Germany Defeats England Duo Littler, Humphries in World Cup of Darts

England's top darts duo, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, entered the 2025 World Cup of Darts as overwhelming favourites but suffered a surprising 8-4 defeat to Germany's Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko. Despite dominating in scoring 180s, England's poor finishing with a 36% checkout rate compared to Germany's 62% proved costly, and the pair appeared rattled by the partisan German crowd. Critics, including Scotland's Peter Wright and Ireland's Willie O'Connor, questioned the duo's chemistry and mental approach, suggesting their egos and lack of pairing experience might hinder their performance despite their individual talents. Wright also opined that Michael Smith should have been given a chance to defend the title with Humphries, citing his experience in pairs play. The defeat exposed vulnerabilities in the English pair's teamwork and raised doubts about their ability to replicate past successes in this doubles format. Meanwhile, Ireland's team expressed confidence in challenging England, emphasizing that on any given day, any team can be beaten.