The World Cup of Darts reaches the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon, with a blockbuster derby between England and Wales headlining the bumper schedule. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries aim to topple Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny, while the Netherlands face Germany in another marquee tie. Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen represent the Dutch against Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko.
The Netherlands, four-time winners of the World Cup of Darts, did not have it easy in their opening match against Sweden. Van Gerwen and Van Veen had to dig deep to hold off the Dutch-born Swede Jeffrey de Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak. Both players have been blowing hot and cold this year, with moments of pure class alternating with missed doubles. Against Germany, the Netherlands will likely need to be a touch sharper. Schindler is the rock for the Germans and is dragging along Pietreczko, who has been off the boil in recent months and struggling with dartitis. The Germans also have the backing of a packed Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, which fueled a shock win over England last year. Despite everything, the Netherlands remain favorites, with Van Gerwen and Van Veen both in the top four of the world rankings.
England are represented for the second year running by Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, still the top two in the world rankings. They crashed out immediately against Germany last year but got through their opener this time, though they did not have much to spare against a strong Spain. Wales are without Gerwyn Price this year, but with Jonny Clayton they still boast a class act. Wales beat the USA 8-5, and Clayton underlined his quality with two 141 checkouts. Clayton is leading Nick Kenny by example, and given the chemistry between the two Welshmen, an upset against England cannot be ruled out.
The team that impressed most in the last 16 was Scotland. Gary Anderson, partnering Cameron Menzies for the first time, swept aside Norway 8-0. If Anderson and Menzies can maintain that form—they averaged around a ton—they will be favorites to beat Ireland in the quarter-finals. Ireland, though, are also playing well. William O'Connor and Mickey Mansell cruised through the group stage and proved too strong for dark horses Poland with an 8-5 win. The final quarter-final pits defending champions Northern Ireland against Latvia. Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney only just survived a clash with Belgium in the last 16 but are overwhelming favorites to progress against Latvia.
The Sunday afternoon schedule: Scotland v Ireland at 12:15 PM, England v Wales at 1:00 PM, Northern Ireland v Latvia at 1:45 PM, and Netherlands v Germany at 2:30 PM.
