Tuesday 6 June 2017 10:52, UK
Adrian Lewis and Dave Chisnall avoided any upsets as the holders England comfortably beat South Africa at the World Cup of Darts.
Lewis coasted past Devon Petersen recording a 4-0 win in the first game to set them on their way.
South Africa had an early chance to break the throw in the first leg but Petersen failed to take it and Lewis took full advantage before then breaking his opponent to make it 2-0.
The Englishman was untroubled from then on, reeling off a further two legs to make it 1-0.
Chisnall never needed to get out of third gear as he raced into a 2-0 lead over Deon Oliver in the second tie. The South African looked like taking a scrappy third leg but missed four darts at a double before Chisnall hit double five for a 3-0 lead. The St Helens man ensured England didn't drop a leg on the night by winning the final leg to set up a quarter-final with Austria.
"It's a great thrill to play for your country and I have got a great partner which makes it easy for me," said Chisnall. "I'm enjoying it and we are relaxed and can go far in the tournament. It's Austria next and they are a tough team who played well tonight but we are both good enough to beat them."
The Netherlands struggled past USA to set up a tie with hosts Germany on Sunday. Michael van Gerwen made hard work of beating Darin Young before prevailing 4-2 in the first game of the tie. Raymond van Barneveld fell to a surprise 4-2 defeat to Larry Butler to take it to a doubles decider. However, the Dutch duo composed themselves and dominated the decider to avoid an upset.
No 8 seeds Belgium booked their place in the quarter-final with a 2-0 win over Greece. Ronny Huybrechts was in magnificent form to seal their progress, beating John Michael 4-0 with an average of 115.62 making it the highest average by a Belgian on television. Brother Kim had beaten Ioannis Selachoglou to give them a 1-0 lead despite missing 17 darts at a double in the tie.
Singapore's remarkable run continued as they edged out Spain with a 2-1 victory. Backed by a vocal German crowd Paul Lim thrashed Antonio Alcinas 4-0 to put the surprise package ahead but Cristo Reyes took the game to a doubles decider after easing past Harith Lim. Singapore controlled the doubles running out 4-0 winners to the delight of the Frankfurt crowd. They will face Belgium in the quarter-final.
Russia stunned Australia to set up a quarter-final tie with Wales. Aleksandr Oreshkin got his country off to a good start, beating Kyle Anderson 4-2 to give the underdogs hope of an upset. Simon Whitlock levelled things up with a 4-1 win over Boris Koltsov before the Russians put on a masterclass in the deciding doubles game to win 4-0 and spark jubilant celebrations from the pair.
Hosts Germany kept the home fans happy after eliminating Brazil. Martin Schindler dispatched of Alexandre Sattin comfortably before Max Hopp sent the home fans into raptures with an impressive win over Diogo Portela that included a 161 checkout.
Wales battled past Republic of Ireland as they came out on top of two tight games to win 2-0. Gerwyn Price staggered over the finishing line in his tie with Mick McGowan to win 4-3 as the pair missed 15 match darts between them. Mark Webster confirmed their place in the next round as he hit the bullseye for a 4-3 win over William O'Connor.
Austria defeated Canada to progress as Mensur Suljovic got them on their way after whitewashing John Part. Rowby-John Rodriguez, cutting a frustrated figure throughout, won a scrappy affair against John Norman Jnr to complete the job.
The World Cup of Darts resumes on Sunday from 1pm, live on Sky Sports, then again from 7pm.
Saturday's second-round results
Belgium 2-0 Greece
Wales 2-0 Republic of Ireland
Australia 1-2 Russia
Singapore 2-1 Spain
Austria 2-0 Canada
Germany 2-0 Brazil
England 2-0 South Africa
Netherlands 2-1 USA
