Derry's Daryl Gurney helps inspire Northern Ireland to World Cup of Darts glory
Northern Ireland claim historic World Cup of Darts victory against two-time winners Wales in last-leg shootout in Germany
Derry's Daryl Gurney helped inspire Northern Ireland to a historic victory at the 2025 BetVictor World Cup of Darts, defeating Wales 10-9 in a dramatic final in Frankfurt on Sunday.
Gurney along with Josh Rock - the tournament's fourth seeds - broke down in tears after holding their nerve to make history with a 10-9 defeat of Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price.
Having trailed 7-5, the triumphant pair hit back to lead 9-7, only to miss four match darts for the title at 9-8, allowing Clayton and Price - champions in 2020 and 2023 - to force a decider.
The deciding leg saw Rock and Gurney throw an 11-dart leg to fend off the challenge of Wales to become the sixth nation to claim World Cup glory.
Gurney added: "I would like to congratulate Wales, it shows the class of the Welsh team to stay on stage and congratulate us.
"Jonny and Gezzy are legends of the game, I think they'll go on and win big titles this year.
"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.
"I'm so proud of Josh and myself, I put higher regard on this title than any individual events I've won."
Northern Ireland led 3-1 but then lost six of the next eight legs before regaining control of a captivating contest courtesy of a devastating combination of Rock's scoring power and Gurney's finishing.
Following the four missed darts for glory in the penultimate leg, Wales were given a glimmer of hope, only for Gurney to finally nail double eight to secure the trophy.