Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert effortlessly qualified for the second round of the World Cup of Darts on behalf of the Netherlands. The duo did not give up a leg against Brazil in Frankfurt: 5-0.
The World Cup of Darts is a national competition where the darters compete against each other as a team. Michael van Gerwen would actually form the Dutch couple with Noppert, but withdrew.
The brand-new winner of the Premier League decided to have surgery on his right wrist, because he has been suffering for a while from a tingling sensation in the arm with which he throws his arrows. As a result, he misses the World Cup of Darts, among other things.
With Van Duijvenbode as a replacement, the Dutch had nothing to fear from the Brazilians Artur Valle and Diogo Portela. The latter still opened with a 180, but the South Americans turned out to be much too unstable to really make a fist.
The Netherlands will play in the next round against Ireland, which was too strong for Canada 5-2. The only country tournament on the PDC calendar lasts through Sunday. The Netherlands took the title in 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2018.
Last year the victory went to the Scottish duo Peter Wright and John Henderson. They then eliminated Van Gerwen and Van Duijvenbode in the quarterfinals.