**Questions Raised Over Team Unity as Gerwyn Price Criticises English Darts Pair’s World Cup Performance**
The fallout from England’s early departure at the 2025 PDC World Cup of Darts has sparked intense debate, with Gerwyn Price’s uncompromising assessment of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries capturing headlines. The Welshman’s comments have drawn reactions across the darts world, prompting reflection on both the difficulties faced by the English pair and the deeper challenges of international team play.
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries arrived at the tournament carrying significant expectations. Littler, the reigning world champion, and Humphries, current leader on the PDC Order of Merit, were among the favourites to secure the title for England. Few predicted that their campaign would be cut short so abruptly, with an 8-4 defeat to Germany’s Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko sending them home after the opening match. This unexpected result has led to widespread speculation about what went wrong.
Fans and pundits both have since examined a variety of factors that may have contributed to the upset—ranging from a fiercely partisan home crowd to the formidable form demonstrated by their German opponents. However, it was Gerwyn Price’s comments that struck a particularly controversial note, suggesting that Littler and Humphries lacked the necessary chemistry required to thrive as a team in such a high-pressure setting.
Price, speaking to Darts Now, stopped short of directly naming the English pair initially, but made little secret of his views. He said: “When we all turned up—the only two who didn’t arrive together, didn’t sit together, didn’t act as a team, didn’t win their first game. You need to practise together, sit together, do everything as a team. It didn’t show with England and that was clear on the board. They’re fantastic individually, but in this competition, you have to have that team ethos. I genuinely hoped they would succeed, but they just weren’t good enough on the day.”
Humphries has since responded to Price’s remarks by emphasising that he and Littler approached their World Cup campaign with a united mentality, rather than acting as individuals. However, this explanation has not silenced the ongoing debate, with other voices joining the fray. Two-time PDC World Champion Adrian Lewis, for instance, has offered a more nuanced view, identifying their limited shared experience as a decisive weakness rather than an absence of team spirit.
Lewis, who has an extensive pedigree in the PDC World Cup after partnering Phil Taylor to multiple English victories, reflected on the English duo’s struggle this year. “It was clear they didn’t really find their rhythm together,” Lewis told The Express, speaking in collaboration with The Escapist. “Facing Germany, with their home support, was always going to be challenging. For Littler, it was his first taste of the World Cup, and only Humphries’ second. That kind of inexperience can really show.”
Despite the disappointment, Lewis remains optimistic about England’s prospects moving forwards. He argued that setbacks such as this can be a powerful learning experience. “Now they’ve gone through that pressure together, it’ll just make them stronger for next time. It’s not always perfect—even with Phil [Taylor], sometimes I struggled and he pulled me through, and sometimes it was the other way round. That’s the nature of a good partnership.”
While England licks its wounds, Northern Ireland celebrated its first World Cup triumph. The partnership of Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney outlasted a competitive field, including a thrilling final in which they edged out Wales’ Price and Jonny Clayton 10-9. This victory underscores the effectiveness of strong teamwork and serves as a benchmark for newer pairings like Littler and Humphries.
As the dust settles, the debate continues over whether England’s World Cup exit was down to lack of chemistry, experience, or the unique pressures of tournament play. Regardless, the darts world will be closely watching how these rising stars respond, keen to see whether hard lessons from defeat can indeed lay the foundations for future glory.
Looking ahead, expectations will remain high for Littler and Humphries. Their individual talent is beyond doubt, but the coming year will require them to prove they can form the robust partnership needed to return England to the pinnacle of the PDC World Cup of Darts.
Ultimately, Price’s forthright words have reignited a perennial conversation about what truly separates a collection of great players from a truly great team—something that, in international darts, can be as crucial as any finish on the oche.