Despite a last-gasp victory against group winners Denmark, the US pairing of Leonard Gates and Jules van Dongen was eliminated at the group stage.

Gates and van Dongen slipped to a disappointing 4-2 defeat against group seeds Austria, thanks largely to falling behind early.

It was a different story against the Danes, and we forged an impressive 2-0 lead against sluggish opponents. 2-0 was quickly turned into a 3-2 deficit as Benjamin Drue Rues (who recorded an average of 114.7 i his first match) and Vladimir Andersen found their feet. A superb 117 check from Gates forced a last-leg decider, and then an equally impressive 112 check from the Texan sealed the win.

Sadly, the Danish pair had already clinched their spot in the Top 16, with their third leg triumph having moved them into an unassailable position, having already beaten Austria.

Elsewhere, the Polish team of Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk set a new tournament record with a combined average of 118.10 against Lithuania. There were a few surprises in the group matches, with #10 seeds Austria being joined on the sidelines by fellow seeds Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, and Czech Republic.

Highlight of the second round looks to be the Netherlands-Belgium clash.

Full details and updates will be available from the PDC

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