Northern Ireland beat Wales to win World Cup of Darts for first time ever in historic final

WATCH NOW: Gerwyn Price hits a nine darter and wins his second set of gold darts

Ben McCaffrey

By Ben McCaffrey


Published: 15/06/2025

- 23:09

Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney won the deciding leg, marking a historic victory

Northern Ireland secured their first-ever World Cup of Darts title with a thrilling 10-9 victory over Wales in Frankfurt on Sunday evening.

Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney defeated two-time champions Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton in a dramatic final that went to a deciding leg.


The Northern Irish pair claimed the £80,000 prize money and became only the sixth nation to win the prestigious tournament.

Rock and Gurney found themselves trailing 7-5 against the formidable Welsh pairing, but mounted a remarkable fightback to win five of the next seven legs.

Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock

Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock were both visibly emotional after their historic victory

Sky Sports

The decisive moment came at 9-9 when the Northern Irish duo produced an exceptional 11-dart leg to clinch victory.

Despite missing four match darts earlier, Gurney held his nerve to nail double eight and seal the historic triumph.

Rock's explosive scoring power throughout the match proved crucial, with the 23-year-old equalling Michael van Gerwen for the most amount of maximums thrown in a World Cup tournament.

JUST IN: 'Symbol of Italian football!' Azzurri World Cup winner appointed as new Italy boss

\u200bGerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton

Gerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton played their part in a sensational final

Getty

In fact, after the second break, Rock was astonishingly averaging in excess of 115.

An emotional Rock struggled to contain his tears after the victory, saying: "We've made history for Northern Ireland and we're so proud as a team.

"As a team, we were fantastic and we fought hard all the way through."

READ MORE:Lionel Messi's Inter Miami match branded 'snooze fest' as revamped Club World Cup kicks off

Gurney was equally moved by the achievement: "I would like to congratulate Wales, it shows the class of the Welsh team to stay on stage and congratulate us.

"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."

He added: "I'm so proud of Josh and myself, I put higher regard on this title than any individual events I've won."

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

Daryl Gurney, Josh Rock

Daryl Gurney said he was 'proud' of their achievement

Sky Sports

Clayton was gracious in defeat, saying: "We gave it our all but congratulations to those two. To be fair to Josh and Daryl they flew out the blocks in the last leg."

Price acknowledged his opponents' superiority: "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."

Northern Ireland's path to glory included an 8-5 quarter-final victory over Republic of Ireland before demolishing hosts Germany 8-1 in the semi-finals. Wales had defeated Hong Kong 8-4 and Netherlands 8-5 to reach the final.