Welsh star Gerwyn Price didn’t hold back with his views on Luke Littler and Luke Humphries after a thrilling World Cup of Darts concluded in Frankfurt on Sunday night. Price and team-mate Jonyn Clayton missed out on a third crown in dramatic fashion, beaten 10-9 in a thrilling final by the Northern Ireland team of Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney.
It sparked emotional scenes on stage, with the champions praising Price and Clayton for staying out for the post-match formalities. However, while it meant a World Cup win for Rock and Gurney’s country, one of the stories of the weekend was England’s shock second-round defeat. Littler and Humphries, who arrived in Germany as resounding favourites, were badly below par as they were stunned 8-4 on Saturday by the host pair of Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko.
In Wales’ post-final press conference, Price was asked why the world’s best two players had performed so badly. ‘The Iceman’ duly accused the pair of behaving like individuals in their preparation.
“All the teams, when we all turned up on the first day…the only team, 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…
“You need to be a team. You need to turn up as a team. You practice together, you sit together, it’s a team ethic. And it didn’t show with England, and that then showed on the board. They’re great players individually, but you need to be a team.”
Insisting he took no pleasure from how poorly his rivals played, Price added: “I wanted them to do well, but they didn’t. I’m not just saying that to get some fans or anything, I wanted them to do well, but they were rubbish.”
At that point, both Price and Clayton burst out laughing. Neither Littler nor Humphries, who were awarded MBEs in the King’s Birthday Honours list, has offered any reaction since their defeat.
Both, however, appeared dejected as they left the stage on Saturday. Littler, in particular, seemed rattled by the hostile German crowd, which jeered the English pairing throughout.