Second Heaven for Wales in Frankfurt
Team Wales represented by Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price claimed their 2nd World Cup of Darts title after beating Scotland 10-2 in the Final. The Welsh pair claim £80,000 in prize money after beating Belgium 8-7 in the Semi Finals and Sweden 8-5 in the Quarters.
Wales lost the World Cup of Darts Final last year to Australia, but have put things right in a strong showing in the Final against fellow Red Dragon player Peter Wright and Gary Anderson for Scotland.
Former Premier League winner Jonny Clayton impressed in the Semi Final victory against Belgian duo Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts. The Ferret found a 100 finish in the crucial 15th and final leg, hitting double tops with his second dart to put his country into their 5th World Cup of Darts Final. "
"We got off to a quick start and kept the lead. I don't think Gary and Peter played their best, but we did our job and kept the lead.”
“The belief in each other, the confidence in each other, works and when they go, they go pretty - tonight was a good night. Gerwyn is my best buddy on tour and he's an amazing skipper."
Wales defeated Sweden 8-5 in the opening match on the Final Day of action in Frankfurt, hitting 7 180s with Gerwyn Price also including a Shanghai 120 checkout.
Both Price and Clayton found checkouts of 116 in the Final at the Eissporthalle, with the Iceman also hitting a finish of 104 in the 6th leg to break through. The Welsh duo averaged 96.18 in the Final including 3 180s and a 58.82% checkout rate.
World Number 4 Price continues what has been a fantastic turnaround since the World Darts Championship, adding the World Cup in 2023 alongside 2 Euro Tours and a top of the table finish in the Premier League. Both Team Wales members claim their 2nd World Cup of Darts crown, having also won the competition back in 2020 when beating England 3-0 in the Final.
“It's a brilliant win. It's a little bit flattering to win by that margin, but we're thrilled to win. I think I struggled a little bit in that game and Jonny won it for us - he was fantastic, he was clinical.
"Gary hates him but I love him! I've carried him a few years, but he carried me - what a player."
Team Scotland represented by World Number 2 Peter Wright and former back-to-back World Champion Gary Anderson fell one game short at the Eissporthalle, with Snakebite finding 2 100+ checkouts in Scotland’s 8-5 victory over host’s Germany in the Semi Finals. The Scottish duo earlier on Sunday whitewashed France 8-0 in the Quarter Finals, missing just 7 darts at double over 8 legs.
Both Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will return to action at the end of the month, with the Interwetten European Darts Matchplay (ET10) coming up next at the Arena Trier in Germany.
Images courtesy of Jonas Hunold/PDC
By Harry Masterson
2023 World Cup of Darts Results:
Last 16:
France 8-4 South Africa
Sweden 8-5 Canada
Australia 8-6 Croatia
Scotland (4) 8-5 Philippines
Wales (2) 8-2 Denmark
England (1) 8-4 Latvia
Belgium 8-7 Netherlands (3)
Germany 8-6 Poland
Quarter Finals:
Wales (2) 8-5 Sweden
Belgium 8-7 Australia
Scotland (4) 8-0 France
Germany 8-3 England (1)
Semi Finals:
Wales (2) 8-7 Belgium
Scotland (4) 8-5 Germany
Final:
Wales (2) 10-2 Scotland (4)