It is the final day of the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt on Sunday with eight nations all beginning the day dreaming of getting their hands on what is becoming a bigger title on the PDC circuit with every year it is played.
We know by now that it is pairs all the way and there is no doubt that the drama and the tension increased on Saturday and with what is on the line on Sunday that trend should continue. Time restrictions will deny us the chance to look at the semi-finals and final, although we do still have an outright bet running to hopefully keep us interested. We will go through all four quarter finals though.
Wales vs Sweden
We begin a sizzling Sunday with the former champion Wales going up against one of the two surprise packages left in the tournament in the form of Sweden, with the opening spot in the semi-finals the reward for the winner of the match.
Wales have an imperious record in pairs play in this tournament in recent years and they did nothing to ruin that on Saturday when they were the pick of the teams on show, averaging just under 100 and gelling really well. If they play like that on Sunday then they aren’t just dangerous in this match but they’ll be hard to beat in the entire event. Sweden don’t have a lot to lose and to be fair the last five legs they played in their win over Canada they delivered world class darts. They can’t afford any slack legs here though and every opportunity at a double that they see they will need to nail. That is a tall ask but there has been enough evidence they might make enough legs competitive to put me off backing a handicap here. I expect a Wales win but I’ll let them win without carrying my dough.
Belgium vs Australia
The pick of the quarter finals is the second one onto the stage as the defending champions Australia look to take their title defence into the final session of the tournament when they go up against a talented, if a little fractured, Belgium pairing.
Belgium were involved in a tight battle with the Netherlands in the second round and came out on top in a deciding leg and being battle hardened might not be a bad thing. Australia cruised past Croatia in the previous round although they weren’t exactly clinical in completing the job which will worry them. Usually in these matches you look for the weak link but there isn’t one because all four players are extremely competent. If pushed I would say Dimitri Van den Bergh is the best player of the quartet which might give the Belgians the edge but they are my outright pick so I’m happy to watch them win rather than get involved in them again to do so.
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Scotland vs France
Two teams who probably need to improve on their second round efforts meet in the penultimate quarter final when former champions Scotland take on the other surprise package who have made it into the last eight in the form of France.
There is no doubt that French darts is on the up. They have a tour card holder in Jacques Labre while Thibault Tricole has shown his quality on the WDF and Challenge Tour scene however the thing that worries me about this pairing is their poor doubling statistics and in a match where both opponents are likely to outscore them for the most part they won’t get away with missing doubles. Gary Anderson was in excellent form on the outer ring on Saturday and if Peter Wright can just tidy up his play a little bit Scotland could very easily still be a force to be reckoned with in this tournament. I think the cleaner doubling of the Scots added to their sustained consistent scoring can see them come through with a bit in hand.
England vs Germany
The last of the quarter finals sees the number one seeds England going up against the host nation Germany in a rivalry which we have seen dominate other sports and which could easily become something of the same in darts.
England were solid without being spectacular in beating Latvia in the previous round. It was hard to judge them on that effort because they knew from an early stage that they were in no danger and it is hard to play your best game when that is the case. I thought for large periods of their second round clash with Poland that Germany were clinging on a little but when they needed their better stuff towards the end of the match they were able to find it and that bodes well for them. They will obviously have a big crowd behind them and while I wouldn’t expect that to worry Smith and Cross too much, it is a factor. I still don’t think Germany will win but I could do without being on an England handicap and then the crowd getting involved to delay the winning dart from landing.
Tips
Back Scotland (-3.5 legs) to beat France for a 3/10 stake at 1.85 with 888sport
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