Canada's Jeff (The Silencer) Smith of Hampton, N.B., is shown during CanadaÕ³ 4-1 win over Hungary at the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, Germany in this Friday, June 16, 2023 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Jonas Hunold/PDC *MANDATORY CREDIT*
FRANKFURT – Canada improved to 2-0-0 at the 450,000-pound ($762,360) My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts on Friday, dispatching Hungary 4-1.
The 12th-seeded Canadians missed three match darts before Jeff (The Silencer) Smith stepped up and hit the double-20 required to win the tie and move into the round of 16 against Sweden. The winner of that matchup will face either No. 2 Wales or Denmark in the quarterfinals.
Smith and Matt (Ginja Ninja) Campbell produced 93 and 126 checkouts, respectively, in the opening legs. The Canadians opened Group H play Thursday by defeating India 4-2.
Hungary defeated India 4-0 earlier Friday.
Smith arrived on a high after winning the bet365 North American Championship darts title earlier this month in New York. The 47-year-old from Hampton, N.B., also finished runner-up at the companion bet365 U.S. Darts Masters, losing to world No. 3 Michael van Gerwen in the final.
Smith beat Campbell to win the North American Championship.
The World Cup goes through Sunday at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle. Canada, which has made the quarterfinals of the World Cup three times in the past.
Campbell, a 33-year-old from Hamilton, is ranked 60th in the world compared to No. 69 for Smith, who is making his fifth appearance at the World Cup.
Four-time winners England and the Netherlands, alongside 2020 winners Wales and two-time champion Scotland, got a first-round bye and will open play in the round of 16.
The remaining 36 teams were split into 12 groups of three for the round robin first round, with the group winners moving on.
The winning team will collect 80,000 pounds ($135,530).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2023
