LUKES OUT
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries STUNNED by Germany at World Cup of Darts as fans joke ‘they’re like Gerrard and Lampard’
The English pair walked out to Vindaloo to a chorus of boos
ENGLAND'S Luke Littler and Luke Humphries dream team were stunned in the World Cup of Darts by Germany.
The two Lukes, barely 24 hours after being awarded MBEs by the King, were surprisingly beaten 8-4 to be dumped out in their opening game in Frankfurt.
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It was England's worst defeat since Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were humiliated by Spain in 2010.
Grinning Littler and Humphries had already riled up the partisan German crowd by walking out to cult England football song Vindaloo, prompting a chorus of boos.
The golden boys made a slow start, losing the opening two legs, before recovering to 2-2.
But they uncharacteristically spurned FIVE darts to take a 3-2 lead as the German pair Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler took out 286 in six darts to go in front.
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And England’s pair, the No1 and No2 in the world, never seemed to recover from that setback.
The Germans were roared on by the home crowd and ripped the Three Lions pair apart to hit five legs on the bounce to open up a 7-2 lead - and just one away from glory.
Humphries and Littler didn’t stop the fight, hitting back-to-back legs to make it 7-4.
But the Germans were not finished and clearly had their rivals rattled and soon wrapped it up 8-4.
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The two Lukes' poor displays sparked comparisons with Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard - who famously struggled to replicate their sparkling club form while playing together for the Three Lions.
Watching England's nightmare unfold, one fan joked on X: "Littler and Humphries is Gerrard and Lampard for a new generation."
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While a second quipped: "Littler and Humphries is the new Gerrard and Lampard."
Another added: "Littler and Humphries is the darting equivalent of Lampard and Gerrard. Absolute ballers. But cannot play together."
Schindler said: “We believe in ourselves. I think we have been putting in a solid performance. Obviously the double 16s from Ricardo just went in. We are just grateful to be through.”
Pietreczko added: “I think the high finishes were then key moments in the game. The scoring from Martin for my doubles it’s unbelievable. You are hearing the crowd.”
On a night of shocks, Scotland were also smashed by the Netherlands, suffering an 8-0 whitewashing.
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, four-times world champs, were humiliated by the Dutch pair Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen, who is a stand-in for Michael van Gerwen.
However Wales are now the favourites for the crown after comfortably breezing through to the quarter-finals after an 8-2 win over Philippines.