World Cup of Darts: Canada beats Hungary and reaches round of 16

FRANKFURT –

Canada improved to 2-0-0 at the £450,000 ($762,360) My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts on Friday, beating Hungary 4-1.

The twelfth seeded Canadians missed three match darts before Jeff (The Silencer) Smith stepped forward and hit the double-20 needed to win the tie and advance to the round of 16 against Sweden. The winner of that matchup will face number 2 Wales or Denmark in the quarter-finals.

Smith and Matt (Ginja Ninja) Campbell produced 93 and 126 box office hits, respectively, in the first legs. The Canadians opened the game in Group H on Thursday by beating India 4-2.

Hungary beat India 4-0 earlier on Friday.

Smith peaked after winning the bet365 North American Championship darts title in New York earlier this month. The 47-year-old from Hampton, NB, also finished second at the companion bet365 US Darts Masters, losing to world No. 3 Michael van Gerwen in the final.

Smith defeated Campbell to win the North American Championship.

The World Cup will take place on Sunday in the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt. Canada, which has reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup three times in the past.

Campbell, a 33-year-old from Hamilton, is ranked 60th in the world compared to number 69 ahead of Smith, who is making his fifth World Cup appearance.

Four-time winners England and the Netherlands, along with 2020 winners Wales and two-time champions Scotland, received a bye in the first round and open play in the round of 16.

The remaining 36 teams were split into 12 groups of three for the first round of the round robin, with the group winners advancing.

The winning team gets 80,000 pounds ($135,530).

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This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 16, 2023