Gibraltar darts at WDF Europe Cup in Faroe Islands

Gibraltar Darts has been competing at the WDF Europe Cup in the Faroe Islands, fielding teams in both the Open and Ladies categories.

The tournament has also marked Gibraltar’s return to the Ladies team competition for the first time since 2006.

Gibraltar’s Open team consists of captain Nico Bado, Juan Carlos Muñoz, Ethan Pulham and Kirei Walker, with Darren Olivero as manager. The Ladies team is captained by Erika Ward alongside Isabel Dominguez Heras, Bryanna Tosso and Tarika Ward, with Helen Olivero as manager.

Both teams began their participation in the team events, with Gibraltar’s Open side drawn in Group 3 alongside Germany, Lithuania and the Republic of Ireland.

Gibraltar opened with a 9-4 defeat against Germany before producing a much closer contest against Lithuania. The Open team pushed their opponents close before eventually losing 9-7.

Their team campaign concluded against the Republic of Ireland, who recorded a 9-1 victory over Gibraltar.

The Ladies team faced a demanding group containing Wales, Germany, Austria and Estonia. They opened their campaign with a 9-0 defeat against Wales before producing an improved performance against Estonia, losing 9-4.

Austria were next to face Gibraltar, recording a 9-0 victory. Gibraltar were also due to complete their team programme against Germany.

Attention then turned to the individual and pairs competitions.

In the Open singles, Nico Bado progressed after a closely contested 4-3 victory against Iceland’s Gunnar Olafssen. The Gibraltar captain advanced to face Mark Yeats of Northern Ireland in his next match.

Juan Carlos Muñoz also progressed following another tight encounter, defeating Slovakia’s Lubos Pivarc 4-3 to reach the last 64.

Kirei Walker was eliminated following a 4-1 defeat against Latvia’s Roberts Bulko, while Ethan Pulham faced Austrian former professional Rowby-John Rodriguez, losing 4-0.

Gibraltar’s participation in the Ladies pairs competition came to an end with both pairings defeated in their opening matches.

Bryanna Tosso and Isabel Dominguez Heras lost 4-0 against Norway’s Rachna David and Veronica Simonsen, while Tarika Ward and Erika Ward were beaten 4-0 by the Republic of Ireland pairing of Katie Sheldon and Robyn Byrne.

With the Ladies competition concluded, Gibraltar’s attention remained on the Open singles, where Bado and Muñoz had both progressed from their opening matches.