Gerwyn Price criticised heavy favourites Luke Littler and Luke Humphries after their shock World Cup of Darts exit, questioning their team ethic and branding their performance “rubbish”.
The world No 1 and No 2 were expected to sweep aside all comers when representing England this weekend but instead were torn apart by Germany 8-4 in a second-round defeat at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.
The Lukes, who both received MBEs in the King’s birthday honours, had been given a bye to round two due to their ranking but Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko made the most of the backing of a partisan home crowd to secure a comprehensive win. The English pair were made to pay for missed doubles, with 18-year-old Littler particularly struggling in front of the raucous German supporters who booed them, in a country where he has previously failed to deliver his best.
Schindler and Pietreczko ultimately lost to fourth seeds Northern Ireland, who went on to win the World Cup for the first time as Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney beat two-time champions Wales, represented by Price and Jonny Clayton, 10-9 in a thrilling last-leg shootout in the final.
In his post-match press conference, Price opined on England’s early exit and the always forthright world No 11 delivered a damning verdict on their preparation, lack of unity as a team and subsequent poor performance.
“All the teams when we first turned up, and I’m not just saying this because they lost, there were only two players that didn’t turn up together, didn’t sit together, didn’t play as a team,” explained Price. “I’m not saying who they are but they didn’t win their first game…
“But no, you need it. You need to turn up together, you need to be as a team, you need to turn up as a team, you practise together, you sit together.
“It is a team ethic and it didn’t show with England. It showed on the board – they’re great players individually but you need to be a team.”
At this point Clayton, sitting next to Price chimed in. “I thought you weren’t going to say who they were,” prompting raucous laughter from the assembled media and Price himself.
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A grinning Price then added: “You need that team ethic and you need to be together as a team all the way through but it didn’t happen. I wanted them to do well but they didn’t.”
The insistence that he had wanted them to do well prompted more laughter, before Price doubled down and delivered the final hammer blow, to yet more guffaws.
“No, I did, I did! I swear I’m not just saying that because I want to make some fans or anything but I did, I wanted them to do well. But they were rubbish.”
Having picked up a team first prize of £80,000, Northern Irish duo Rock and Gurney celebrated with an emotional embrace and were understandably ecstatic afterwards.
Rock told Sky Sports: “Me and Daryl said we’ll win this World Cup; I wasn’t expecting it to be the first time. But we’ve done it.
“I have the privilege to have made history, we’ve won the World Cup for Northern Ireland and there is always going to be a star on the back of this shirt.
“As a team, we were fantastic. We fought hard all the way through. One of the two of us will win a major this year, I think, because when you win on the big stage in front of Sky Sports, it’s obviously a different story.”
Gurney added: “Josh was power scoring and all I had to do was clean up the finishing. I have never been so proud of this man and myself.”
