Luke Humphries and Michael Smith left one of their opponents in tears after winning the World Cup of Darts. Humphries and Smith delivered the goods to secure England’s first World Cup triumph since 2016.
Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were the only players to have lifted the title for England since the tournament’s inception in 2010. But the last two world champions created their own history in Frankfurt with a 10-6 success over the Austrian team of Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez in the final.
The runners-up sportingly congratulated Humphries and Smith on stage before Rodriguez, 30, was overcome with emotion. He told Sky Sports’ Love The Darts podcast: “I was really disappointed after the final.
“I was crying [for] a long time. In the hotel, my daughter cried, ‘Daddy, the guys with the white shirts took the trophy’. It made me so emotional because I wanted it so badly.
“It was the third World Cup final I played in and I’ve lost all three of them. In future, nobody is talking about second places, they are always talking about the champions.
“I want to be there. I’ve had a chance three times in the World Cup now. I wanted it so badly.
“I wanted it for me, I wanted it for the country, for my family. It was so hard to take in that moment.”
A few days on, Rodriguez, who is fighting to retain his PDC Tour card, says the pain of defeat is beginning to ease. He added: “After two days now, I can say the England players, number one and number three in the world, they smashed it in the final. Luke Humphries had such a good game, big finishes, good scoring.
“I was a little bit tired in the final but you can see those are world champions and have a winning mentality. I have to learn that. But at that moment on Sunday night, it was devastating and painful.”
