to breeze through the round-robin phase with two victories, and they extended their astonishing winning run to 16 legs in sweeping aside the Scots.

Scotland’s solitary attempts at double came in the eighth and final leg of the contest, with the Netherlands averaging 100.2 to confirm their place in the Last Eight.

“We both felt great in practice today and we played a phenomenal game tonight,” admitted debutant Van Veen.

“I said to Danny earlier ‘We’re yet to drop a leg, let’s keep it that way’, but of course that was a joke!

“Before tonight I had never beaten Peter or Gary. They are two legends of the game, so to do the double and beat them both is amazing!”

Saturday’s second round action also saw Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton begin their pursuit of a third World Cup crown with a commanding 8-2 win over the Philippines – who had dumped out Belgium in the round-robin phase.

Following a sequence of three consecutive breaks to kick off proceedings, Wales soon took control, winning seven of the last eight legs to advance with an impressive 96.4 average.

“It’s a great start. We did a job tonight, and that’s all that counts,” insisted Clayton.

“When you get to this stage of the tournament, every game is tough, but we’re confident in our game.

“We’re here to win this cup and we always play well together, so look out!”

Wales will now play Hong Kong, after Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee produced a devastating display of doubling to defeat 2024 quarter-finalists Sweden.

Leung was the star of the show, averaging 102 individually, pinning all six of his attempts at a double and converting 81, 101 and 135 finishes to steer his side to a landmark 8-4 victory.

“I’m very happy that my partner trusted me,” reflected Leung, fresh from powering Hong Kong into their second World Cup quarter-final.

“I would like to thank everyone in Hong Kong and the Asian fans who watched us and supported us, and we will keep trying our best.”

Fourth seeds Northern Ireland kicked off their campaign with an 8-2 win against South Africa, as their new-look pairing of Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney prevailed in a fiery affair against Devon Petersen and Cameron Carolissen.

There was no shortage of intensity up on stage, with Rock and Gurney reeling off four straight legs to set up an enthralling clash against 2019 runners-up Republic of Ireland.

William O’Connor and Keane Barry eased through to the quarter-finals with a comfortable 8-3 success over Switzerland, capitalising on their group stage reprieve to continue their progress.

Australia also ran out emphatic winners in their Last 16 tussle with debutants Argentina, as Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock completed an 8-1 rout of newcomers Jesus Salate and Victor Guillin.

Meanwhile, Karel Sedlacek and Petr Krivka broke new ground with an 8-3 thumping of Malaysia’s Tengku Shah and Tan Jenn Ming in Saturday’s opener, as Czechia reached the quarter-finals for the first time in PDC World Cup history.

BetVictor World Cup of Darts 2025 Day Three Results

Saturday June 14

Second Round

Afternoon Session
Malaysia 3-8 Czechia
Hong Kong 8-4 Sweden
Switzerland 3-8 Republic of Ireland
Northern Ireland 8-2 South Africa

Evening Session
Wales 8-2 Philippines
Scotland 0-8 Netherlands
England 4-8 Germany
Argentina 1-8 Australia