Luke Littler and Luke Humphries (Photo PDC)
England duo Luke Littler and Luke Humphries romped to World Cup of Darts glory in Frankfurt, as the pair defeated the Netherlands 10-5 in the final to claim their nation’s record-extending sixth trophy last night.
Littler and Humphries overcame Wales, Scotland and the Netherlands at the Eissporthalle to take home the World Cup trophy with aplomb – a first for Littler and second for Humphries, who won alongside Michael Smith in 2024.
England’s final against the Netherlands was the first final between the top two seeds at the World Cup for six years, and Dutch duo Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen struck the first blow, taking a 2-1 lead courtesy of Van Gerwen’s 113 outshot.
However, Littler and Humphries produced an incredible performance from this point forward, taking four legs on the spin to lead 5-2 with a combined average of over 110.
Continued relentless scoring between the Premier League finalists kept the Dutch pair at arms length, as a 12-dart leg from Humphries sealed a relentless victory for England and their sixth World Cup crown.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” professed Littler, who has won every Premier title on offer in 2026.
“That’s the best we’ve played all tournament and that’s what we needed to do. We’ve had tough challenges over the past two days, and this was our best performance.
“Obviously I’ve won every big title so far this year, but I couldn’t have done it without Luke. He’s been brilliant.
“Me and Luke know we can win. It’s not easy at times, but we’ve got this winning feeling and we can come back next year to try and do it all again.”
England’s 104.77 pairs average was the highest-ever in a World Cup of Darts final, with both Littler and Humphries producing scoring averages in excess of 123.
“I’m proud of us, because we worked hard and we won together,” confessed Humphries.
“This one is up there because there was so much pressure on our shoulders. That expectation is so hard, and we do feel it.
“Hopefully if I’m lucky enough to partner him for many years in the future, we will try and win as many as Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor did!
“We’re here to win as a team, we won as a team, and I’m really, really proud!”
The world number one and two, who battled past Spain in their opening match on Saturday, edged through an extraordinary contest against Wales to triumph 8-7 in the quarter-finals.
Although Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny raced into a 4-0 lead, the Welsh duo squandered three darts at double to lead 6-2, and England rallied to level the match at 5-5.
With the match tied at 6-6, Littler conjured a marvellous 170 checkout to go one away, and despite Wales taking the match to a deciding leg, the World Champion wrapped up a 15-dart leg to confirm England’s spot in the semi-finals.
There, the top seeded nation took on two-time World Cup champions Scotland, brushing them aside 8-3 with a dominant display.
Littler and Humphries produced their first ton-plus average as a pair against Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies in a comfortable display, affording the Scots just four darts at double across the contest.
Despite bowing out in the showpiece, the Netherlands reached their first final since 2018 with a dominant brace of displays on Sunday.
Van Gerwen and Van Veen swept aside host nation Germany 8-4 with an imperious performance, producing the second-highest knockout-stage average of 102.68 since the World Cup’s format change in 2023.
The Dutch dominance continued into the semi-finals, with the world number three and four battering previous champions Northern Ireland 8-2.
Van Gerwen and Van Veen produced a clinical display, striking 53% of their double attempts compared to Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney’s combined 18% success rate, propelling the Netherlands to a second consecutive ton-plus average to reach the final.
“I really enjoyed my weekend here with Michael, and hopefully there’s many more to come,” said Van Veen, who reached his first World Cup final in his second appearance in Frankfurt.
“They played phenomenal darts tonight, especially in the final.
“We missed a couple of chances to really get into this game. I’m really proud of the way we played this weekend, but it just wasn’t to be tonight.”
Van Gerwen was one match away from a record-equalling fourth World Cup trophy, but fell short at the hands of a seemingly-unstoppable England.
“I think me and Gian did okay, but I think we can do a lot better than this,” assessed the three-time World Champion.
“If there’s two players you don’t want to give confidence to, it’s these two guys. They’re number one and two in the world and it was a tough challenge, but you need to keep believing in your ability.
“I never give up. We always gave 100%. It is what it is. You have to take it on the chin and move on.”
Earlier in the day, Northern Ireland had reached the semi-finals after denying Latvia in a pulsating contest that was decided by a moment of magic from Rock in a last-leg decider.
After Madars Razma and Valters Melderis burst into a surprise 4-1 lead, last year’s champions reeled off four consecutive legs including a stunning 161 from Gurney to take the lead.
Nevertheless, two match darts were spurned in two separate legs before Latvia remarkably took the match to a last-leg decider, and despite Melderis leaving his partner 24 after a timely 140, Rock struck a jaw-dropping 144 checkout to secure victory for Northern Ireland.
In the other quarter-final, Scotland put out Republic of Ireland’s William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell with an 8-5 triumph to reach their third semi-final in four years.
Anderson and World Cup debutant Menzies strolled into a 5-1 lead, before fending off an Irish fightback and completing the match with an average just shy of a ton.
RESULTS
Quarter-Finals
Scotland 8-5 Republic of Ireland
England 8-7 Wales
Northern Ireland 8-7 Latvia
Netherlands 8-4 Germany
Semi Finals
England 8-3 Scotland
Netherlands 8-2 Northern Ireland
Final
England 10-5 Netherlands
