The first round of the World Cup of Darts draws to a close on Friday evening when the teams in the top half of the draw take to the stage to battle it out for a place in the last 16 of the competition out in Germany.
If we are being honest the action on Thursday evening was pretty low in quality but that is all set to change with some big players, huge nations and good matches to enjoy on the second day of darts in the competition.
Early Matches
As with Thursday, the early matches on Friday are the ones without the seeds involved. The night gets underway with a bit of a low key affair between Russia and Japan before we see Devon Petersen and his South Africa pairing on the stage. They take on a Spain outfit who are not being represented by Cristo Reyes this year. It might be the match of the night is the third one of the evening when the former finalists Republic of Ireland take on Jose de Sousa and Portugal. The early matches conclude with Mensur Suljovic taking to the stage to lead Austria into battle against the Philippines.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Later Matches
The last four matches are all the ones which include the seeded teams and it is Northern Ireland who are the first team to put their seeding on the line when Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney team up to take on Hong Kong. The home nation Germany take to the stage after they are done. They face a dangerous Canada outfit before the number one seeds England show us what they’ve got when James Wade and Dave Chisnall pair up to take on Brazil. The final match of the first round sees the impressive Belgium pair of Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri Van den Bergh facing Greece who were a late replacement into the draw.
Betting
After running into a monster performance on Thursday I’m still licking my wounds but there is one bet I like over the course of Friday evening and that is in that tasty looking clash between Portugal and the Republic of Ireland where I like the 2019 finalists to come through. Steve Lennon and William O’Connor aren’t just good players in their own right but they form a formidable pairing as we saw in 2019 when among their pairs victims that week were the Dutch who they beat 4-0.
Ireland lost in the first round last year but they lost to a good Australia side and averaged 93 in the process. You get the feeling if they average anything like close to 93 in this match they will have every chance. Portugal are headlined by Jose de Sousa but Jose Marques will be the weaker of the four players on the stage and there is still that issue with de Sousa missing doubles which in a race to five with an inferior partner is less than ideal. Ireland are solid and I think they can come through here.
Tips
Back Republic of Ireland to beat Portugal for a 3/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021
