Singapore has knocked New Zealand out of the World Cup of Darts in a come-from-behind, first-round win at Frankfurt, Germany on Saturday (NZ time).
Kiwis Cody Harris and Warren Parry started strongly against experienced duo Paul and Harith Lim, but some high scoring and sublime finishing by last year’s quarter-finalists lifted them to a 5-3 win.
It was a disappointing final result for the Kiwi duo in the annual pairs event, after they made a strong start in front of a rowdy German crowd, which was cheering for the two Lims, although there were a few New Zealand supporters in attendance.
Harris and Parry raced out to a 2-0 lead and looked like cruising to victory, but Singapore sparked to life, winning four straight legs, and the Kiwi pair couldn't recover.
Singapore averaged 86.21, hitting 71 percent on the doubles, compared to New Zealand's 78.5 average and 37.5 checkout percentage.
It was Harris' third time donning the silver fern for the event, while Parry was competing for the fourth time.
Despite the early exit, Harris and Parry pocked £3000 (NZ$5728) for their efforts.
New Zealand were looking to qualify for the round of 16 for just the second time in the eighth staging of the World Cup. The only time they made it out of round one was in 2015, where they beat 11th-ranked Canada 5-4.
Singapore will face either England or Czech Republic in the second round. They will be quietly confident of beating whoever they face, after famously knocking over top seeds Scotland at last year's event.
Newshub.
