Wales lost a thrilling World Cup of Darts final in Frankfurt, with the duo of Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price bested 10-9 by the Northern Ireland team of Darryl Gurney and Josh Rock.

Price and Clayton were bidding to won their third World Cup title in five years, but were pipped to the championship by newcomers Gurney and Rock.

The Northern Irish pair were playing together in pairs darts for the first time – an element of the tournament that saw English favourites Luke Humphries and Luke Litter struggle and eventually beaten in the round of 16 by the German team.

Rock’s scoring power was the difference in a tight contest, with the 24-year-old’s consistency in hitting 180s a real highlight of a tremendous match.

Having been 3-1 and then 5-3 down, Price and Clayton, rallied to lead 7-5 at one point.

At one point, it looked like Gurney and Rock would rue missed chances to go 4-1 and 6-3 up, as Clayton checked out a brilliant 142 to keep Wales in the contest.

Even leading 9-8, the Northern Irish pair missed four attempts to secure the trophy and saw the match go into a deciding leg. Throwing first, Northern Ireland never gave Wales a sniff, with Gurney’s 180 and double eight finish sealing the victory with an 11-dart leg.

“Me and Daryl said when we team up for the World Cup, we’ll win it and we did. We’ve won for our country, we’ve made history,” said Rock.

Gurney, 39, added: “Josh’s power scoring was amazing, and I was there to clean up the finishing. I’ve never been so proud of this man and myself.”

Typical of the Welsh pair, they were magnanimous in defeat, staying on the stage long after the final dart was thrown, soaking up the atmosphere and congratulating the winners.

“That last leg,” Clayton said. “Oh my god, did they get out of the blocks!”

“Gezzy carried me to be fair, I struggled starting off. We gave it our all, but to them two, congratulations.”

“We started off really slow and were trying to get into the game. It was really difficult, but we got ourselves in front,” Price added.

“The leg to go 8-5 up was a crucial leg for us and then we find ourselves 8-7 down which is a testament to the [Northern] Irish team.

“Josh’s scoring was unbelievable. We couldn’t keep up with him.

“At the beginning of the tournament, I predicted a Wales-Northern Ireland final, I just got who would win wrong. Fair play to them, they were fantastic.”

Clayton also paid tribute to his teammate and team captain, Price, who missed last year’s competition due to injury.

“We get on so well, it is nice to see him back in Germany!” Clayton joked.

“He’s just class isn’t he! I wouldn’t want anyone else to be captain and to have a teammate like this, it’s just awesome.”

This result also sees both Welshmen qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts held in Wolverhampton this autumn. Price, a three-time winner of the event in 2018, 2019, and 2021, missed the tournament last year.

“That was one of my aims this week [to qualify] and it was probably why I played so rubbish in the semi-final, knowing that that would get me in the Grand Slam,” Price explained.

“I relaxed a little bit in the final, but things didn’t really seem to happen, whereas these boys [Gurney and Rock] were hitting treble 20s for fun.

“We were up against it but we got it to 9-9 and gave ourselves a chance but they were a little bit better than us today and they deserve it.”

With two excellent teams making the final an epic encounter, it made for a stark contrast to the evening before, when the favourites – the English duo of Luke Humphries and Luke Littler – were beaten 8-4 by the home German team.

Humphries and Littler are ranked numbers one and two in the world, but could not adapt to doubles play, as the German pair of Martin Schindler and tournament debutant Ricardo Pietreczko took advantage of a string of missed doubles and some sloppy play.

Price and Clayton, on the other hand, are used to playing together and adapting to each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Even with the experience of playing together, the two Welsh darts masters have to accommodate each other and their unique styles.

For example, Price’s most common outshot is double 20, whereas Clayton prefers the more traditional 32 route.

“100% we have to change our games,” Clayton revealed to Sportin Wales.

“If I’ve got 92 left, and Gezzy is obviously coming next, do I think ‘well, I’m going for the treble 20 and 32, or do I try and set it up for Gezzy?’

“It’s the heat of the moment and you have to think about what your opponents are on. Usually, you do try and leave your partner his favourite double.”

Speaking after the final, Price gave his thoughts on why the English team struggled.

“When we all first turned up, and I’m not just saying this because they lost, but the only two players that didn’t turn up together, didn’t sit together, didn’t play as a team,” Price said.

 

“I’m not saying who they are… but they didn’t win their first game.

“You need to be as a team, you practice together, you sit together. It’s a team ethic and it didn’t show with England. They’re great players individually, but you need to be a team.”

Earlier in the tournament, Price and Clayton looked in supreme form as a pair averaging 96.43 and 99.66 in dominant 8-2 and 8-4 victories over the Philippines and Hong Kong.

With a semi-final against the in-form Netherlands team who had shocked the tournament with an 8-0 victory over third-seed Scotland, Wales struggled to find their feet early in the game.

Coming back from 4-2 down, Price and Clayton showed their class, winning six of the next seven legs to progress 8-5.

Sadly, despite a creditable average of 92.95 in the final, it was not enough for the pair to win a third World Cup title.

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