The Republic of Eire suffered one of many largest shocks within the match’s historical past on the World Cup of Darts in Frankfurt, dropping to Chinese language Taipei.
Ninth seeds William O’Connor and Kean Barry appeared set to keep away from an upset after combating again from 3-1 all the way down to power a decider.
However Tenglie Pupo and Lu Ansheng regained their composure and cruised to a 4-3 victory to advance as Group E champions and beat Lithuania 4-2 earlier on Friday.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra handy video participant
Chinese language Taipei makes its first Darts World Cup look, beating Eire to advance to the knockout rounds
In the meantime, Northern Eire prevented any surprises by defeating Switzerland 4-3 and superior to the final 16.
The match’s sixth seeds, Josh Locke and Brendan Dolan, secured high spot in Group B with a 4-1 victory over South Africa on Thursday.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra handy video participant
Bruno Stockli scores beautiful 170 at World Cup of Darts, incomes standing ovation from Northern Eire rivals
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, host Germany, unseeded Italy, Poland and Sweden additionally advance.
Prime seeds England, Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands will mechanically advance to the second spherical and compete on Saturday.
England confronted France of their first match, whereas defending champions Wales have been drawn towards Croatia. Third-seeded Netherlands will face fifth-seeded Belgium, whereas Northern Eire will face seventh-seeded Germany.
Advertising content | Live broadcast on Sky Sports now
Watch Sky Sports activities reside now with no month-to-month or daytime membership contract. Immediately watch reside Premier League and EFL matches, plus darts, cricket, tennis, golf and extra.
