World Cup of Darts: France and Denmark caused seismic shocks on the opening night in Frankfurt -Dlight News

The Australian duo of Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock begin their title defense with a resounding victory as Belgium overcome personal problems. The World Cup of Darts continues at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle with a double session at 11am and 6pm on Friday, live on Sky Sports Arena

Thibault Tricole inspired France to a shock victory against Northern Ireland on the opening night of the World Cup of Darts

France and Denmark caused upsets on the opening night of the World Cup of Darts, while defending champions Australia got off to a winning start and Belgium overcame personal problems.

The opening night of the revamped £450,000 tournament saw 12 group stage ties take place on Thursday, with reigning champions Australia among the high-profile nations set to triumph.

French duo Jacques Labre and Thibault Tricole enjoyed a dream debut courtesy of a thumping 4-1 win against Northern Irishmen Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney.

Labre and Tricole dominated their more experienced opponents, and a 114 pass from Tricole capped off an excellent display as he continues Northern Ireland’s recent miserable record at this event.

Danish debutant Benjamin Reus produced the performance of the evening, posting a staggering individual average of 114.7 to shock 2021 runners-up Austria in Group F.

Reus also landed four 180s and conjured up a match-winning 116 finish as he and Vladimir Andersen condemned Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez to a stunning 4-2 loss.

“I don’t know what just happened. I was completely in the zone,” reflected Reus, who took part in the Nordic Darts Masters in January.

“I was totally relaxed and everything went perfect tonight. We played against two very good PDC players so we knew we needed to find something extra tonight.”

Australia’s Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock began their defense with a shutout win over rookies Guyana.

“It wasn’t a great performance, but we got the job done,” said Australia’s number 1 Heta, who prepared for this event by winning the Players Championship title on Tuesday.

“We move on to bigger and better things tomorrow night and we hope to get the job done against Gibraltar.

“We grew up in Australia playing Pairs, so I think this format suits us. We like our chances.

“We won this title last year and it’s up to the other players to try to win us, and that’s how we’re going to approach it.”

Germany also opened their challenge with a shutout victory over Hong Kong, as Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler dispatched Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee in four straight games.

Huybrechts no longer gets along with his teammate Van den Bergh

Kim Huybrechts admits he no longer gets along with teammate Dimitri Van den Bergh

Belgium were the top seeds in group stage action on Thursday’s opening night, and Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts began their campaign with a 4-0 demolition of Finland.

After the match, Huybrechts admitted that he no longer gets along with his teammate Van den Bergh.

Huybrechts, the world number 31, told Online Darts: “It was a professional win. We did a job, but that’s about it.

“For me it’s the first time I’ve played a doubles tournament with someone you don’t get along with right now.”

Huybrechts added that there was “something personal” between him and world number 10 Van den Bergh.

Massimo Dante (left) and Michele Turetta celebrate their win over Switzerland

Krzysztof Ratajski inspired Poland to a decisive win over Portugal’s José de Sousa and debutant Luis Ameixa in their Group G opener, in a thrilling top-seven fixture.

Elsewhere, Keane Barry impressed on his World Cup debut alongside the ever-present William O’Connor as 2019 finalists Ireland beat Thailand 4-1 in their Group E opener.

Meanwhile, Michele Turetta and Massimo Dante led Italy to a historic first victory on the World Cup stage in the opening game of the night, after they fended off a late comeback from Switzerland to claim a 4-game win. 3.

The losing nations from Thursday’s games will play the third team in each group in the afternoon session on Friday, as Northern Ireland and Austria battle to preserve their qualification hopes.

England, Wales, the Netherlands and Scotland, the top four seeds, do not enter until the second round on Saturday.

The World Cup of Darts continues at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle on Friday with a double session at 11am and 6pm, live on Sky Sports Arena.