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The World Cup of Darts is a chance for eccentric arrowsmiths from faraway lands to establish themselves on the scene. England, represented by Phil The Power Taylor and Adrian Lewis are the defending champions when the 2016 tournament gets underway later this week, live on Sky Sports, but the event is about so much more than that.What should we expect? We answer the key questions ahead of the festivities in Frankfurt which starts on June 2 with the semi-final and finals taking place on June 5. Who are the favourites? Raymond van Barneveld Michael van Gerwen won the World Cup in 2014 In its five-year existence, England and the Netherlands remain the only two teams to have won the World Cup of Darts with Phil The Power Taylor and Adrian Lewis winning three times.The pair from the Potteries, both ranked in the worlds top four, will enter as defending champions after last years victory, while the Netherlands duo of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will provide the obvious competition once again. Third seeds Scotland, runners-up last year, boast Premier League duo Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton so will be expected to make the latter stages.Interestingly, it is worth pointing out that the Netherlands first World Cup triumph in the inaugural 2010 competition didnt include current world No 1 Van Gerwen. Back in those days, Van Barneveld was paired with Co Stompe - remember him? The result with Barney was arguably Stompes best achievement before he was left behind by emerging Dutchmen like Van Gerwen.Who could spring an upset? Kim Huybrechts will team up with older brother Ronny to represent Belgium There is plenty of danger among the seeded nations and even some dark horses elsewhere. Northern Ireland are fourth seeds on account of world No 21 Brendan Dolan and No 28 Daryl Gurney, while Gerwyn Prices excellent form makes Wales a threat.Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson might be Australias best pair in years, while Belgiums Huybrechts brothers are always in sync at the oche.Outsiders may include the Republic of Ireland who have William OConnor and Mick McGowan, while John Parts inclusion for Canada will be interesting. And who knows if a shock challenger will emerge and put their nation on the darting map?Which unsung nation will become Peoples Champions? Gibraltars Dyson Parody and Manuel Vilerio will make a triumphant return Gibraltar have emerged as cult heroes over past years thanks in part to the magnificently named Dyson Parody, who is a genuine darts player rather than a mockery of a home appliances device.He is the greatest darts player ever to emerge from Gibraltar, which admittedly isnt an accolade to hang his hat on yet. But Parody, the 31-year-old born and bred within spitting distance of the famous monkeys on the Rock, is emerging as a viable contender.This year he became the first Gibraltarian to make the quarter-finals of a European Tour event, beating Jelle Klaasen and Max Hopp along the way. He missed three match darts before losing to Van Gerwen. In the World Cup, he will team with Manuel Vilerio and they may well find themselves with more fan support than they bargained for. Gibraltar won their first ever game at the World Cup of darts and celebrated in style Are the hosts any good? Max Hopp (Picture by Lawrence Lustig) Germany will stage the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time, bringing the worlds top players to Frankfurt for the second year in a row. Only the first edition of the competition, held in Englands north-east, has been outside of Germany.This year, the German darts will be handed to Max Hopp and Jyhan Artut who equalled their nations best-ever finish last time with a quarter-final loss to eventual winners England. Yes, thats correct. England eliminated Germany from a World Cup quarter-final!Hopp, the 19-year-old, is rapidly improving and his promise makes a mockery of his No 45 ranking. His partner Artut is 39 and, teaming together for the second time, the unseeded Germans might fancy going beyond the final eight for the first time.Will a cult hero like Cristo Reyes emerge? Reyes has a fan-base but could be an improving contender Hardcore darts fans may have admired Reyes mediocre European Tour performances for years but, for many people, last years World Cup was an eye-opener to the standard of Spanish arrows.Hailing for Tenerife, it remains unconfirmed that Reyes learned his trade in local establishments known as The Red Lion or the The White Horse accompanied by a full English. Reyes made his name largely in the 2015 World Championship, forcing Gary Anderson to muster the second-highest average of the whole tournament in order to eliminate him.The exotically named Spaniard is leading the charge for Iberian darts and impressed sufficiently in last years second-round exit to Belgium to suggest that he and Antonio Alcinas will be worth watching again.Watch the World Cup of Darts from June 2-5, live on Sky Sports. Also See: WATCH: England win World Cup World Cup pairs confirmed Sky Bets darts odds Darts on Sky Nike Vapormax Cz .