New Zealand has been eliminated from the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Cup of Darts after falling to Canada 2-0 in their second-round match in Salzburg Austria on Sunday (NZ time).
The NZ pair of Haupai Puha and Cody Harris failed to win their singles matches to Jeff Smith and Matt Campbell respectively, which was enough for the Canadians to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016.
Canada went into the match as favourites having toppled fourth seeds Northern Ireland in the first round, led by Smith - a British Darts Organisation world championship finalist - while New Zealand overcame a lacklustre Denmark side.
The second round format differs from the first as there are two best of seven legs singles matches and If the scores are tied, the best of seven legs doubles match will settle the match.
In the first singles match, Smith gave Canada an early advantage as he defeated Puha 4-1, sealing victory with a 100 finish.
That meant Harris had to beat Campbell to second the second round tie into a deciding match, and the Auckland thrower got off to a strong start as he raced out to a 2-0 lead.
But Matt Campbell produced a stirring fightback to win four straight legs to take a 4-2 win and put Canada into the last eight.
"We're thrilled to win," says Smith. "To be through without having to play the doubles match is awesome and it shows what a partner I have in Matt.
"We've never been in the semi-finals before but I've got a talented player alongside me. Matt can beat anybody and we'll back ourselves in the doubles if it's needed."
Canada will face Belgium in the quarter-finals after they cruised past Latvia 2-0.
Top seeds England, along with Australia, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands all advanced to the last eight with 2-0 wins over Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Greece and Spain respectively.
Meanwhile defending champions Scotland were eliminated by Wales after losing 2-1.
For Puha and Harris, they will receive £4,000 (NZ$8,000) each for reaching the round of 16 after beating Denmark 5-2 on Saturday.
New Zealand's best run at the tournament came last year when they reached the quarter-finals before losing to Japan.
Puha will remain in Europe as he will represent New Zealand at next month's PDC World Darts Championships, becoming the 14th Kiwi to do so.
