Four nations – England, Ireland, Germany and Netherlands – will have two shots at glory when the DartAsylum JDC World Cup is decided tomorrow after both their A and B teams qualified for the knockout stage.
They will be joined by Belgium A, Canada, Gibraltar A, Italy, Mongolia, Northern Ireland A, Scotland A and Slovakia on the final day of darting action in Gibraltar.
After the teams walked into the arena holding their national flags, in a procession not unlike that of an Olympic Games opening ceremony, they produced a competitive and entertaining day of international darts.
All eight teams who topped their groups – Belgium A, Canada, England A and B, Ireland A, Mongolia, Northern Ireland A and Scotland A – did so by winning every match they played.
It was an excellent day for England, with their A team of Kieran Thompson, Ryan Branley, Jack Nankervis and Archie Self not dropping a single leg in any of their three matches.
They beat China B, Norway B and Italy, producing the day’s highest average of 82.36 in their 4-0 win against Italy.
England B produced the highest running average of any team throughout the day – 74.69 – as Daniel Stephenson, Louis Jones, George Booth and Joseph Westby – took care of business against Netherlands B, Scotland B and Gibraltar B.
Scotland A were world champions a year ago – and two of their victorious players from 2023, Kyle Davidson and Mitchell Lawrie, will get the opportunity to defend their crown after reaching the final day.
They secured top spot in Group 2 ahead of hosts Gibraltar A by winning a deciding leg of 701, Robert Sutherland hitting the match-clinching double. Scotland B, meanwhile, went out after being well beaten by an outstanding Netherlands B team of Bradley van der Velden, Daan Toxopeus, Ruben Baalmans and Winmau Junior Open champion Kendji Steinbach.
Lex Paeshuyse continued his excellent week, having booked his place at Alexandra Palace in the Holiday Inn Express Junior World Darts Final the previous day, as Belgium A defeated Spain, Germany A and Wales A to advance. Paeshuyse’s team-mate Born Van Put won every leg he played as the Belgians moved into the knockout stage.
Mongolia could be another team to watch tomorrow as they breezed through the group stage with wins over Germany B, Poland and USA. Tergel Khurelkhuu produced Mongolia’s highest average on the day while team-mate Anand Gan-Erdene did not lose a leg.
Ireland A’s quartet of Aidan O’Hara, Jack Courtney, Shay Feeney and Jayden Fitzgerald will go into tomorrow with plenty of confidence after beating Sloakia, Australia and Greece. They won all three matches by a scoreline of 4-0, dropping only five legs in the process.
Canada will join Mongolia as the only other non-European team in the knockout stage after reeling off impressive wins against Netherlands A (4-2), Belgium B (4-2) and Northern Ireland B (4-3). Their team of Jacob Sa, Ben Goddard, Ethan Marshall and Calie Penney showed real character to finish top of their group.
Teams qualifying for the knockout stage:
Group winners: Belgium A, Canada, England A, England B, Ireland A, Mongolia, Northern Ireland A and Scotland A
Runners-up: Germany A, Germany B, Gibraltar A, Ireland B, Italy, Netherlands A, Netherlands B, Slovakia
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