Ben Pawlowski
GIBRALTAR scored an unlikely victory over arch rivals Spain at the World Cup of Darts, a pairs tournament featuring some of the world’s best players including Michael van Gerwen and world champion Luke Humphires.
Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt made history for the Rock after the tungsten tossers triumphed by four legs to three in a thrilling encounter against their Spanish counterparts.
Spain’s Jesus Noguera narrowly missed a dart at D20 to win the deciding leg before Galliano pinned D9 to spark jubilant scenes in Frankfurt, Germany.
READ MORE: Darts competition scandal in Gibraltar
The Gibraltarian duo received vocal support from a large group of English football fans who were in the area ahead of Sunday’s crunch Euro 2024 last 16 tie against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen.
Unfortunately, the pair – the youngest in the tournament – were unable to progress from Group K into the knockout stages after suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Sweden, who had previously secured a whitewash win over Spain in impressive fashion.
Friday’s victory is just the third time the Gibraltar team have tasted victory at the World Cup of Darts – a duo consisting of Dyson Parody and Manuel Vilerio defeated Italy in 2015, whilst Hewitt and Galliano conquered minnows Guyana in the tournament last year.
