Shock World Cup warning for England power pair Luke Littler and Luke Humphries
Red-hot English favourites not guaranteed to fire says Vincent van der Voort
Power pair Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have been handed a shock World Cup warning.
The two best players on the planet are red-hot favourites to win darts' showpiece team event in Frankfurt next month.
Humphries, who won 12 months ago alongside partner Michael Smith, is confident he and Littler can do the business. But ex-Dutch World Cup ace Vincent ver Doort is convinced his nation can pull off a shock success. Michael van Gerwen has opted to go on holiday leaving Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen to try and get the job done for their country.
But van der Voort said: 'If both of them play well, they absolutely can beat England. It's all pairs matches, after all, which is different to singles. A strong partnership becomes even more important. Individual talent comes second. That's what determines whether you're a good team or not. You can't just assume two good players automatically make a good pair.'
Speaking on the Darts Draait Door podcast, he added: 'I really like the World Cup of Darts because you get to see a wide range of countries and players. But I'm not exactly excited about Littler and Humphries as a duo. I'm not curious to see what they'll do. You just expect them to win. You hope there are a few countries that can really push them. Because if this is the new standard, it's going to be very tough for everyone else. There aren't many nations who stand a real chance against them.'
Scotland Gary Anderson and Peter Wright and Wales' Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton are other formidable duops facing the nuclear Lukes. Humphries said: 'The two best players in the world, a lot of pressure is going to be on our shoulders. I think everybody is expecting us to win it and no one's going to touch us. There are great teams in there. The likes of Gezzy and Jonny are a potential banana skin. Gian is playing really well. Him and Danny, if they get going, that's a tough team. Gary and Peter, Peter's playing better again now. But if me and Luke gel and everything goes well, it's going to be an incredibly tough performance to beat us both.'
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