Wales were beaten by eventual champions England in a narrow 8-7 quarter-final clash at the World Cup of Darts, with the two Lukes proving too strong for Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny.

England suffered a shock exit to Germany in last year’s tournament, but this time around Littler and Humphries were in imperious form, dispatching Spain in the round of 16, Wales in the quarter-finals, Scotland in the semi, and Netherlands in the final.

Wales, having breezed past Lithuania and Thailand in the group stages, then beat the United States in the first round of the knock out stages with an average of 89.32.

Kenny and Clayton improved on that performance against England, averaging 93.58, leading 0-4 and 2-5 at points in the contest.

England flew out of the traps in the second session, with Humphries wiping out the deficit before Littler pinned double tops as the pair went ahead for the first time.

Kenny forced a deciding leg after Littler reeled in the big fish, but missed 84 to snatch victory as Littler found double two to win.

England then put away the Scottish duo of Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies in more dominant fashion, taking the match 8-3.

With the top two seeds meeting in the final, England took a 3-0 lead in their opening match in Frankfurt, before their unseeded opponents broke back in the fifth leg.

The two pairs went leg for leg until Littler found a double six for a 6-4 lead, and the world’s top two ranked players went on to close out the match.

“That was probably about six out of 10. We knew it was going to be that way, that we wouldn’t average what we do in the Premier League,” Humphries told Sky Sports.

“I’m proud of the way we fought back. It wasn’t the worst performance in the world. It wasn’t our best, but having got through our first game we can relax and play how we know we can tomorrow.

“We’ve had a good test there, so hopefully that pays dividends tomorrow.”

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