England have retained the World Cup for the second consecutive year, beating Belgium 3-1 in the final. Adrian Lewis finally came good as Phil Taylor continued to show why he is the best in the world. The England pairing came back from a dart from defeat against Wales to make it into the final and eventually overpower the Belgians.
Belgium were banking on Lewis continuing to below par to ultimately set up a deciding doubles match where the Huybrechts brothers have been the strongest pairing in the tournament. The final began with Taylor facing Ronny Huybrechts with perhaps Belgium getting the 'guaranteed' defeat out of the way. Taylor wasted no time in dismantling the older yet inexperienced Huybrechts with four quick fire legs.
The ploy looked like it could work when Kim Huybrechts came out and finished his game against Lewis within eight minutes. Lewis had looked better against Wales but returned to his former tournament self and missed two darts in the fourth leg to avoid the whitewash.
The third game was perhaps the deciding one in the match. If Ronny beat Lewis, Belgium would probably have the edge and win it in the doubles match. If Lewis beat Ronny, it would be a tall order for Kim to topple Taylor. Lewis was much improved but still missed three darts to go 2-0 ahead. Ronny then took a 2-1 lead before Lewis finally kicked into gear with eight perfect darts. He returned to seal a ten dart leg and level the match before motoring to a 4-2 victory.
This left Kim having to beat Taylor and with The Power in top form, it was always going to be a tough order, especially with Taylor having the throw. The first three legs were both held before Taylor broke the Belgian hearts with a majestic 110-checkout. Taylor easily held his throw once more to win the game 4-1 and retain the world cup for England.
Taylor also averaged 103 in his semi-finals singles game against Mark Webster. Webster, like Kim, was able to remain level with Taylor after two legs. But that would be the only leg Webster won as Taylor took the game 4-1.
Lewis knew that if he beat Richie Burnett, England would sail into the final. But the 1995 world champion just proved too much for the underwhelming double world champion. Burnett was never behind in the rubber before finalising the result in the seventh and defining leg.
This lead to the deciding doubles match and Wales looked to be in complete control. Taylor missed three darts to take a 2-1 lead and Webster fired a tremendous 124-checkout to put Wales in front. Webster again found the double to put Wales a leg away from victory. Taylor found an incredible 95-checkout on the bull to make it 3-2 before England managed to force a deciding leg. Wales did have a dart at double ten to win the game, but England managed to win the three legs on the bounce to complete the turnaround, 4-3, and progress.
Belgium's semi-finals saw the brothers post the highest doubles average in the three year history of the tournament. Before that, Kim was unplayable in the opening game against Jani Haavisto. A 106-checkout followed by a Shanghai 120-checkout put Huybrechts 2-0 ahead. The Belgian then posted eight perfect darts in the fourth leg but would miss five darts at the double to secure the whitewash. But Kim's demise only lasted one leg as he won the match 4-1.
Ronny went close to beating Jarkko Komula in the second singles match but was unable to prevent the doubles match. After going a leg behind, Ronny had gone 2-1 in front. But Komula regained control and actually missed two darts to win the game 4-2. But his blushes were spared as Komula won the deciding leg to take it to the doubles.
But with a 105 average, there wasn't a lot the Finnish pair could do. All four legs went to the brothers who have really done their dad proud after he sadly passed away in December. With Ronny gaining a tour card for this year, the Huybrechts brothers could well make names for themselves in the next 12-months.
No comments:
Post a Comment