England will take on Spain in the second round of the Darts World Cup after Spain topped Group K in Frankfurt, setting up a last-16 tie between Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Cristo Reyes and Jose Justicia. Spain booked their place with a winner-takes-all shoot-out against Japan, sealing it with a 145 checkout on the bull.
That result mattered immediately because the tournament, being played from June 11-14 in Frankfurt, is now into the knockout stage and the draw has already shaped the path for several nations. Wales will face the USA after beating Thailand 4-1, while the Republic of Ireland move on to meet Poland after their own 4-2 win over Switzerland. The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Scotland, Belgium and Northern Ireland are also among the teams through to the last 16.
Spain’s progress carried an added note for Reyes, who made his first World Cup appearance since 2019. He and Justicia held their nerve when Japan’s Motomu Sakai and Haruki Muramatsu pushed the group to the wire, and the finish on the bull underlined how tight the margins were at this stage of the competition. Wales advanced with Jonny Clayton’s 71 on tops, and the USA set up their tie with Wales after Stowe Buntz and Adam Sevada beat Canada 4-2.
There was a stranger edge to Belgium’s route through Group B. Mike De Decker and Dimitri van den Bergh moved on even though Slovenia beat Hong Kong 4-2, leaving Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee needing just three legs to progress. The line between staying alive and going home was that thin in Frankfurt, where one missed leg or one checkout decided who kept playing.
England now get Spain in the second round, and the rest of the knockout draw promises the same kind of pressure. Northern Ireland, the reigning champions, take on Belgium on Saturday, the Netherlands face Sweden’s Jeffrey De Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak, Norway meet Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies, and the next round will quickly show which of the group winners can carry that form when the format stops forgiving mistakes.
