ATTENTION from 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts obviously falls mainly on the England duo Luke Littler and Luke Humphries who stormed to success in Frankfurt on Sunday. Defeated finalist the Netherlands may have slumped to (10-5) defeat in the final but their impressive new partnership also generated it’s fair share on interest and debate. But, the main headlines never tell the full story of a fabulous event, so are a selection of other stories and themes that emerged during the latest World Cup of Darts staging and that should be noted for posterity.
A valiant defence was staged by Northern Ireland. Neither Josh Rock nor Daryl Gurney have been at the very best recently but the champions were determined not to go down without a fight. Deciding leg wins over Belgium and then Latvia ensured that the ensured that a semi finals place that matched their seeding was acheived.
INTERESTED IN GLOBAL DARTS? Checkout DartsWorld’s Dedicated Area
Speaking of Latvia surely they fulfilled the age old role of battling underdog/ fairytale for this year edition. Firstly, coming out of Group J, that contained the up and coming Italy as well as the surprise package of Trinidad and Tobago, was no gimme. The Eastern Europeans then edged out France in a thrilling last leg decider. The defending Champions awaited them in the quarter finals.
The pairing of 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.
DARTS PLAYER MERCHANDISE AND COLLECTABLES AT OUR DARTSWORLD STORE!
The Champions then fell to the renewed Netherlands pair and their battling defence came to a close.
Another unusual double at the World Cup were what could be called the stepping up of the lower ranks. Both Wales and Scotland – for differing reasons – replaced a legendary name with a debutant from lower on the PDC rankings ladder. In both cases the newcomer stepped up to the task.
MORE ELITE DARTS COVERAGE: Check Out Our Devoted PDC Area
Wales’s Nick Kenny has long been known to possess top line talent among darts insiders, but has seemed to fall short at the top level. The newcomer played a strong part in Wales’ run out of their group before later going down to the soon to be Champions in a decider.
Much the same could be said for Scotland. The long serving Gary Anderson – in who’s absence John Henderson once stepped up – was to be partnered by Cameron Menzies who has attracted headlines for reasons other than his supreme darts talent. Again, the combination of the older head, to command a little focus and respect, and the talent with a point to prove worked effectively for the Scots.
In their quarter final Scotland put out Republic of Ireland’s William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell – who had their own player swap narrative – 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.
Perhaps you preferred the Mongolian debut, Trinidad and Tobago’s fine win or the battling Swedes again going deep into the event. But, we are sure you would agree the World Cup of Darts 2026 certainly told myriad stories with entertainment and drama at almost every turn. Here’s looking forward to 2027.
Images: PDC / Sebastian Doppstadt
