Darts World Cup 2024: Holders Wales knocked out by Croatia

Holders Wales are out of the 2024 World Cup of Darts after an 8-6 second-round defeat to Croatia in Frankfurt.

The Welsh team of Jonny Clayton and Jim Williams were shocked by Boris Krcmar and Romeo Grbavac, whose victory sent Croatia through to the quarter-finals for the first time.

Clayton had won the title alongside Gerwyn Price last year, having also triumphed in 2020.

But after world number four Price withdrew from this year’s competition for health reasons, Williams was a late call-up to the Wales side.

Wales fought back from 6-4 down to level the match at 6-6, only for Croatia to pull clear to claim a memorable victory.

Wales had been one of four seeded nations who entered the competition at the second-round stage.

England – represented by Luke Humphries and Michael Smith – beat France 8-3 while Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright cruised to an 8-2 win over Poland.

Northern Ireland also progressed, beating Germany 8-7, but there was a second-round exit for the Netherlands, who went down 8-2 to Belgium.