Australia have won the World Cup of Darts for the first time after Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta whitewashed Wales pairing Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.
It was a particularly special moment for Wizard, who has played in every World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2010 and famously missed two match darts in the heartbreaking defeat to England in the 2012 final.
Whitlock, 53, did suffer the agony of missing another in the doubles rubber against the Welsh on this occasion that would have completed a 3-0 whitewash but it mattered little as his team-mate Heta overcame Clayton 4-2 in the first of the reverse singles to close out a 3-1 victory over the 2020 champions.
“It is life-changing. I have dreamt about this moment my entire life and I’ve finally got there,” said an emotional Whitlock.
“It feels amazing. I had a great partner. Damon has been amazing. He’s a great friend, and he’s the best player on the planet right now. He is going to be the next world champion.”
“Simon dragged me through the beginning,” admitted Heta. “I’m stoked for Simon and stoked for Australia with all the support we’ve had back home.
“Everything we are sacrificing being here and we’ve got the title in the bag. It’s an amazing feeling.”
In the opening singles tie, Heta blitzed Price 4-0 to put Australia in early control of the final as the Welshman failed to sparkle with an average of just 80.
The Heat, who had to come from 3-1 down against Michael Smith in the semi-finals, only averaged a fairly mediocre of 92.5 himself but it was plenty good enough to restrict Price to just two attempts at a double.
Simon Whitlock came from 2-1 down to overcome Jonny Clayton 4-2 in the second singles rubber - but only after missing six darts at double top in the sixth leg.
The Wizard was playing nerveless darts until that point as he bid to banish the demons of 2012 and a stylish 120 checkout when the Ferret waited on 26 put him into a 3-2 lead.
Clayton failed to take advantage of Whitlock's troubles on tops in the next leg as the Aussies moved one point away from glory.
It looked as though Whitlock and Heta would complete a whitewash victory when they moved into a 3-2 lead in a thrilling doubles rubber but the Welsh duo held their nerve to force a deciding leg.
The Aussies had the advantage of throw and were first to a finish but Whitlock, who missed two match darts in the agonising final defeat against England in 2012, spurned his chance on double 18 when trying to finish from 66.
Clayton duly made him pay with his last dart in hand on double eight to force the final into the reverse singles.
However, the Ferret couldn't maintain the momentum as a slow start allowed Heta to move into a commanding 3-1 lead and although the Heat spurned a title dart in the next leg, he eventually got the job done at the next attempt to spark wild scenes of celebration.
“We weren’t at our best in the final but Simon and Damon played fantastic,” said Price, featuring in his second final in three years.
“I said at the beginning of the tournament we’d play Australia in the final, but I predicted that we would win, so I was wrong there!
“We didn’t fire tonight, but we’ll be back and we will be stronger next year.”
Australia's success was also great news for followers of our darts pages, with 2012 finalist Paul Nicholson backing them in his latest column and our resident tipster Chris Hammer including Whitlock and Heta in his staking plan at 10/1 pre-tournament.
Semi-final round-up
Wales sealed a spot in their second World Cup final in three years with a resounding 2-0 victory over the Netherlands.
The 2020 champions got off to a flying start when Gerwyn Price cruised to a 4-1 victory over Danny Noppert despite averaging just 88.75 compared to the astonishing 117 he managed in his quarter-final clash against Martin Schindler earlier in the day.
Team-mate Jonny Clayton then came out on top in a high-quality affair against Dirk Van Duijvenbode as he defied four 180s and legs of 11 and 12 darts to triumph 4-2 and ensure victory without the need of a nervy doubles rubber.
Australia then reached their first World Cup final in a decade thanks to Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock ousting top seeds England 2-0.
Michael Smith looked as though he'd give the top seeds a comfortable start but he bust 72 when looking to seal a 4-1 victory and Heta made him pay by reeling off the next three legs to put the Aussies in the driving seat.
World Cup-ever present Whitlock ruthlessly finished the job by averaging 103 and pinning four of his six attempts at double to whitewash a below-par Wade 4-0.
It's 10 years since Whitlock and Paul Nicholson lost the most dramatic final of all time against Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis in 2012 so it would be fitting if they can follow up this triumph over the latest English duo with their first ever World Cup.
Quarter-final round-up
Scotland's World Cup defence was brutally ended as England's Michael Smith and James Wade trounced John Henderson and Peter Wright 2-0 for the loss of just one leg.
Bully Boy, who has won five singles titles since the start of May including the prestigious US Darts Masters, thrashed Henderson 4-0 in the opening rubber before Premier League semi-finalist Wade cruised to a 4-1 win over Wright despite averaging just 81.
Performance-wise, neither Englishman had to be anywhere near their best, with Hendo averaging just 80 against Smith (91) and failing to have a single attempt at a double while world champion Wright averaged 82 and missed 11 of his 12 attempts at the outer ring.
They will surely be pushed much harder by Australia, who produced a sensational doubles display to dump out Belgium.
Dimitri Van den Bergh defeated his housemate Damon Heta 4-2 in the opening singles tie, only for Whitlock to defy a 170 finish from Kim Huybrechts to prevail 4-3 with a 101 average.
The Australian aces then ran riot in the decisive doubles showdown, averaging 109.31 to whitewash the fourth seeds.
