"It's on them to try and get past us": Australia duo Heta and Whitlock heap pressure onto rivals at World Cup of Darts
PDCSunday, 18 June 2023 at 11:30
Defending champions Australia continued their march towards another World Cup of Darts win with a hard fought win over Croatia in the last 16.
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After the match, both Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock spoke to Online Darts. "Tough game. They played really well. We had to pull some big ones out and we did. Hats off to Damon, you played superb tonight," Whitlock recapped. "I'm just glad I turned up tonight. It really meant a lot," adds Heta.
As mentioned, Australia won the World Cup of Darts twelve months ago. Despite being the defending champions though, Heta and Whitlock aren't feeling the pressure. In fact they're keen to apply that pressure to their rivals.
"I think it means more to the other guys to try and beat us," Heta reiterates. "Pressure is on them because we've got Belgium. I don't know if both of them individuals have won a World Cup have they? So yeah it's on them to try and get past us I think."
"I think we're favourites in my eyes," adds Whitlock. "We play a lot of pairs together in Australia and we're reigning champions, I think we're favourites to be honest."
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Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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