Germany have delighted the home crowd in Jena at the World Cup of Darts by surging into the second round after a 5-3 victory over Canada as the first round continues to come towards its conclusion.
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The latter took an early break but Germany surged back and took the crowd with them as Max Hopp returned for double 10 to make it 1-1.
But these breaks continued with a superb sequence of ton plus checkouts as Smith hit first for Canada with a 107 to make it 2-1 before Clemens hit back with 118 to break straight back at 2-2.
Hopp followed that up though with the first hold of the match pinning double 16 to make it 3-2. This proved a catalyst for the home heroes as they went 4-3 ahead and after Matt Campbell missed three darts to hold, it was Hopp again who turned into the hero winning 5-3.
Before that, it was relief for Northern Ireland's duo of Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney as they scraped past Hong Kong in a 5-4 victory surviving multiple match darts in the process.
The team lead by Kai Fan Leung were keeping pace early on and causing Northern Ireland problems by making it 2-2 and these problems were made worse for Gurney and Dolan as Hong Kong went one away with a break at 4-3.
But in the end, it was relief for the fifth seeds as they survived five match darts to scrape through as experience told defeating the Hong Kong pairing 5-4.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
🇩🇪 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗗 𝗚𝗢 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗗! 🇩🇪
The party has started in Jena as Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens defeat a strong Canadian duo to reach Round Two!
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