World Cup of Darts Sunday afternoon Round-Up | Semi-final lineup confirmed as England and Northern Ireland survive deciding legs
PDC
The semi-finalists at the 2026 World Cup of Darts are now confirmed after a thrilling Sunday afternoon session at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt. Scotland and England will face off in a Battle of Britain tonight, before reigning champions Northern Ireland will take on home heroes Germany.
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Scotland classy against Ireland
The quarter-finals got underway with a rampant performance from Scotland, averaging 99 for the second match in a row in seeing off the Republic of Ireland. Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies got off to a flying start, hitting all three of their first attempts at the outer ring, before Ireland pulled them back to 5-2 at the break.
William O'Connor then found a 110 checkout after the break to put pressure on the men in blue, but that pressure only made Menzies and Anderson better as they pushed on with an eleven darter to put them a leg away from victory before 'Cammy' once again found the winning double on debut to send Scotland through to their sixth semi-final in this tournament's history
England survive Welsh scare
Tournament favourites England also booked their berth in this evening session, but only just, as they were pushed all the way by Wales.
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The two time champions, harmed by the withdrawal of Gerwyn Price, were agonisingly close to finding a match dart after being 4-0 up, but Nick Kenny missed the 14 segment entirely on 64 with two in hand, meaning he didn't get a chance at the bull.
This fatal error allowed Luke Littler, who had hit a 170 finish earlier in the match to return and find double two with his last dart to send the number one seeds into the final four.
It was a valiant effort from Jonny Clayton and Kenny, with 'The Ferret' averaging over 103 and Kenny producing some clutch 180s and doubling at 38%, but it was not enough to fend off the English who march on to their
Reigning champions pushed all the way by Latvia
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Northern Ireland also were subject to a last leg decider against Latvia, thanks to a phenomenal performance from Valters Melderis.
'The Hipster' averaged 95 and hit 80% of his doubles, but it was not enough as Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney served up a clinic of combination outshots.
'Superchin' hit the highest of the match with a superlative 161, but 'Rocky' also had a flashy check, going two double 19s to end the 133 after finding the treble with his first dart.
In what was a tense last leg on the Latvian throw, Melderis hit a superb 140 to leave his captain Madars Razma on double 12 for what would have been a first ever semi-final for the Baltic nation, but Rock found an incredible 144 checkout, landing the same target that Razma had left to continue the title defence in extraordinary fashion.
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Netherlands comfortable against home heroes
The Netherlands completed the Sunday evening lineup after a record breaking performance in knocking out home favourites Germany.
Michael van Gerwen (100.11) and Gian van Veen (105.86) broke the record for the highest ever average in a World Cup match that went over five legs, beating their own record set by MvG and Danny Noppert in 2024 by averaging 102.86
Martin Schindler also played his part in a terrific game, averaging 111.25, but the Dutch were out for blood as 'The Giant' threw three 180s as well as multiple other three-treble visits.
Germany did go 3-2 up to give the Frankfurt crowd some hope, but a ten darter to equalise from the Netherlands gave them all the momentum they needed to push on and drop only one more leg in an otherwise sterling performance that sees them round off the semi-final lineup.
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The World Cup of Darts concludes tonight with the semi-finals and final, and DartsNews.com will once again be running our liveblog from 6pm GMT as we crown our champions in Frankfurt.
Finlay Williams is currently completing his final year of secondary education and already demonstrates the ambition, curiosity, and dedication we value in emerging sports journalists. With a clear goal to pursue full-time work in sports media, Finlay brings a particular depth of knowledge in darts—his standout area of expertise—but also shows strong insight across football (as a lifelong Aberdeen FC supporter), motorsports, cricket, and curling, a sport in which he competed at a high level during his junior years.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026