Outsider Scott Williams wins
Michael van Gerwen sensationally fails at the Darts World Cup
January 1, 2024, 10:02 p.m
Superstar Michael van Gerwen was surprisingly eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Darts World Cup. The three-time world champion lost 3:5 to the Englishman Scott Williams. The top favorite for the title is a 16-year-old huge talent.
The three-time darts world champion Michael van Gerwen was surprisingly eliminated in the quarter-finals against Scott Williams at the World Cup in London. At 3:5, a weak record on the double fields was the Dutchman’s undoing.
Against the extroverted Englishman, van Gerwen revealed problems from the start and lost the first set. After that, the Dutchman won two sets, but couldn’t find his way into the game, but was extremely lucky to be in the lead. Williams turned things around and won the game in impressive fashion.
“It certainly wasn’t the best Michael van Gerwen, but that’s not my problem. If I had hit one or two doubles earlier, I could have won even more clearly. I’ll be back tomorrow,” said a happy Williams, who had already won during the tournament defeated the German Martin Schindler. In the semi-finals the Englishman will face Luke Humphries, who would jump to number one in the world rankings with another win.
Englishman becomes darts world champion
It is already clear that a man from the darts motherland will win the world title. In the afternoon, 16-year-old huge talent Luke Littler won 5-1 against Northern Irishman Brendan Dolan. In the first four sets, Littler played without a hint of nervousness. It wasn’t until the fifth set that the teenager weakened a bit when he suddenly stopped hitting his doubles and promptly lost the set. But Littler caught himself and won set number six in familiar style.
In the semi-finals, Littler will face compatriot Rob Cross, who previously made history with a sensational comeback against Chris Dobey and was the first player to turn a 0-4 deficit into a 5-4 in the Ally Pally. This means Cross can still hope for his second title after 2018. “Voltage”, as the trained electrician is called, is the only remaining participant with World Cup final experience.
After Michael van Gerwen’s sensational exit, Littler has now become the top favorite for the title among British bookmakers.