World Cup of Darts second round: England, Scotland, Netherlands edge through

Belgium, who got to the semis in 2015, are 28/1 to go all the way and lift the title this year.

Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland narrowly avoided another loss in successive years to Hong Kong to set up a tasty tie against their northern neighbours, who are the 1/2 favourites due to their pairing of Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney.

You can back the unseeded nation at 13/8 for victory, but they have never got past this stage at a World Cup before.

Wales v Canada

It’s always a joyous occasion to see three-time world champion John Part back on the big stage, and he looked back to his best at times with some big scoring and confident finishing as he led Canada (3/1) to a triumph over debutants Greece.

Wales (1/4), however, looked strong against Finland, and their talented pairing of Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price should have too much for the North Americans.

The Welsh are terrific 18/1 outsiders to pick up their first title.

Austria v Singapore

Likewise with Canada’s Part, it’s fantastic to see Paul Lim up on the big stage where he belongs, even at the age of 62, and thanks to his terrific scoring Singapore (3/1 match chances) were able to make light work of potential dangers South Africa 5-1.

Eighth seeds Austria (1/4), on the other hand, smashed past Italy 5-0 and Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez really look like a well-gelled partnership, complimenting each other perfectly.

Austria are a temping 22/1 price to go all the way this year.

Evening Session

Scotland v Norway

Peter Wright-less Scotland (1/12 odds-on favourites) rode their luck against New Zealand in the opening round, going 3-1 behind before taking the following four legs.

Norway slightly upset the odds to defeat a Dyson Parody-led Gibraltar for their first ever World Cup victory, with Cor Dekker in particular throwing some impressive darts, and they are tempting 7/1 chances to overcome the second seeds.

With two defending major televised champions (Gary Anderson: World Championship, and Robert Thornton: World Grand Prix) on their team, though, last year’s runner-ups are still 9/2 tournament third-favourites.

Australia v Denmark

It’s never easy to face the home nation, especially in the first round, but Australia did well to knock out Germany in a highly competitive clash.

With Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson, a replacement for Paul Nicholson, at the oche crease, the Aussies can certainly go far in this competition, and are tasty 25/1 outsiders to go one better than their final loss in 2012.

Denmark, who saw off a disappointing Sweden in the all-Scandinavian battle, are priced at 3/1 to reach the quarters, but Australia are heavy 1/4 favourites.

England v China

The defending champions have never gone out at the first stage of the World Cup of Darts, but multiple world title winners Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis came potentially just two darts from exiting at the hands of a fired-up Spain side.

Thankfully for the two greats of the game, they were able to edge through 5-4, and they should face a more straightforward battle against China (10/1) next.

England are heavy favourites at 1/33 to win, and 15/8 to defend their crown.

Netherlands v Philippines

To round off the evening, 5/4 tournament favourites Netherlands are hungry to reclaim the title and draw level with England’s total of three, though looked frustrated when coming up against Russia, particularly against the fantastically unique Aleksandr Oreshkin.

But world number one Michael van Gerwen and five-time world champ Raymond van Barneveld eventually came through 5-3 and should have no trouble beating the Philippines, who they are heavily odds-on at 1/50 to steam-roll past.

However, the Southeast Asian nation looked in fine form to topple the experienced USA pairing of Darin Young and Larry Butler, so are 12/1 to cause perhaps the biggest shock in World Cup of Darts history.

Related

Check out our dedicated darts archive, where you’ll find more previews and features on the World Cup of Darts.

Coral’s top tip: Most of the second round fixtures are fairly one-sided, but why not back Republic of Ireland to beat Northern Ireland at 13/8?