Assessing England and Netherlands' World Cup of Darts dominance

By Josh Gorton

Image: Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen are highly fancied to win a fourth World Cup title for the Netherlands

Defending champions the Netherlands equalled England's tally of four World Cup titles in Frankfurt this weekend. They remain the only two nations to have won this tournament.

This year marks the eighth staging of the World Cup of Darts, but Netherlands and England are the only two nations to have lifted the title. We look back at how the tournament has been won over previous years....

2017 - Winners: Netherlands

For the first time in World Cup of Darts history, Phil Taylor did not feature for England, with Adrian Lewis teaming up alongside debutant Dave Chisnall.

Top seeds Scotland suffered a shock first-round defeat against Singapore, with Paul Lim rolling back the years with his namesake Harith to stun Anderson and Wright.

England's new-look pairing were comfortably beaten by Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld in the semi-finals, which set up a repeat of the 2010 World Cup Final between Netherlands and Wales.

Advertisement

Webster and Van Barneveld were the sole survivors from the inaugural staging back in 2010 as Netherlands prevailed 3-1, with Barney's win over Gerwyn Price sealing the deal for the Dutch giants.

2016 - Winners: England

Image: Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis teamed up to win the World Cup of Darts

England and Netherlands battled it out for glory in 2016, as Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis secured a spot in their fifth successive World Cup Final.

Also See:

Raymond van Barneveld led Netherlands' charge in the final with victory over Lewis, before producing a sublime performance in the doubles to put the Dutch 2-1 ahead.

However, Taylor defeated Van Barneveld to set up a straight shootout between Lewis and Michael van Gerwen, before the world No 1 faltered as 'Jackpot' prevailed to complete a famous triumph.

2015 - Winners: England

Michael van Gerwen and Raymond Van Barneveld were beaten by Scotland's Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in the 2015 semi-finals, as the Scots secured a spot in the World Cup of Darts final for the very first time.

England also breezed through to the final, after following up an opening-round whitewash of Denmark by easing past Japan, Germany and Belgium without losing a single rubber.

Anderson produced an inspired performance in the final to defeat both Adrian Lewis and Phil Taylor 4-1, but it came down to a decider between Lewis and Wright, and Lewis triumphed 4-2 to clinch glory for England.

2014 - Winners: Netherlands

Netherlands stormed to victory with a series of brutal displays in the 2014 tournament, brushing aside England in the final.

Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld posted a sensational 117.88 average in their 4-0 doubles win against Northern Ireland - which at the time was the second highest televised average in PDC history.

Netherlands then dispatched England in the final, with MVG kicking off proceedings with a whitewash win over Phil Taylor, before RVB followed suit by defeating Lewis by the same scoreline.

Adrian Lewis ended the Dutch streak of 18 consecutive legs without reply, but MVG still defeated 'Jackpot' 4-2 to seal Netherlands' second World Cup crown.

2013 - Winners: England

Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were top seeds in 2013, but pre-tournament favourites Netherlands suffered a shock second-round exit against Finland's Jani Haavisto and Jarkko Komula.

England edged past South Africa, Japan and Wales to reach the final, where they faced Belgium- who were represented by the Huybrechts brothers.

They had seen off Australia, Croatia and Finland in the knockout stages to secure their spot in the final, but England triumphed 3-1 in the final, with Taylor defeating Kim Huybrechts 4-1 in the decisive rubber.

2012 - Winners: England

The second staging of the World Cup of Darts took place in Hamburg, in undoubtedly the most dramatic finale in the tournament's history.

Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis took on the Australian pairing of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson, with the final going all the way to the decisive doubles showdown.

In an incredible conclusion, all four players had darts to seal World Cup glory but it was Lewis who held his nerve to seal England's maiden World Cup title.

It also sparked angry scenes between Lewis and Nicholson in the aftermath, which remains an iconic World Cup of Darts flashpoint.

2010- Winners: Netherlands

The inaugural staging of the World Cup of Darts was won by the Dutch duo of Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompe in Sunderland.

England, who were represented by the world's top two Phil Taylor and James Wade, suffered a chastening first-round defeat to Spain's Carlos Rodriguez and Antonio Alcinas, who went on to reach the semi-finals.

This enabled Van Barneveld and Stompe to secure World Cup glory with victory over Wales, who were led by former Lakeside champion Mark Webster and 2006 UK Open finalist Barrie Bates.

Darts is back on your Sky Sports screens at the end of this month with the World Cup of Darts, live from Frankfurt - four days of live coverage get underway from 6pm on Sky Sports Action on Thursday May 31.

Darts updates straight to your phone

How to receive all the latest darts news straight to your mobile

Keep up to date with the latest darts news, previews, reports, reaction and expert analysis. Get all the latest at sky.mnosports.com/darts and join in the conversation @SkySportsDarts- don't forget to use #LoveTheDarts.

Outbrain