Germany survive New Zealand scare at World Cup of Darts

Germany survived a scare on the World Cup of Darts opening night, with Gabriel Clemens’ timely ton-plus finish edging them past New Zealand.

The host nation – also comprised of Martin Schindler – were in danger of suffering a defeat in their opening Group C match at Eissporthalle in Frankfurt on Thursday.

Indeed, the 2023 semi-finalists fell 3-2 behind as a wonderful 104 finish from Ben Robb put New Zealand on the brink of securing a shock victory.

However, Clemens pinned double 16 to force a decider where, with their opponents sitting on 42, he then produced a magnificent 124 finish on bull to delight the home crowd.

“New Zealand played a very good game, and made it hard for us to win,” he told Sky Sports. “If I hadn’t made the 124, we would have lost. We’re a very good team, and we look forward to the next game.”

Australia’s Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock also only just scraped through their opening game, Simon Whitlock taking out 87 in the decider after World Cup debutant Ryusei Azemoto missed four match darts for Japan.

Elsewhere, a pair of sublime ton-plus Paul Lim finishes proved academic for Singapore against Belgium.

The 70-year-old – making his 10th successive appearance at the event – raised the roof in Frankfurt with 151 and 110 checkouts, but Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts dug deep for a 4-2 win.

Josh Rock – partnering the ever-present Brendan Dolan for Northern Ireland – enjoyed an impressive World Cup debut, averaging 100.95 as the two-time semi-finalists eased past South Africa 4-1.

Jeffrey de Graaf was also in fine form on his tournament bow. His 120.43 average – and checkouts of 100 and 90 – inspired Sweden to a 4-0 whitewash of Spain.

Mensur Suljovic averaged 108.18 as he and Rowby-John Rodriguez got 2021 runners-up Austria off to a winning start against China, who they thrashed 4-0, while Thibault Tricole averaged 108.95 for 2023 quarter-finalists France as they overcame Latvia 4-1.

The Republic of Ireland – finalists in 2019 – recovered from losing the opening leg, with William O’Connor and Keane Barry beating Lithuania 4-2 as Croatia whitewashed Malaysia, who returned to the tournament after a 10-year absence.

Meanwhile, Jose de Souza’s Portugal and Krzysztof Ratajski’s Poland were 4-2 winners over USA and Norway respectively, and Czechia edged out Bahrain 4-3.

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World Cup of Darts 2024 | Day One Results

Thursday June 27

Group Stage – First Matches

Sweden 4-0 Spain (Group K)
Czechia 4-3 Bahrain (Group H)
France 4-1 Latvia (Group J)
Croatia 4-0 Malaysia (Group I)
Republic of Ireland 4-2 Lithuania (Group E)
Poland 4-2 Norway (Group G)
USA 2-4 Portugal (Group L)
Belgium 4-2 Singapore (Group A)
Northern Ireland 4-1 South Africa (Group B)
Germany 4-3 New Zealand (Group C)
Australia 4-3 Japan (Group D)
Austria 4-0 China (Group F)