England Claims Sixth World Cup of Darts Title
Luke Humphries (left) and Luke Littler have become the third English duo to win the World Cup of Darts, securing England's record-extending sixth title. The pair defeated the Netherlands 10-5 in the final held in Frankfurt.
As the top seeds, Littler and Humphries overcame Wales and Scotland earlier on Sunday to reach the best-of-19-legs final against second seeds Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen.
Following a surprising second-round exit to hosts Germany last year, which raised questions about their partnership, the English duo delivered an impressive performance this year. They averaged over 104 and recorded 15 finishes exceeding 140 to dominate the Dutch team.
"I'm absolutely delighted - that's the best we have played all tournament," Littler told Sky Sports.
"That's what we needed to do. We can't do it every game, its hard. There have been challenges but we got the job done.
"We didn't do anything wrong last year, we just came up against a better team. This year we had to win together, not on our own.
"I'm proud of us - we won together."
The match began with a tightly contested battle among the world's top four players, with both teams holding throw until Littler secured a break by hitting double 10 just before the first interval.
England maintained their throw after the break, and Humphries followed with an 87 checkout to break again, establishing a three-leg lead.
From that point, the Premier League champion and runner-up maintained control. Littler extended England's advantage to 6-2 with a successful double tops finish as the team’s average rose to 114. However, Van Veen responded with a maximum and held throw with a 14-dart leg.
Humphries recovered from a minor setback when a missed setup left Littler needing but missing a bullseye for a break. Humphries then hit double four to put England ahead 7-3 going into the second break.
The Dutch team gained some hope when Littler missed a 78 checkout, allowing Van Veen to complete a 64 finish and reduce the deficit. Van Gerwen also maintained throw with composure.
However, after Van Gerwen scored a remarkable 174, he bust on an attempted eight checkout, allowing England to break again.
England then required 41 to win, and Humphries secured the world title—his second and Littler's first—with a sequence of nine, 16, and double eight.
"Michael [van Gerwen] was unbelievable tonight - he is back and playing unbelievable darts," Humphries told Sky Sports.
"We knew we needed to take our chances. You give Holland any hope and they'll take it away from you.
"We were a bit poor against Wales but we ran with the luck we had in that game."
England Overcomes Wales and Scotland to Reach Final
After a surprising second-round defeat at last year's World Cup, England appeared at risk of an early exit once again.
In their quarter-final match on Sunday, Littler and Humphries fell behind 0-4 against Wales and trailed 2-5 at the break.
England responded strongly in the second session, with Humphries erasing the deficit before Littler hit double tops to take the lead for the first time.
Wales’ Nick Kenny forced a deciding leg after Littler caught up, but missed an 84 checkout, allowing Littler to hit double two and secure victory.
England started well against Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies in the semi-final. The Premier League players held a 5-2 lead at the interval after breaking in the fourth leg. A 12-dart leg in the tenth put England on the verge of victory.
Littler needed only one match dart to hit double 20 and complete a second win against British rivals on Sunday.
Scotland, seeded fourth, had entered the semi-finals in strong form, having defeated Norway 8-0 and the Republic of Ireland 8-5.
However, Anderson and Menzies had only two darts at doubles in the first session, while both Littler and Humphries averaged over 100.
