Alistair Gordon
Shock upsets, tungsten tension and a breakthrough star. Day 1 of the MyDieselClaim.com World Cup of Darts did not disappoint. In a packed Eissporthalle Arena in Frankfurt, the stage was set for a night to remember.
Last nights results:
Switzerland 3 - 4 Italy
Poland 4 - 3 Portugal
Czech Republic 4 - 2 Singapore
Spain 2 - 4 South Africa
Ireland 4 - 1 Thailand
Northern Ireland 1 - 4 France
Belgium 4 - 0 Finland
Canada 4 - 2 India
Austria 4 - 2 Denmark
Germany 4 - 0 Hong Kong
Australia 4 - 0 Guyana
Latvia 4 - 2 New Zealand
The superb handlebar moustache of Massimo Dante was the main talking point of the opening match, as the Italians put on an impressive display against the 16th seed. However, Switzerland weren't the only seed casualties on the night as shortly after Spain lost to South Africa and the French team shocked Northern Ireland in a humiliating defeat for the Ulster men.
There was some bizarre scenes in the Ireland match as Thailand player and commentator's nightmare, Thanawat Gaweenuntawog bumped into William O’Connor twice when stepping back to do a practice ‘air throw.’ Whilst O'connor didn't look best pleased at the time, it clearly didn't effect his performance as the Irish pair cruised to victory.
The new format for this World Cup is designed to showcase more competitive matches. This worked for the most part last night, however the Australia-Guyana and Germany-Hong Kong games were clearly mismatches. Another drubbing came in the Belgium match, where Dimitri Van Den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts put their differences away from the board aside, in what was a dominant display against the Finns.
But none of that really matters, as tonight was all about 24 year old, Benjamin Reus. In what was the highest quality match of the night, the young Dane had a dream World Cup debut against the Austrians. Individually, Reus averaged a whopping 114.70, which included four 180s and a superb 116 checkout to close out the match. If the youngster can keep that standard up for the rest of the tournament, the sky's the limit for the Danes.
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