Luke Littler and Luke Humphries power past Scotland to put England in final
England are one win away from lifting the World Cup of Darts.
England powered their way into the BetVictor World Cup of Darts final with a comprehensive 8-3 success against Scotland.
The superstar pairing of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries had to work hard to reach the semi-finals in Frankfurt, beating Spain 8-5 in the last 16 before edging out Wales in a last-leg thriller.
However, England got off to a fast start in the last four, unlike their previous two contests, with a break in the fourth leg earning them a 5-2 advantage at the interval.
A 12-darter in the 10th leg put England on the brink and Littler needed just one match dart to take out double 20 to defeat their second successive British rival on Sunday.
“Me and Luke throughout the game, we felt relaxed. It felt a lot more natural. We weren’t trying too hard,” Humphries told Sky Sports.
“It felt like it was well within our range. We didn’t do anything explosive and just played in that rhythm that we have been searching for the last two years. I think we have finally found it.”
Scotland had been one of the most in-form teams of the competition following their whitewash over Norway and an 8-5 victory against the Republic of Ireland.
They only had two darts at doubles in the first session as both Littler and Humphries averaged over 100 to stamp their authority with a dominant performance.
Littler added: “I’m so relaxed. If we are going to lift the trophy, we’re going to have to do this all over again in an hour’s time.”
The Netherlands ensured the top two seeds will meet in the final after another devastating display to dump out defending champions Northern Ireland.
Michael van Gerwen was at his sparkling best once again and was ably assisted by world number three Gian van Veen as they cruised to an 8-2 success.
A double break put the Dutch into the ascendancy as Van Gerwen, who averaged 107.04 in the last-four clash, pinned a brilliant 125 finish to go 4-0 up.
Northern Ireland finally got on the board in the next before the Netherlands went into the interval with a 5-2 advantage.
Van Gerwen and Van Veen maintained their high quality after the break and reeled off the next three legs to set up a mouth-watering contest against England.