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World Cup of Darts 2025 | Whitewash win sees New Zealand join Belgium, Netherlands & Ireland as victors on opening night

Originally posted on Dartsnews.com | Last updated Jun 13, 2025 9:35 AM ET

The first night of action at the 2025 World Cup of Darts has been completed this evening in Frankfurt, with New Zealand Rounding out the session with a very impressive whitewash win over Finland.

Earlier in the evening, host nation Germany opened their World Cup of Darts campaign with a solid performance as Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler combined to claim a 4-2 victory over Portugal.

Pietreczko set the tone early, hitting double 10 to give Germany a 1-0 lead. However, a miscalculation from José de Sousa left Portuguese partner on the awkward double 1. De Sousa made amends by confidently finding the target to level the match at 1-1.

Schindler restored Germany’s lead by checking out 25 points in three darts, and soon after, capitalised on two missed darts at double from Portugal to extend the lead to 3-1 via double 2. Portugal fought back by breaking the German throw thanks to a clean checkout on double 20, but it proved only a brief resurgence as Germany held on for the win.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands sent out a strong message in their opener, easing to a 4-0 whitewash win over Italy without dropping a leg.

Gian van Veen got the Dutch off to the perfect start by landing double 8 for the opening leg, and Danny Noppert followed up with clinical finishing, including a dart at double 16 to put his side 3-0 up. Van Veen returned to wrap up the match with a composed checkout on double 6, as the Dutch duo barely gave the Italians a sniff, sealing a statement victory.

Belgium, meanwhile, overcame an early scare to defeat Latvia 4-1, with Dimitri Van den Bergh producing a composed performance to guide his side through.

The underdogs struck first, breaking Belgium’s throw for a 1-0 lead. Latvia then missed a crucial dart at double 12, allowing Van den Bergh to clean up 57 points and level the tie at 1-1.

The Belgian star continued his run by checking out 83 via double 16, and his momentum didn’t stop there — Belgium added a third straight leg after finishing 60 points with ease.

Van den Bergh sealed the win by landing the double 20, completing the comeback and securing a 4-1 victory.

Also winners on the night were the likes of Ireland, Poland, Malaysia, Sweden, Austria, Hong Kong, Czech Republic and Japan.

This article first appeared on Dartsnews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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