Northern Ireland claimed a historic victory at the 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts, defeating Wales 10-9 in a dramatic final in Frankfurt on Sunday.
Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney – the tournament’s fourth seeds – broke down in tears after holding their nerve to make history with a 10-9 defeat of Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price.
Having trailed 7-5, the triumphant pair hit back to lead 9-7, only to miss four match darts for the title at 9-8, allowing Clayton and Price – champions in 2020 and 2023 – to force a decider.
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An emotional Rock and Gurney attempted to put into words how they were feeling after Northern Ireland won the World Cup for the first time
The deciding leg saw Rock and Gurney throw an 11-dart leg to fend off the challenge of Wales to become the sixth nation to claim World Cup glory.
“We’ve made history for Northern Ireland and we’re so proud as a team,” said an emotional Rock.
“As a team we were fantastic and we fought hard all the way through.”
Gurney added: “I would like to congratulate Wales, it shows the class of the Welsh team to stay on stage and congratulate us.
“Jonny and Gezzy are legends of the game, I think they’ll go on and win big titles this year.
“Josh’s power scoring was amazing and I was there to clean up the finishing; I was never going to miss the double eight to win the title.
“I’m so proud of Josh and myself, I put higher regard on this title than any individual events I’ve won.”
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Gurney hit this 130 checkout in the opening leg of the final…
Northern Ireland began the day with an 8-5 win over Republic of Ireland in the quarter-finals before thrashing host nation Germany 8-1 in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Wales defeated Hong Kong 8-4 in the quarter-finals before overcoming Netherlands 8-5 in the semi-finals.
“We gave it our all but congratulations to those two [Rock and Gurney],” said Clayton. “To be fair to Josh and Daryl they flew out the blocks in the last leg.
“Gezzy is a class act, I’m a proud man to have a teammate like him.”
Price added: “We started off really slow, trying to get in the game was really difficult. Testament to the Northern Irish team, Josh’s scoring was unbelievable and we couldn’t keep up with them.
“At 9-9 we gave ourselves a chance but they were a bit better than us and they deserve it.”
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Highlights of the World Matchplay final as Luke Humphries defeated Michael van Gerwen
The highlight of the darting summer will see the Betfred World Matchplay held from July 19-27 at the Winter Gardens, as Luke Humphries bids to retain the coveted Phil Taylor Trophy, with world champion Luke Littler and three-time winner Michael van Gerwen also set to headline the £800,000 event across nine days.
Sunday July 27 will also feature the fourth staging of the Betfred Women’s World Matchplay, featuring eight players competing across one session – with Beau Greaves having won the 2023 and 2024 events.
Sky Sports will once again be the home of the World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and more! Stream darts and more top sport with NOW
