{"id":5976,"date":"2022-06-17T22:42:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T22:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2022\/06\/column-hr348-england-and-aussies-shine-scotland-and-belgium-not-so-much\/"},"modified":"2024-02-14T22:18:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T22:18:20","slug":"column-hr348-england-and-aussies-shine-scotland-and-belgium-not-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2022\/06\/column-hr348-england-and-aussies-shine-scotland-and-belgium-not-so-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Column #HR348 ENGLAND and AUSSIES SHINE\u2026 SCOTLAND and BELGIUM – NOT SO MUCH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Friday, June 17, 2022
\n<\/strong>Column HR348<\/strong>
\nENGLAND and AUSSIES SHINE… SCOTLAND and BELGIUM – NOT SO MUCH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today,\u00a0darts fans got their\u00a0first look at #1 seed England and an answer to the question, should one ask, \u201cCan Michael Smith continue to be the best player on earth?\u201d\u00a0 That title (bestowed by Wayne Mardle) was spot on.\u00a0 England delivered with a nifty 5-1 win over the Czech Republic – with a 98.86 average that led the day.<\/p>\n

The reemergence of Simon Whitlock as \u201cThe Wizard\u201d was a surprise – giving Australia a shot at the Cup. \u00a0Scotland was average, actually workmanlike, which is not nearly enough, and Belgium showed flashes.<\/p>\n

Latvia 5-1\u00a0<\/strong>(91.78)\u00a0<\/strong>over Hungary.\u00a0 WOW!<\/strong>\u00a0 Latvia\u2019s Madars Razma lit up the stage with 2-T80s (one to leave 40), a T04 & 72 finish \u2013\u00a0then, set up the wining leg with T62 for 143 followed by Nauris Gleglu\u2019s T25 to leave 18 which Razma took out on d4.\u00a0 This was Latvia’s best team play so far with 91+ average.<\/p>\n

Poland\u00a05-4<\/strong>\u00a0(85.13) over USA (81.49).\u00a0 It was there for the taking for the USA, but their combined finishing was the worst (9 for 41) since the ODC played himself.\u00a0 The Polish Eagle, Krzysztof Ratajski, was flying on a broken wing.\u00a0 Teenager Sebastian Bia\u0142eckivs bailed Poland out when his only T80 left 40 which Ratajski took. \u00a0His double followed Danny Baggish just missing<\/em> a T60 finish with a single 20.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sweden 5-2<\/strong>\u00a0(88.33)\u00a0over\u00a0<\/strong>South Africa.\u00a0 Sweden notches its first World Cup win EVER as Johan Engstr\u00f6m\u00a0led them to victory.\u00a0 Lots of smiles by Mr. Stefan Lord and Sweden\u2019s Sweetheart Ms. Annette Richardson – as they tip a few in victory.\u00a0 At 4-1 down, had South Africa hit just half of their missed doubles they would have been up 4-1.\u00a0 But they didn’t.<\/p>\n

Portugal 5-3\u00a0<\/strong>(80.39) over Italy.\u00a0 Italy came from 1-4 down to make it close thanks to the player with the worst throw in darting history – Portugal\u2019s V\u00edtor Jer\u00f3nimo.\u00a0 His throw would make a bomb defuser nervous.\u00a0 He did take three outs, but Jose de Souza did the scoring –\u00a04-T80s.\u00a0 Italy’s\u00a0still never won a World Cup match. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

#5 Australia 5-2<\/strong>\u00a0(90.48).\u00a0 Many (like the ODC) questioned the Aussie\u2019s starting off with Simon Whitlock.\u00a0 The Aussies had a chance for the first World Cup 9-darter when d18 hit the wire.\u00a0 Bummer. \u00a0Whitlock was super,\u00a0delivering the T17 finish for the first hold and a 3-1 lead. \u00a0Heta’s got to step it up as he had some uncharacteristic wayward darts at critical times.<\/p>\n

#1 England 5-1\u00a0<\/strong>(98.86)\u00a0<\/strong>over\u00a0the\u00a0<\/strong>Czech Republic.\u00a0 The Brits played well as a pair, setting up d10 (4 times) and d20 once.\u00a0 Wade actually missed d10 with 3 –\u00a0first time in 30 years, according to Wayne Mardle.<\/p>\n

#8 Scotland 5-1\u00a0<\/strong>(88.38) over Hong Kong. \u00a0The score is misleading\u00a0as Hong Kong had darts to be 3-nil up instead of 2-1 down.\u00a0 Then, they had darts in the decider for the leg, so this was an \u201cif I’da\u201d for Hong Kong. \u00a0Lee Lok Yin is an outstanding young player. \u00a0Jon Henderson played okay but Peter Wright was spotty.<\/p>\n

#4 Belgium 5-2\u00a0<\/strong>(91.71)\u00a0<\/strong>over Japan. \u00a0At 4-1, Belgium looked like the best team of the day.\u00a0 Then they faltered. \u00a0Kim Huybrechts loves the World Cup stage having the highest singles average of 121.97 against Paul Lim.<\/p>\n

