South Korea played host to the 2025 WDF World Cup, as 47 nations descended on Asia to continue a darting tradition that’s been running for almost half a century.
It all began back in 1977 in London, just after the silver jubilee of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Back then, it was a much smaller affair, but the golden era legends were all there – Eric Bristow, Leighton Rees, John Lowe and Alan Evans. Now the tournament has a decidedly more global feel, with nearly 50 nations competing and the sport looking more popular by the day.
After a few busy days of dramatic action in the capital Seoul, the nations celebrating top honours were Wales in the Men’s event and Ireland in the Women’s. Ladies first: Ireland retained their crown from Denmark two years ago, thrashing Australia 9–1 in the final. The quartet of Katie Sheldon, Robyn Byrne, Aoife McCormack and Denise Cassidy were simply too strong, romping home as convincing champions.
Team Wales – David Davies, Llew Bevan, Liam Meek and Mark Challenger – kept up their proud tradition, nearly 50 years on from winning the very first edition. This time it was far tighter, but they edged out a spirited Japanese foursome 9–7 to take gold.
As always, there were plenty of other trophies up for grabs, with Individual, Pairs and Youth events scattered across a packed week of competition. The “Men’s Singles” is now officially called the “Open,” and this year it went to Franko Guiliani, who beat Australia’s Raymond Smith 7–4 in the final. The Austrian arrow-smith Guiliani might not be a household name – sounding sounds more like a mafia boss doubling up as a New York pizzeria owner – but he was the standout performer and fully deserved his title.
The Women’s Singles crown went to the wonderfully named Lovely Mae Orbeta, who brushed aside American veteran Paula Murphy 7–2. Whether “Lovely” is a nickname or a statement of fact, the Filipino lived up to it, proving herself the class of the field.
Italy caused a surprise in the Men’s Pairs, with Alex Bassetti and Daniele Petri edging Dutch duo Jimmy van Schie and Danny van Trijp 6–5 in a thriller. The Japanese team of Kosuzu Iwao and Shiori Sato matched that in the Women’s Pairs, denying England’s Laura Turner and Steph Clarke in another deciding leg.
Youth darts once again underlined the global strength of the sport – not that anyone needed reminding when the reigning PDC World Champion is still a teenager. Canada’s Peyton Hammond whitewashed Ireland’s Aidan O’Hara to claim the Open Youth gold, while Turkey’s Ayşegül Karagöz beat Finland’s Iida Lanko 5–2 to win the Girls’ title.
The Youth Pairs were shared out too: Ireland’s Aidan O’Hara and Jack Courtney clinched the Open crown against Turkey, while Chinese Taipei (Taiwan when not on the sporting circuit) won their first ever WDF World Cup gold, thanks to Yung-En Tsai and Yi-Ching Yang, who toppled Finland’s Lanko and Lara Oravainen. In the Mixed Youth, the Netherlands’ Deacon Swanepoel and Anastasia Michel beat South Africa’s Kendji Steinbach and Kimberley Kersbergen to round off the set.
All told, it was a true festival of darts, played in great spirit. Players from an astonishing 22 nations went home with medals. As Richard “Little Rich” Ashdown quipped – when it comes to stats, he’s got you covered.
Congratulations to Japan and Ireland, who topped the overall tables for Men and Women respectively, adding to their team and individual successes. The Netherlands, as possibly expected, were the standout nation in Youth.
So, take a bow all who competed under South Korea’s skies. Amateur darts is strengthening once again, with thousands still dreaming of their moment in the spotlight.
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Images: WDF
