Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld teamed up to win the World Cup of Darts for the Netherlands as they defeated Wales 3-1 in the final.
The Dutch dream team headed to the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt as favourites to lift the trophy for the first time since 2014 and despite a couple of minor scares along the way, they avenged last year’s final defeat to four-time champions England in the semi-finals before overcoming the Welsh duo of Gerwyn Price and Mark Webster.
World number one van Gerwen didn’t have to be at his brilliant best in a 4-0 victory over UK Open runner-up Price in the first singles match of the final but Webster levelled up the tie with an impressive 4-1 win against Barney.
The Dutch regained the initiative in the doubles tie as they cruised to a 4-1 triumph, restricting the Welsh to just one shot at a double - which Price hit to checkout from 100 in the fourth leg.
This gave Barney the chance to seal their second World Cup title together – and the third for the Netherlands in total - and he did so with a sublime performance, crushing Price 4-2.
He averaged over 101, hit three 180s and thrilled the crowd with a 136 checkout in the second leg - although Price failed to punish him for 10 missed attempts at doubles over the course of the match.
It gave Netherlands a 3-1 triumph, meaning van Gerwen's reverse singles clash with Webster was not required. The duo share the top prize of £60,000
Barney is celebrating his third World Cup having teamed up with Co Stompe to win the inaugural tournament back in 2010 - when they defeated Webster and Barrie Bates of Wales - while van Gerwen, whose foot injury had meant he was a doubt for the tournament, now has his second.
Van Gerwen told www.pdc.tv: "This is fantastic. Only once a year we can play as a team and we're going to enjoy this.
"If you're in the tournament you want to win it, On paper we were the strongest couple but you still have to do it and we played well, especially in the Pairs games we were fantastic."
Van Barneveld said: "It was an amazing tournament and I'm so happy with third. Michael was in agony on Friday and Benito came to be there if Michael couldn't play. I'm happy he played, he's a fighter and a battler. I was struggling in the Singles but the Pairs was our thing."
Semi-final review
Netherlands defeated World Cup of Darts holders England 2-0 to set up a final with Wales.
Victory for Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld gave last year's runners-up revenge for their defeat in the dramatic 2016 final but it will be of little consoluation should they fail to get their hands on the trophy they last won in 2014.
World number one van Gerwen survived a real scare against four-time winner Adrian Lewis, who nailed checkouts of 121, 115 and 72 to move into a 3-2 lead, only for MVG to break back and force a decider.
Van Gerwen then missed three darts at a double to give Jackpot half a chance from 127 but the Englishman narrowly missed the bullseye after hitting treble 20 and single 17 - and then watched his opponent hit double two at his fifth attempt.
In the second singles match, van Barneveld produced a superb display of finishing to defeat Dave Chisnall 4-2 and ensure there would be no deciding doubles tie.
Barney hit four of his six attempts at doubles, which included one on tops to complete his checkout from 115, while he also managed five 180s as Chizzy struggled to find his best form.
The Dutch duo will start as hot favourites to see off Gerwyn Price and Mark Webster despite how impressive the Welsh duo have played in Frankfurt this week.
They began their semi-final showdown against Belgium as the marginal underdogs but they brushed the Huybrechts brothers aside relatively easily to secure a 2-0 triumph.
Price averaged just over 101 and took out four of his six attempts at doubles to stun Kim Huybrechts, who averaged a staggering 121.97 in his quarter-final win earlier in the day, 4-2 before Mark Webster beat Ronny by the same scoreline.
Click here for full World Cup of Darts results
Quarter-final review
England survived a scare against Austria as the current World Cup holders needed a doubles decider to book a semi-final clash against tournament favourites the Netherlands.
Mensur Suljoivc gave Austria the perfect start to their encounter, whitewashing Adrian Lewis in Frankfurt.
Suljovic averaged 101.90 and hit a 170 finish in leg two to secure a point for his team.
Dave Chisnall then levelled the tie, averaging 101.08 and hitting four out of six attempts at a double as he defeated Rowby-John Rodriguez 4-1.
With the game needing a doubles decider Adrian Lewis took out 129 on the bull to break throw and give England a 2-1 advantage.
