William O’Connor has branded the World Cup of Darts format “absolute rubbish” after the Republic of Ireland survived an early scare to open their 2026 campaign with a 4-1 win over Singapore in Frankfurt. O’Connor and Mickey Mansell had to come through the group stage while the top four seeds enter directly in the last 16, with England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland all protected from the short best-of-seven-leg opening matches.
Ireland recovered from a dramatic start in Group D after Phuay Wei Tan took out 170 to put Singapore ahead. O’Connor levelled on double 14, later produced a 122 checkout on double seven, and Mansell sealed the win on double 10. The result gave Ireland control of their group before facing Gibraltar, but O’Connor’s strongest post-match comments were aimed at the tournament structure rather than the scoreline.
“In a short format, first to four, you could pick two boys out of the crowd who could turn around and win this,” O’Connor said in his post-match press conference. He believes every nation should begin at the same stage. “I think everyone in the World Cup should be in the same draw. If it is a World Cup, every single person in the world should be in the same draw. England, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, I do not care who they are. First round.” His verdict on the protected route for the top seeds was blunt: “It is either a World Cup or it is not. I do not agree with that. I think that is absolute rubbish. You would not see it in any other sport. I do not think it should be in darts.”
O’Connor also called out the seeded nations directly: “Put those boys into the same round as us. See how they do under pressure, because we were under serious pressure here today.” Mansell, meanwhile, framed the victory as a job done. “Winning is winning, end of story,” he said, with Ireland now holding the advantage before Gibraltar enter the group. Mansell also stressed the value of avoiding a Friday double-header with no points on the board: “The advantage is winning the first game. We knew we had to go up there and the priority was to win today and give ourselves a wee bit of breathing room.”
Mansell’s first match in Republic colours carried a wider story after his switch from Northern Ireland. He said the move had drawn more attention outside the camp than inside it. “It was a lot made of it by everybody else. From my point of view, I am Irish.” The opportunity first came up earlier this year, and Mansell said his response was immediate. “Why would you turn it down? I am Irish. I have had an Irish passport for 30 years. I feel I am Irish. I am Irish. It is just a set of circumstances that had to change.” He also made clear that O’Connor had to be comfortable with the partnership before anything else moved forward. “Whenever I knew I was in contention, the first person I asked was Willie. There was no point in asking anyone else, because if he did not want to play with me, if he said he was not happy, then that was it.”
