"For me, it would be the biggest dream": Poland duo Ratajski and Bialecki look to harness dark horse moniker to World Cup of Darts success

Tipped by some as an outside shout for the title this weekend in Frankfurt, it was a good start for Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Bialecki as they took down Switzerland 4-2 to advance through Group E.

Poland now play this afternoon against Republic of Ireland in a session where Wales and Scotland are the leading lights and they will aim to progress to Sunday's final day. But given their team is now one with good success off the World Cup stage, they could soon prove to be ones to watch at the World Cup of Darts.

"It was a goal for us. It was a very close match, very nervous and very hard, but we won and that's the most important thing," said Ratajski to the media.

It is a Poland team full of confidence after Bialecki in particular shone on the Development Tour. So much so that given his ranking rise on the main tour means that he won't be able to play anymore on the secondary tour. So although he will reap the rewards e.g Grand Slam and World Championship spots, he won't play any further part.

But it certainly stood him in good stead for the World Cup of Darts. "That Development Tour weekend was great for me. Before it started, I didn't expect that I could win three tournaments in a row," he said.

After that tournament, when I saw the results and the level I played in all the matches, I got a lot of confidence in my game. Of course, it's different playing on the ProTour or Development Tour compared to playing on stage, but the experience I've gained over the last few years is important and it probably helped me today.

Ratajski spoke about being given the mantle of being an outside shout to go all the way in Frankfurt and he admitted that they both do hold that confidence that they can shoot for the moon and aim for the stars and part of that is the fact that Bialecki in particular is in such good form.

"Of course. We are both in good form right now. Sebastian has won many Development Tour tournaments and many matches, and I've been playing well on the ProTour. I think we can play much better than we showed today, so expect tomorrow will be much better."

Sebastian Bialecki said that it is the 'biggest dream' and to go from a country that has never been in the latter stages to perhaps having the biggest chance to do so, it is very much one to savour.

"For me, it would be the biggest dream. In Poland's history, we've never been in the last eight of this tournament. Now we're in the last 16, and the best possible achievement would be to win the tournament and lift the trophy. It would be an incredible moment."

But it is a growing sport itself in Poland as Ratajski added, he said that there are now academies for young players and a sport which mainly has a World Series in the past and is a growing market and is growing with these two also.

"It's still growing in Poland. It's much more popular than it was two years ago. Now there are many places where you can play tournaments every day of the week. Academies for young players are starting as well, so darts is really growing in Poland.

Also it is a full circle moment for the team as Bialecki of course the younger of the two grew up with Ratajski as the kingpin of Polish darts and now with him on the rise they play together.

"It's great fun. From the beginning, when I started playing darts, it was a dream to play with Krzysztof. Now we're playing together and it's amazing," he said.

While for Ratajski also, it isn't something he massively expected when they first met when Bialecki was a teenager. "It was many years ago when we first met. I don't think either of us imagined, 10 or more years ago, that we would one day be playing together for Poland.

"Now we're playing together, so it's really great. It's a good generation of Polish darts players."

But they also admitted that it isn't too alien a prospect for the duo to play pairs as they do in Poland, but of course, preparing for it is a different animal. "It's definitely different from playing singles matches because you spend a lot more time waiting between visits.

"In singles, you only wait for one player to throw before it's your turn. Here, sometimes you have to wait for three players to throw before you step up again.

"As for preparation, it's difficult because most of the time Krzysztof and I are playing ProTour or Development Tour events as individuals, so it's hard to prepare specifically for team events. But in Poland we sometimes play pairs tournaments as well, so it's not completely new for me. I enjoy it and it's great."