England crowned 2024 World Cup of Darts champions

England crowned themselves as the 2024 World Cup of Darts champions in Frankfurt, winning against Austria to a 10-6 scoreline.

England’s triumphant march to their fifth World Cup win provides a historic moment in World Cup of Darts history. Luke Humphries and Michael Smith became the first pair to secure victory for their respective nation since the legendary Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis did so eight years ago in 2016.

A key bounce out from Suljovic saw 60 crucial points on the floor on top of his final dart, which England punished to lead 2-0. Austria halved the score following missed darts from England but the duo of Humphries and Smith snatched the next two legs to lead 4-1 at the interval.

151 and 121 checkouts from Humphries to hold with 12 darters edged England closer to the finish line, but Austria wasn’t willing to give up without a fight. They reduced their lead to two legs heading into the second interval.

England produced a 130 and 112 checkout after the break to get themselves closer, with them coming from the incumbent world number one to put themselves one away from glory.

Smith rounded off proceedings on the double eight to round off the match.

Semi-Final Recap:

The high-scoring semi-final clash between England and Scotland saw the previous four-time winners progress to the final in a resounding 8-4 win. England hit 16, 17 and 12 dart legs to lead 3-1 before Scotland followed up with a 12 darter of their own.

Despite the one-leg cushion, Humphries and Smith’s scoring power and combination finishing helped England get a grip on the match to put themselves through. Gary Anderson and Peter Wright went seven darts into a nine and hit 7 180’s between them, averaging 101.5 and 88.3 respectively.

The formidable Austrian pairing of Suljovic and Rodriguez dispatched Belgium to reach the final, winning 8-3 overall. Belgium established a 3-1 advantage with Dimitri van den Bergh throwing a 109 checkout to win the fourth leg.

Suljovic and Rodriguez turned the game on its head. The pair clawed their way back to break the throw, elevating their game to win seven legs in a row without reply. This impressive performance booked them into their first World Cup final appearance since 2021. The Austrian duo’s excellence at attempts on the outer ring, with a success rate of 53.33%, far surpassed Belgium’s 16.67%.

It was a fantastic run from Austria where, leading into the competition, both players weren’t in the best of form, but the strong relationship between the duo gave them that extra edge over the rest of the competition.

Results:

Quarter-Finals (Best of 15)

England 8-4 Northern Ireland

Scotland 8-7 Sweden

Austria 8-7 Croatia

Belgium 8-7 Italy

Semi-Finals: (Best of 15)

Austria 8-3 Belgium

England 8-4 Scotland

Final: (Best of 19)

England 10-6 Austria