World Cup Darts: Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were the dream team of England – what went wrong against Germany?

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were the dream team of England in the World Cup of Darts. So, why went so wrong against Germany in the quarterfinals?

Littler is the reigning world champion, while Humphries beat the 18-year-old to seal Premier League Glory in the O2-Arena in London last month, so the world’s top two players would always be hot favorites to win the parent competition.

However, against all expectations, She slid to an 8-4 second round defeat in the Eisssporthalle in FrankfurtWhere Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko, encouraged by a particial home crowd, sealed an extensive victory.

The confrontation did not start well for England after they were booed by German fans when they walked to the stage to get a big ‘iconic’ Vindaloo ‘lesson.

Littler started nervous and the Germans took the first two legs, but his 123-Kassa got England on the board before a 64 finish leveled it at 2-2.

The Warrington Wonderkid, however, missed three arrows on a double in the fifth stage to allow Pietreczko to win it with a 106 finish and another in the sixth when the Germans recovered their advantage, and after Humphries 25 had gone instead of bull for 122, they went 5-2 ahead.

Pietreczko extracted 101 after the resumption before Germany went 7-2 and although Littler and Humphries took the next two, she eventually collapsed as a return of only four Doubles of the 11 chances they created, on average only 93, which ultimately turned out to be expensive.

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Mardle: Playing for your country is different from playing for yourself

Wayne Mardle, who spoke with Sky Sports’ Emma Paton, applauded Germany for their ruthless nature on stage where the circumstances worked to their advantage and pointed to the fact that Littler and Humphries were unable to gel as a team, which turned out to be their final fall.

“It was amazing. It was excellent. And what was amazing was the way in which Martin and Ricardo did their business to the end of leg,” said ‘Hawaii 501’.

“They never stopped at any time with a 11 or 12 darter against the throw. But when they had their chances, they took them with them. They never deposited a millisecond.

“Every time England won a leg, it was like it was earned. It was really deserved.

“Luke and Luke no doubt felt the stress and tensions of solid favorites and to continue about how good Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were, they just let it go easily – so the difficult world cup pairs can be.

“At one point, the pressure came to them, Luke and Luke, and they were not sure. Their opponents did not, and no honor to Martin and Ricardo there.”

He added: “Playing for your country is different from playing for yourself. Playing with a teammate is different from just playing alone.

“The rhythm that you come in is different. Luke Humphries who won it with Michael Smith last year, I thought he would give confidence, knowing what it’s all about. But if you are under pressure, you are under pressure.

“You can’t just think:” I’ve been here before, it’s fine. ” You can’t do that. “

Littler’s frustration in Germany grows after earlier crowd of problems

Littler, who goes through the name ‘The Nuke’, has often been the subject of Booing in Germany and even threatened to boycott the country when he was beaten from the German Darts Grand Prix in the semi -final.

“I had a small main loss, as some of our players do,” he said after his loss against the World Youth Champion. “I just don’t get it, and I can’t explain it. Of course you do your walk-on, but when I went on stage, I started to be booed.”

He added: “I was booed last year in Hildesheim against Peter Wright during the European tour. I flew and then they started to hunt me and I lost.”

“It is clear that the Germans are not allowed to keep us English.”

He later placed on Instagram: “Shouldn’t have been in Munich, but still had to play. The next in Germany is Dortmund and I am happy to say that.”

Have circumstances played a factor?

The concern about safety has been discussed about the Eisssporthalle Arena in Frankfurt with the Irish player William O’Connor Vrees that a player will collapse on stage because of the heat.

O’Connor claims that there is a risk of a medical emergency due to the burning temperatures.

“It’s so hot on that stage, it’s hard to play your best arrows,” he claimed. “It’s really difficult. It is terrible, we have to change the location. Or maybe the air conditioning turn on because someone will fall on that stage.”

He added: “I am not exactly the biggest man in the world, but I can tell you that it is called on that stage. And it is not good. The faster you are out of that stage, the better.”

Teammate Keane Barry said: “The arrows slid in my hand and it was just so sticky, but it’s the same for everyone.”

Schindler: Both Lukes have had a hard time!

Schindler, who insisted that they had a chance to win against the favorites, said: “I was right. We believed in ourselves and I think we did a solid performance and of course the double 16s of Ricardo when it mattered. We are very happy to continue.

He added: “I think it was definitely one of the best atmosphere we had in a World Cup. Of course we have to say that we do not approve the whistling and fascinating.

“For us we have to say that it is not easier for us because our opponents are being booed or whistled. So we still have to go outside and perform and we have done that.

“Both Lukes have had a hard time as it seems and I think the day has now been done for us and we are happy that we have won it.”

Dream teams do not always take the silverware home

A reminder that there is no guarantee to win titles in the shock output of a sport and Littler and Humphries is a perfect example of that.

The Brazilian football team at the 1982 World Cup is remembered as one of the largest teams who never wins the tournament, while in Basketball, the American Olympic team of 2004, full of NBA stars, including Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and a young LeBron James, lost their first game to Puerto Rico with 19 points.

During the Rugby World Cup 1999, Christophe Lamaison France inspired France with a 33-point salvo without an answer that Mighty Jonah Lomu and his New Zealand side destroyed to reach the semi-final.

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