Austria immediately broke back though levelling the score at 2-2.
Suljoivic then missed the bullseye for a 164 finish to move in to the lead before Lewis pinned double 18 to break again.
England sealed the victory in the sixth leg as Lewis hit double 12 to move his side in to the semi-finals.
"We get on so well, I need him and he needs me,” said Lewis
He added: "We’re here to win this and we’re well on our way to doing it."
England will face the Netherlands in the last four as the tournament favourites booked the mouth-watering encounter with a 2-1 win over Germany.
Michael van Gerwen had to recover from 2-0 behind to beat Martin Schindler 4-2 in the first game of the tie.
The world number one looked shell-shocked as Schindler took out 60 to break and then 100 for a 2-0 lead.
Van Gerwen came storming back though, winning four legs on the bounce including a 116 finish to confirm the victory.
Raymond van Barneveld then lost his second singles game in as many days as Max Hopp came from behind to win 4-3.
Hopp started the game well, moving in to a 2-0 lead, before van Barneveld strung together three consecutive legs to take the lead.
The German then broke back in the sixth leg taking out 105 to set up a decider.
Hopp began the last leg by hitting a maximum before hitting double four to take the tie to a doubles match.
The Dutch duo booked their place in the semi-finals with a 4-1 victory in the pairs but it was not as straight forward as the scoreline would suggest.
"It wasn’t easy at all, they had a couple of chances at doubles in the early legs but fortunately for us they missed,” said Van Gerwen.
"I think experience and quality paid off in the end and we are still in the tournament, simple,” added the world number one.
Kim Huybrecths began the final day of action at the World Cup of Darts with a stunning performance to beat Paul Lim of Singapore.
The Belgian averaged an incredible 121.97, the second highest average in televised history, in his 4-1 victory over Lim.
The 31-year-old had a dart at double 18 to break the world record average, currently held by Michael van Gerwen but narrowly missed the target.
The average breaks the record set by brother Ronny Huybrechts, who achieved a 115.62 three-dart score in yesterday’s action, as the highest ever televised average from a Belgian.
"It would have been nice to have broken the world record but winning is more important today. We’re still in the tournament and we want to win it,” said younger brother Kim.
Harith Lim then levelled the tie by beating Ronny 4-2, hitting two ton-plus finishes to set up a doubles decider.
The Belgians will face Wales in the lastfour as the pair of Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price cruised past Russia in the quarter-finals.
Price first beat Aleksandr Oreshkin 4-1 before Mark Webster took to the stage and whitewashed Boris Koltsov to wrap up a 2-0 Welsh win.
"We’ve got a tough game coming up this evening against Belgium but we played well there and we’ll be ready," said Mark Webster.
Sunday's World Cup of Darts results
Quarter-finals
Singapore 1-2 Belgium
Paul Lim 1-4 Kim Huybrechts
Harith Lim 4-2 Ronny Huybrechts
Lim/Lim 2-4 Huybrechts/Huybrechts
Russia 0-2 Wales
Aleksandr Oreshkin 1-4 Gerwyn Price
Boris Koltsov 0-4 Mark Webster
Doubles match not required
England 2-1 Austria
Adrian Lewis 0-4 Mensur Suljovc
Dave Chisnall 4-1 Rowby-John Rodriguez
Lewis/Chisnall 4-2 Suljovic/Rodriguez
Germany 1-2 Netherlands
Martin Schindler 2-4 Michael van Gerwen
Max Hopp 4-3 Raymond van Barnelveld
Schindler/Hopp 1-4 Van Gerwen/Van Barneveld
Evening Session
Semi-finals
Belgium 0-2 Wales
Kim Huybrechts 2-4 Gerwyn Price
Ronny Huybrechts 2-4 Mark Webster
Doubles match not required
England 0-2 Netherlands
Adrian Lewis 3-4 Michael van Gerwen
Dave Chisnall 2-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Doubles match not required
Final
Wales 1-3 Netherlands
Gerwyn Price 0-4 Michael van Gerwen
Mark Webster 4-1 Raymond van Barneveld
Price/Webster 1-4 van Gerwen/van Barneveld
Gerwyn Price 2-4 Raymond van Barneveld
Final singles match not required
