World Cup of Darts Saturday Afternoon Session Preview | Wales face Australia’s conquerors as Gary Anderson makes history for Scotland

Wales face the team that sent Australia crashing out of the World Cup of Darts on Saturday afternoon, with Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny meeting the United States in the last 16, while Gary Anderson begins a record 12th Scotland campaign as the last 16 gets underway in Frankfurt.

Clayton and Kenny topped Group C without Gerwyn Price, beating Lithuania 4-1 and Thailand 4-1 to keep Wales moving in Frankfurt. The sharper performance came in their opener, where Wales finished four from four on the doubles and Clayton pinned a 146 checkout.

The USA have already changed the shape of the draw. Stowe Buntz and Adam Sevada opened Group G by beating Australia 4-3, then followed it with a 4-2 win over Canada. Damon Heta and Adam Leek were left bottom of the group after losing both matches.

Wales have handled the first stage of their post-Price campaign. The USA arrive with Australia’s scalp, two wins from two, and the confidence of having survived a deciding leg on opening night.

Scotland enter the tournament against Norway, with Anderson moving clear of Peter Wright at the top of Scotland’s World Cup appearance list.

The two-time world champion begins his 12th campaign in the event alongside Cameron Menzies, who makes his World Cup debut. Their first opponents, Cor Dekker and Kent Joran Sivertsen, came through Group L with back-to-back deciding-leg wins.

Norway beat Finland 4-3 in their opener, then edged Hungary 4-3 to top the group. Neither match came with a huge average, but Norway have already been through two last-leg finishes before facing one of the seeded nations.

Anderson’s return gives Scotland one of the main stories of the afternoon session. Menzies adds a new dynamic to the pairing after replacing Wright in the Scottish line-up, with Scotland starting against opponents who have already found a way through tight matches in Frankfurt.

Ireland begin the afternoon session against Poland at 12:15, with William O'Connor and Mickey Mansell back on stage after topping Group D.

O'Connor and Mansell beat Singapore 4-1 in their opener, then defeated Gibraltar 4-2 to finish the group with two wins. O'Connor produced a 122 checkout against Singapore and later averaged 91.73 against Gibraltar, even though Gibraltar finished that match with a slightly higher 91.97.

Mansell’s first World Cup campaign for the Republic of Ireland now moves into the knockouts. The partnership with O'Connor has already delivered two wins, and their reward is a Poland team that came through Group E without a defeat.

Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Bialecki beat Portugal 4-1, then followed it with a 4-2 win over Switzerland. Poland averaged 87.03 in their opener and 87.92 in the group decider, making them one of the steadier qualifiers from the opening two days.

France and Latvia meet in the second match of the afternoon. France came through Group I by beating China 4-3 and Austria 4-3, knocking out Mensur Suljovic and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez despite Austria’s strong opening-night win.

Latvia topped Group J after beating Italy 4-2. Madars Razma and Valters Melderis then lost 4-3 to Trinidad and Tobago, but their opening win proved enough to send them into the last 16.