Trinidad and Tobago will make their debut at the World Cup of Darts this summer after securing a historic berth with a commanding victory at the Latin America and Caribbean qualifier. The duo of Joshua Balfour and James Walklin swept the Bahamas 10-1 in the final, with Rashad Sweeting and Lorenzo Deveaux representing the island nation. The emphatic win underlined the gap in the title match, held in Panama City.
Walklin took center stage with a string of classy checkouts, finishing 128, 96, 68 and 66 among others, steering his country to the greatest success in its darts history. It was a disappointment for Sweeting, who had hoped to return to a big stage following his appearance at the World Darts Championship a year and a half ago.
The title run did not come out of nowhere. Balfour and Walklin opened the tournament with three straightforward group-stage wins, then swept aside the Brazilian pair Roberto Wentz and Claudio Domingues 5-0 in the last 16. A tougher test followed in the quarterfinals against the defending champions from Argentina, where they survived a match dart before taking the decider against Jesus Salate and Victor Guillin. In the semifinals, they pulled away in the closing stages against Chile’s Mauricio Carcamo and George Patterson.
That winning run now earns Trinidad and Tobago a place at the World Cup of Darts, which will be played from June 11 to 14 at the Eissporthalle Frankfurt. Alongside Trinidad and Tobago, Finland and Denmark also clinched qualification last weekend. Finland will be represented by Jani Haavisto and Jonas Masalin, while Denmark will field Andreas Toft Jørgensen and Jonas Graversen.
Reigning champion Northern Ireland will defend its title later this summer. Powerhouses England, the Netherlands and Wales again rank among the favorites. With an increased prize fund of £500,000, there is more at stake than ever.
