Darts World Cup: Luke Humphries and Michael Smith’s England defeat Austria in final | Darts News
A dream team of Luke Humphries and Michael Smith gave England a record fifth World Cup of Darts title and their first since 2016 with a 10-6 victory over Austria.
World Cup debutant Humphries and 2023 world champion Smith made the difference to secure England’s first World Cup triumph in eight years.
Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were the only players to have lifted the World Cup title for England since the tournament began in 2010, but Humphries and Smith created history of their own with a dominant success on German soil at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.
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Luke Humphries and Michael Smith celebrate winning a record fifth World Cup of Darts win for England
“I felt the most excitement since we won the World Cup. We really wanted it. We really believed we could win and after the first game we played we did well,” Humphries told Sky Sports.
“You have a cheat code, the number one and number three in the world against the field, it’s quite tough for everyone else, but after that first game we played and did well. We were only concerned about ourselves. We knew if we played our best we could do it and we did.
“I just hope we can come back next year and defend it together as champions.”
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Humphries and Smith share their thoughts after World Cup of Darts triumph against Austria
Smith had high praise for teammate Humphries, adding: “How good was this guy in the final? He got everything right.
“My [double] tops was non-existent and every shot I left for him, bang, bang, bang…thanks so much man, you just gave me the gold medal.”
The title favorites took a 5-1 lead over 2021 runners-up Rowby-John Rodriguez and Mensur Suljovic, with Humphries scoring 151 in the sixth leg and 121 in the next, before Austria fought back to reduce their deficit to 6 -4.
A 180 from Humphries then set up Smith, who had struggled with his doubles early on, to make double 15 before finishes of 130 and 112 from Humphries took England to the brink of victory.
Suljovic made 98 to keep the match alive, but Smith sealed victory with a double in the next game.
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Humphries hit checkouts of over FOUR tons in the final
England deserved to be crowned champions
“Nobody has been within four hands of England, they have been so dominant,” said Mark Webster, a 2010 Darts World Cup finalist for Wales.
“They were under pressure in that final but they had all the answers, including great finishes from Luke Humphries.
“They worked as a team the whole time. They were big favorites and they lived up to it. They are deserved champions.”
Tale of the Ribbon
Darts World Cup: Roll of Honor
England had already beaten Northern Ireland 8-4 in the quarter-finals and Scotland by the same scoreline in the semi-finals, with Gary Anderson angered that referee Kirk Bevins had stepped over the oche and thrown his final dart, causing confusion.
Bevins later took to social media to defend his decision, explaining on X: “Darts referees make judgements based on what we see on the oche. If someone is throwing a dart away whilst walking, the referee has to make a quick decision. If you want every dart to count, make sure both feet are behind the oche rather than walking and relying on VAR.”
Austria defeated Croatia 8-7 in the quarter-finals before beating Belgium 8-3 in the semi-finals.
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Referee Kirk Bevins ruled that Gary Anderson stepped on the oche when throwing his final dart, causing chaos in Scotland’s semi-final against England
What’s next on Sky Sports?
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The 2024 World Matchplay starts on July 13th, only on Sky Sports!
The 2024 Betfred World Matchplay will take place from 13th to 21st July at Winter Gardens, Blackpool.
The iconic summer tournament will see 32 of the world’s biggest stars battle it out over nine days for the Phil Taylor Trophy and £800,000 in prize money.
Betfred World 2024 Matchday 1
Game schedule
Saturday 13th July (7:30pm)
4x First Round
Sunday, July 14th (1pm)
Afternoon session
4x First Round
Evening Session (7pm)
4x First Round
Monday, July 15th (7pm)
4x First Round
Tuesday, July 16th (7pm)
4x Second Round
Wednesday, July 17th (7pm)
4x Second Round
Thursday, July 18 (8pm)
2x quarter finals
Friday, July 19 (8pm)
2x Quarter Finals
Saturday, July 20th (8pm)
Semifinals
Sunday 21st July (1pm)
Afternoon session
Women’s World Matchplay
Night Session (8pm)
Final
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