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Vapormax Sleva . LOUIS -- St. http://www.vapormaxlevne.cz/vapormax-plus-boty/vapormax-plus-a-erna-sleva.html .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Vapormax Plus Pánská . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Vapormax Flyknit Levně . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. PITTSBURGH -- Down to his final strike and his team trailing by a run with two outs in the ninth, St. Louis pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter told himself to just find a pitch he could handle.When the fastball from closer Tony Watson ended up right down the middle and not up and away as Watson hoped, Carpenter pounced. His solo homer -- a major league record 15th by a St. Louis pinch-hitter this season -- tied it and sent a jolt through the Cardinals. A home run each from Randal Grichuk and Jhonny Peralta followed, and St. Louis rallied for a stunning 9-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.Weve got a team that I think the best way to describe it is a dangerous team, Carpenter said. Weve got a team that I dont think anybody wants to match up with, especially in a postseason scenario. Its a fun team to play on. We never quit, and tonight was a good example of it.St. Louis blew an early five-run lead and the Pirates were a pitch away from ending a seven-game losing streak when Watsons 0-2 fastball turned into Carpenters 18th home run. An All-Star two years ago as a setup man who moved into the closer role when Mark Melancon was traded to Washington at the deadline, Watson gave up as many homers in the ninth as he did during the entire 2015 season.Were not playing good ball and to go out there and (have) guys fight back and be a strike away and serve up four more runs, its tough to swallow, Watson (2-4) said after his third blown save since replacing Melancon.Yadier Molina went 4 for 5, including a first-inning grand slam for St. Louis. Mike Mayers (1-1) tossed a scoreless eighth for the win, and Seung-Hwan Oh worked around a solo homer to Jung Ho Kang in the ninth for his 16th save.The Cardinals finished with five home runs in all, including Matt Adams 436-foot drive over the seats in right field that plopped into the Allegheny River on the bounce. The comeback allowed St. Louis to remain a game in front of the New York Mets for the second wild card in the National League.Im speechless, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. Just, I love how this team competes, right down to the last out. Having a guy like (Carpenter), who hadnt felt quite right, to be able to come into that situation, and then riight after that .dddddddddddd. Im at a loss.Jung Ho Kang had two homers for Pittsburgh and Jordy Mercer hit a two-run double in the fifth as the Pirates took advantage of some sloppy defense by the Cardinals to overcome an early five-run deficit. Watsons implosion, however, sent Pittsburgh to its eighth straight defeat.The Pirates came in reeling during their longest skid in two years, one that dropped them to the fringe of playoff contention. Opponents have outscored them 47-22 during the slide, including a 12-6 setback on Monday night in which the Cardinals simply overpowered Pittsburghs struggling pitching staff.It looked like more of the same early on Tuesday. The Cardinals loaded the bases against Ryan Vogelsong and Molina cleared them with his first grand slam since 2012, the 25th straight game the Cardinals have homered, a club record.MARTINEZ FINALLY ARRIVESSt. Louis rookie outfielder Jose Martinez made his long-awaited major league debut when he entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. The 28-year-old son of former major leaguer Carlos Cafe Martinez grounded out to third in his first plate appearance after more than a decade in the minors.It was good to see him get that chance, Matheny said. This is a good day for him. Long time coming.TRAINING ROOMCardinals: RF Stephen Piscotty was initially held out of the lineup to give his aching left wrist a breather. Piscotty took a pitch off the wrist on Monday. Postgame X-rays were negative and Piscotty doubled as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Pirates: Pittsburgh held C Francisco Cervelli out of the lineup a day after he experienced discomfort in his left hand trying to block a pitch.UP NEXTCardinals: Mike Leake returns to the rotation after a stay on the disabled list while battling a case of the shingles. Leake is 9-5 with a 3.28 ERA in his career against Pittsburgh but is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA this season.Pirates: Rookie Jameson Taillon will face the Cardinals for the first time in the series finale. The 24-year-old has a 2.80 ERA over his last 10 starts and pitched six innings of one-run ball last week against Milwaukee. ' ' '