Limerick arrowsmith off to winning start at World Cup of Darts in Germany

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THE Republic of Ireland team, featuring Limerick man William O'Connor, got off to a winning start in the group stages of the 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts on Thursday, in Frankfurt, Germany.

2019 runners-up Republic of Ireland opened their Group D account with a 4-2 success against Gibraltar. Cappamore man O'Connor is teaming up with Meath man Keane Barry for the event.

Barry followed up a 121 finish in the opening leg with an 11-darter to wrap up proceedings for the Irish pair.

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O'Connor and Barry return to action on Friday evening when taking on China in their second group fixture. The Rep of Ireland match is the fourth one up in a session which begins at 6pm Irish time. The tournament is live on Sky Sports.

The Republic of Ireland are 8th seeds in the tournament and will be hoping to make it out of their group.

William O'Connor was a member of the Ireland team, along with Steve Lennon, which finished as runners-up in the World Cup of Darts in 2019.

Thirty eight-year-old O'Connor, nicknamed 'The Magpie', has a current PDC ranking of 47.

This year's World Cup of Darts will see 40 nations going head-to-head at the Eissporthalle until this Sunday, June 15, with group and knockout stages featuring Doubles matches throughout the pairs event.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - the top four ranked nations based on lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking - will enter the tournament in Saturday's second round.

The remaining 36 nations have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin phase - including 12 seeded nations - from which each group winner will progress to the last 16.

The losing nations from Thursday's opening games play the third team from each group in Friday's afternoon session, before the decisive final group games, including the Rep of Ireland, are played on Friday evening.

Following the conclusion of the round-robin phase, the draw for the last 16 will take place on Friday evening, as England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland enter the fray in Saturday's second round.

The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will then take place during a bumper double session on Sunday, with the schedule of play for the remainder of the tournament to be confirmed in due course.

The 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts will be broadcast on Sky Sports for viewers in Ireland.

Second Group Matches (Thursday's Losing Team v Nation 3)