World Cup of Darts: Sweden beats Canada

FRANKFURT –

Sweden beat Canada 8-5 on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts for the first time.

Canadians Jeff (The Silencer) Smith and Matt (Ginja Ninja) Campbell were tied with Dennis Nilsson and Oskar Lukasiak after 10 legs.

But legs of 15, 14 and 15 darts from the Swedish duo saw them pull away from the 12th-placed Canadians, with Nilsson nailing a double-16 to complete the win.

Canada defeated India 4-2 and Hungary 4-1 to advance to the round of 16 of the 40-nation competition in Germany, which includes a prize pool of over $760,000.

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.

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

Canada has reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup three times in the past.

Four-time winners England and the Netherlands, alongside 2020 winners Wales and two-time champions Scotland, received a bye into the round of 16.

Canada and the other 35 teams were split into 12 groups of three for the first round of the round-robin, with the group winners advancing.

The World Cup will conclude on Sunday in the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.

The winning team will collect approximately $135,000. Smith and Campbell earned just over $15,000 for reaching the round of 16.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on June 17, 2023