Starting on Saturday the format will take a new direction.\u00a0 Singles play\u00a0rules in second round, quarter and semi-final play: two best of seven legs singles matches. \u00a0If the scores are tied at 1, a best of seven legs doubles will settle the match.\u00a0 It takes two points to win.\u00a0 Each team will nominate an \u201cA\u201d and \u201cB\u201d player as \u201cA\u201d plays \u201cA\u201d, etc.<\/p>\n

Unlike the other World Cup of Darts (WDF) this one has money involved. \u00a0First round losers collected \u00a34,000 each.\u00a0 On Saturday, losers will collect \u00a38,000 with the winners reaping at least \u00a316,000.<\/p>\n

Saturday AM<\/u><\/p>\n

#7 Germany<\/strong>\u00a0(Germany – Gabriel Clemens & Martin Schindler) vs. Denmark (Vladimir Andersen & Andreas Toft J\u00f6rgensen). \u00a0Germany was up and down in pairs.\u00a0 Denmark’s Anderson played well.\u00a0 Like this one to go to doubles with\u00a0Germany winning 2-1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#6 Northern Ireland<\/strong>\u00a0(Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan) vs. New Zealand (Ben Robb & Warren Parry). \u00a0Brendan Dolan played poorly in pairs while Gurney had his moments. \u00a0Ben \u201cBig Rig\u201d Robb, who throws exactly like Eric Bristow with pinkie out, could win his singles – the match is in veteran Parry\u2019s arm. \u00a0Kiwi\u2019s melt under pressure.\u00a0 Northern Ireland to advance.\u00a0 \u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#3 Netherlands<\/strong>\u00a0(Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode)\u00a0vs. Republic of Ireland (Steve Lennon & William O\u2019Conner).\u00a0 Like the Netherlands to take this 2-0 – unless William O\u2019Conner returns to former form.\u00a0 Doubt he will. \u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#2 Wales<\/strong>\u00a0(Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton)\u00a0vs.\u00a0Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez).\u00a0 Wales set on returning the Cup. \u00a0Austria has two chances: \u201cslim and none.\u201d\u00a0 2-nil win for Wales.<\/p>\n

Saturday PM<\/u><\/p>\n

#1 England<\/strong>\u00a0vs. Latvia (which will have a problem wining a leg).\u00a0 Latvia\u2019s Madars Razma has a chance for a singles win. \u00a0Latvia – no chance. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#8 Scotland<\/strong>\u00a0(Peter Wright & Jon Henderson) playing average should beat Portugal (Jos\u00e9 de Sousa and V\u00edtor Jer\u00f3nimo). \u00a0Scotland 2-0 as Portugal\u2019s V\u00edtor Jer\u00f3nimo incapable of winning anything.\u00a0\u00a0Jos\u00e9 de Sousa could scratch out a win to make it look close.\u00a0
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#5 Australia\u00a0<\/strong>(Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock) vs Sweden (Daniel Larsson and Johan Engstr\u00f6m).\u00a0 Going with Australia 2-1 as Heta picks it up from pairs.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

#4 Belgium<\/strong>\u00a0(Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts) vs. Poland (Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Bia\u0142eckivs). \u00a0Depends on teenager Sebastian Bia\u0142eckivs for Poland.\u00a0 Ratajski\u2019s broken wings will heal, and the Eagle will soar.\u00a0 Belgium too much firepower – wins 2-1.<\/p>\n

All seeds settled into top 16.\u00a0 Let the fun begin.<\/p>\n

See ya tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Stay thirsty my friends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today,\u00a0darts fans got their\u00a0first look at #1 seed England and an answer to the question…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[17],"class_list":["post-5976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-howie"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":632,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1",486,520,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=280%2C300&ssl=1",280,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1",486,520,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1",486,520,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1",486,520,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?fit=486%2C520&ssl=1",486,520,true],"rpwe-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/darts-image-feature-random-3.jpg?resize=45%2C45&ssl=1",45,45,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Howie Reed","author_link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/author\/howie-reed\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Today,\u00a0darts fans got their\u00a0first look at #1 seed England and an answer to the question...","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":17,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"howie-reed","display_name":"Howie Reed","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/111howie.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/111howie.jpg"},"first_name":"Howie","last_name":"Reed","user_url":"http:\/\/www.dartoidsworld.com","job_title":"","description":"Astute, often controversial, and always humorous, the Old Dart Coach, Howie Reed (a former rodeo cowboy and advertising executive), is heralded as the Dean of Darts Chroniclers - the most prolific and widely followed writer ever about our sport. He goes back decades with the legends and knows where the skeletons are buried (just ask any of the ADO and WDF old-timers!). Here are four well-known facts about the Old Dart Coach: 1) he is a Republican, 2) he loves the ladies, 3) he can drink most anybody under the table, and 4) he throws darts as bad as Dartoid."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6177,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5976\/revisions\/6177"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5976"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}