The Netherlands reached a first World Cup semi-final since 2019 as Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode saw off Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan.
UK Open champion Noppert battled past Gurney 4-2 in the opening rubber, before Van Duijvenbode recovered from 3-1 down to deny Dolan in a battle of the former World Grand Prix finalists.
Van Duijvenbode spurned 14 darts at double midway through the contest, but rallied superbly in the latter stages, converting 92, 153 and 74 finishes to wrap up a dramatic deciding-leg win.
Gerwyn Price posted the second highest individual average in World Cup history to inspire 2020 champions Wales to an emphatic victory over host nation Germany.
Price averaged 117.88 in a remarkable four-leg blitz of Martin Schindler, producing winning legs of 15, 10, 12 and 14 darts and converting sensational 170 and 120 checkouts.
Jonny Clayton then followed Price’s heroics with a professional 4-2 win over German number one Gabriel Clemens, firing in seven 140s and pinning four of his seven attempts at double.
World Cup of Darts: Tournament Results
Thursday June 16
Evening Session
(7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)
- Denmark 5-2 Singapore
- New Zealand 5-3 Switzerland
- Republic of Ireland 5-2 Canada
- Austria 5-3 Finland
- Northern Ireland 5-3 Gibraltar
- Wales 5-2 Philippines
- Germany 5-4 Spain
- Netherlands 5-0 Brazil
Friday June 17
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)
- Latvia 5-1 Hungary
- Poland 5-4 USA
- Sweden 5-2 South Africa
- Portugal 5-3 Italy
- Australia 5-2 Lithuania
- England 5-1 Czech Republic
- Scotland 5-1 Hong Kong
- Belgium 5-2 Japan
Saturday June 18
Afternoon Session (2pm local time, 1pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Second Round (Best of 3 points)
(Two best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best of 7 doubles decider if required)
- Northern Ireland 2-0 New Zealand
Singles One: Daryl Gurney 4-2 Ben Robb
Singles Two: Brendan Dolan 4-2 Warren Parry
Doubles (not required): - Netherlands 2-0 Republic of Ireland
Singles One: Danny Noppert 4-1 William O'Connor
Singles Two: Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-1 Steve Lennon
Doubles (not required): - Wales 2-1 Austria
Singles One: Gerwyn Price 4-3 Mensur Suljovic
Singles Two: Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-2 Jonny Clayton
Doubles: Wales 4-3 Austria - Germany 2-0 Denmark
Singles One: Martin Schindler 4-1 Vladimir Andersen
Singles Two: Gabriel Clemens 4-1 Andreas Toft Jorgensen
Doubles (not required):
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Second Round (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)
- Australia 2-1 Sweden
Singles One: Simon Whitlock 4-3 Johan Engstrom
Singles Two: Damon Heta 3-4 Daniel Larsson
Doubles: Australia 4-1 Sweden - Belgium 2-0 Poland
Singles One: Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-1 Krzysztof Ratajski
Singles Two: Kim Huybrechts 4-2 Sebastian Bialecki
Doubles (not required): - England 2-1 Latvia
Singles One: Michael Smith 4-0 Nauris Gleglu
Singles Two: James Wade 3-4 Madars Razma
Doubles: England 4-2 Latvia - Scotland 2-1 Portugal
Singles One: John Henderson 4-0 Vítor Jerónimo
Singles Two: Peter Wright 3-4 Jose De Sousa
Doubles: Scotland 4-0 Portugal
CLICK HERE FOR DAY THREE REPORT
Sunday June 19
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Quarter-Finals (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)
- Netherlands 2-0 Northern Ireland
Singles One: Danny Noppert 4-2 Daryl Gurney
Singles Two: Dirk van Duijvenbode 4-3 Brendan Dolan
Doubles (Not required): Netherlands v Northern Ireland - Wales 2-0 Germany
Singles One: Gerwyn Price 4-0 Martin Schindler
Singles Two: Jonny Clayton 4-2 Gabriel Clemens
Doubles (Not required): Wales v Germany - Belgium 1-2 Australia
Singles One: Dimitri Van den Bergh 4-2 Damon Heta
Singles Two: Kim Huybrechts 3-4 Simon Whitlock
Doubles: Belgium 0-4 Australia - England 2-0 Scotland
Singles One: Michael Smith 4-0 John Henderson
Singles Two: James Wade 4-1 Peter Wright
Doubles (Not required): England v Scotland
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)
- Wales 2-0 Netherlands
Single One: Gerwyn Price 4-1 Danny Noppert
Singles Two: Jonny Clayton 4-2 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Doubles (Not required): Wales v Netherlands - England 0-2 Australia
Singles One: Michael Smith 3-4 Damon Heta
Singles Two: James Wade 0-4 Simon Whitlock
Doubles (Not required): England v Australia
Final (Best of 5 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches, one best-of-7-leg doubles, then reverse singles)
- Australia 3-1 Wales
Single One: Damon Heta 4-0 Gerwyn Price
Singles Two: Simon Whitlock 4-2 Jonny Clayton
Doubles: Australia 3-4 Wales
Singles Three: Damon Heta 4-2 Jonny Clayton
Singles Four (not required): Simon Whitlock v Gerwyn Price
CLICK HERE FOR DAY FOUR REPORT
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