World Cup of Darts: Round 2: The Netherlands vs Austria

RAYMOND VAN BARNEVELD 4 – 3 Dietmar Burger

Raymond van Barneveld fought back to see off a spirited challenge from Dietmar Burger in the 2^nd round of the World Cup in Hamburg.

The five-time world champion had to wait until the early hours of the morning to get on stage and begin the defence of the title he won in 2010. His opponent played well but van Barneveld found an extra gear and claimed the win.

‘Barney’ hit double 16 to edge in front but Burger won the next two legs to turn the game around. The Austrian hit a 180 in the next leg and van Barneveld responded with a 174 before levelling the match.

Berger took a 3-2 lead before the defending champion took out a neat 64 checkout to set up a deciding leg. The Dutchman then sealed victory and the first point of the match for his country.

VINCENT VAN DER VOORT 3 – 4 Mensur Suljovic

Vincent van der Voort suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Mensur Suljovic in the early hours of Saturday morning in Hamburg.

The Dutchman had to wait until nearly 2am to get started and was denied victory despite showing glimpses of his brilliant best.

Suljovic took the lead before van der Voort took out 64 to level. The quick-fire Dutchman then produced a stunning 140 finish, much to the delight of the German crowd who constantly sang his name throughout the match.

The Dutch Destroyer was pegged back by his Austrian opponent, who won the next two legs to take a 3-2 lead. Van der Voort responded with a tidy 48 finish to set up a decider, which Suljovic won with a 14 dart leg.

Van der Voort and van Barneveld will be last on stage again today, when they take on their opponents in a doubles decider.

By Chris Murphy

World Cup of Darts: Round 2: Wales v Croatia

MARK WEBSTER 4 – 0 Tonci Restovic

Mark Webster started the World Cup in style, completing a 4 – 0 whitewash over Tonci Restovic in double quick time.

He reached the final of the inaugural tournament in 2010 and looks set to continue that stunning form 14 months on, as he put in a polished second round performance.

Webster said: “I’m really happy with my performance, I felt quite relaxed up there and I got the job done. Now we have to finish it off tomorrow.”

Webster took the first two legs, hitting a 180 in the process. ‘Spider’ then hit two more maximums in leg three, before hitting double ten to race into a three leg lead.

The Welshman took out 80 to complete the rout in the blink of an eye.

Webster’s teammate Richie Burnett won his game 4-3 to give Wales a 2-0 lead going into the doubles matches on Saturday. Victory in the pairs will book their place in the quarter finals.

Webster added: “It’s a format that we are not used to but Richie and I are playing really well, we are in great form and it was a shame that we ran into each other at the World Championship. We  are expecting to do really well in the tournament but we have to make sure we see the job through in the pairs. We don’t want to be going to a sudden death leg if we can help it, tonight was comfortable and we need to make sure tomorrow afternoon is the same.”

By Chris Murphy