"We can definitely do damage this year" - Ireland ready to make World Cup of Darts impact after Lithuania win

Ireland have completed their first group match at the 2024 World Cup of Darts. William O'Connor and Keane Barry defeated Lithuanian pairing Darius Labanauskas and Mindaugas Barauskas 4-2.

Lithuania took the early lead, but it was still Ireland who eventually prevailed. "The heat was unbelievable! The heat was more of a battle than anything else honestly," a sweating O'Connor reflected in conversation with Online Darts post match. "Last year was bad, and the year before. The World Cup in general is just so hot."

"They both plyaed well there. They started out really strong," Barry assesses of the challenge posed by Lithuania. "We obviously fought back well and began to find our best game in the second half of the match."

Barry, the world number 51, has been starting to play a great level in recent months. "I didn't have the best start to the year, I just wasn't winning," he recalls. "Pro Tours can be a lonely place when you're not winning so it's nice to be back."

Ireland reached the final of the World Cup of Darts in 2019 (lost to Scotland), but in every other participation they went out in the first or second round. "We're a great team and I think we can definitely do damage this year," insists Barry.

"Everytime you're in a tournament there's an opportunity," adds O'Connor, who has been there every time since the first edition in 2010. "If he plays his A game and I play my A game, we'll prove a challenge for anyone."