"I'm not as good as Gezzy, but I'm no mug either" - Nick Kenny shrugs off pressure as he seeks World Cup glory

Nick Kenny will make his World Cup of Darts debut alongside Jonny Clayton in Frankfurt this week. The tournament will last from 11th-14th June in Frankfurt with forty nations lining up for glory. There is a lot of pressure for Kenny to perform with the big shoes of Gerwyn Price to fill. This does not seem to be getting to him as he relishes the prospect of getting onto stage and playing his game.

He had a feeling that he would get the call, but once it was confirmed it was hugely special. "I can't wait, to be honest," he told talkSPORT. "I had a little bit of an idea that Gezzy might not be going, but when it's on the PDC media outlets, then you know you're definitely going. So I'm absolutely over the moon to be going and hopefully I'll do my best."

That hint came from his teammate, Clayton. "Jonny had already said that Gezzy might not be going. He told me he might not be going in the end. Something similar happened back in 2021. I think it was Simon Whitlock who was told, 'You're going to the World Cup, mate.'

"So I asked Jonny about it and he said, 'Well, Gezzy's talking about not going.' I think they talked him into going at the last minute that year. But this time around I thought, until I see my name on paper, I'm not getting my hopes up because it's a kick in the teeth when you think you're going and then you're not. In the end, Gezzy pulled out and he told me that as long as Rob Owen didn't overtake me on the Euro Tour in Austria, I'd be going."

Price and Kenny's contact since has been minimal, but Kenny was grateful for 'The Iceman' for speaking well about him. "The only contact we've really had was when I asked him if he was going," he said. "He said he was 99 per cent sure he wasn't. But he spoke well about me in some interviews before the Premier League Finals, which was nice. I've known him for years, from before he got his Tour Card. I don't speak to him so much these days and I don't sit with him on tour, but he knows I can play and he's spoken highly of me. He knows what I'm all about, so fingers crossed I can fill his boots."

This is actually not the first time Kenny has represented his country in the World Cup. While it will be a debut on the PDC Tour, he managed to rack up numerous appearances for Wales on the WDF system.

"I earned 40 caps for Wales in the WDF system, starting in 2014," he explained. "A lot of people won't know this either, but my first time in the Welsh team was Jonny's last before he got his Tour Card. Jonny and I have actually played together for Wales before, in the same 12-man team. The World Cup in 2019 was the last thing I wanted to do on the WDF side before switching over and trying again in the PDC."

It was all well and good before disaster struck. "I broke my foot that week as well," he stated. "I was leaning on the oche and I'd started doing a bit of fitness work. My foot had been giving me trouble throughout the tournament. I was playing so well and reached the semi-finals. I was in tears because I didn't want to give it up. In the end we won the team event and got a gold medal. If I'd won that singles semi-final, we probably would have had a couple more medals as well. Then while celebrating afterwards, I planted my foot awkwardly and broke it."

Kenny and Clayton have spent a bit of time together ahead of taking to the stage as a team in Frankfurt. "I've seen him on tour and we've had 20-minute spells on the practice board, chatting about things. Yesterday, when the draw came out, I went over to him and said, "We've got these two," meaning Lithuania and Thailand," he commented.

"I'm probably a bit more excited than Jonny because he's been around the block a few times. We crossed paths while he was playing last week because he made the final. He asked when I was flying out. We're both travelling on the same day from Heathrow, but we're on different flights. We're not playing until Thursday night, so once we get there on Wednesday we'll probably spend some time together. The hotel will have practice boards and I'm sure we'll stick together while we're out there.

"But Jonny's very busy. He's top five in the world, he's doing exhibitions, he had the Premier League Finals, the World Series this week and the Players Championship events as well. There's not really been time to meet up, but we will when we're there."

There is a lot of pressure on Kenny to deliver the goods in a Welsh team that has enjoyed so much success. Two-time champions under Price and Clayton, they reached the final last year and lost in a dramatic last-leg decider to Northern Ireland.

There is a ton of pressure on Kenny's shoulders, but this may be a positive thing. "Yeah, but I thrive on it a little bit. I've always done well in a Welsh shirt, whether that's in the Welsh team or on the WDF side. This might be my only opportunity to play the World Cup, so I want to make the most of it.

"I don't really feel the pressure right now. Maybe that'll be different when I get there. I've got a very experienced partner, which helps. The big thing is that Gezzy isn't there. I'm not as good as Gezzy, but I'm no mug either. I can play the game. The fans are understandably disappointed because Wales' best player isn't going, but the next man in line steps in and thankfully that's me this time. Hopefully I can thrive on it. The first game is the important one. Get over that and then see where it takes us."

He could conjure up a few surprises along the way. "Possibly. I've played some of my best darts in a Welsh shirt. My shirt's pretty Welsh as well. I'm quite good on the big stage and Jonny is captain. His experience will be a massive help. The last time I played in a pairs competition for Wales, I beat a young lad called Luke Littler. People might not know that. That was only in 2022."

He has since played Littler, but the gap in quality is vastly contrasting. "I've played him a couple of times in the PDC. I lost 6–5 to him on the floor once. But he became a completely different beast after 2022 and 2023."

England are the big favourites to take the title. Littler and Luke Humphries were left last year's event after losing in the second round in a seismic upset against Germany. They will be hoping to do a lot better this time around.

Facing the world number one and two is not a daunting task for Kenny, who has firm eyes on the title. "You have to beat them all if you want to win it, don't you?" he said. "Well, that's not strictly true, but you'd expect to come across England at some point if you're going to win the tournament.

"Last year Germany came out of their group and drew England and everyone thought they were going home, but it didn't happen. England will be one of the favourites this year, but everyone is there to do a job and get as far as possible. The top four seeded teams are brilliant, but so is everyone else. Jonny and I want to go all the way. We don't just want to get out of the group and see what happens. That said, we have to respect the group stage because the first game is massive. We want to play well and go all the way."