The opening tie of the night in Germany saw the newcomers race into a 3-0 lead until Koltsov took out 72 to strike back.

However, it wasn't enough as Baba hit a double 20 in a 96 checkout to seal Japan's last-16 spot.

South Africa's Devon Petersen and Carl Gabriel overcame Spain's Jesus Noguera and Jose Justicia in a 5-4 thriller as the nations enjoyed a final-leg shoot-out.

"It's amazing - I'm lost for words," said Gabriel, per the PDC website.

"It didn't go that well last year but to go through to the next round is massive.

"The feeling was good and I was a bit more relaxed because I knew what to expect after last year, and Devon spoke to me through the entire game and calmed me when I got a bit anxious.

"It's one of my dreams to be on stage playing a Singles match and that's coming to fruition tomorrow, so I'm excited."

Portugal's Jose de Sousa and Jose Marques came from 2-0 and 3-1 down before snatching a dramatic 5-4 win over 2019 finalists Ireland in an entertaining contest.

Austria's Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez came from a leg down to defeat the Philippines' Lourence Ilagan and Christian Perez 5-1 as they moved into tomorrow's second round.

Northern Ireland survived five missed match darts from Hong Kong's Kai Fan Leung and Man Lok Leung as Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan edged through to a second-round tie with Portugal.

Host nation Germany delighted the Sparkassen Arena crowd as Gabriel Clemens and Max Hopp defeated Canada's Jeff Smith and Matt Campbell 5-3.

England's James Wade and Dave Chisnall overcame an early scare from Brazil's Diogo Portela and Artur Valle before opening their bid to win England's fifth World Cup title with a 5-2 success.

Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts closed out the day with a comprehensive 5-2 win over Greece.

All eight second-round matches are set to take place tomorrow.