England pair Luke Littler and Luke Humphries reach World Cup of Darts last eight

England banished the demons of last year’s early exit to progress into the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts quarter-finals in Frankfurt.

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were on the end of an 8-4 reversal to hosts Germany at the last-16 stage 12 months ago, citing questions about their partnership in the team competition.

They put those doubts to bed with an 8-5 victory over surprise package Spain to set up an all-British last-eight match against Wales following their triumph by the same scoreline over the United States.

Humphries, who won the title on his debut in 2024, admitted if England were to go all the way on Sunday, it would be “even more special”.

“Feels great, first and foremost, we just wanted to win tonight,” the world number two said. “Today was just get through the first game, however that may be, just to get over the line.

“That first win was very special because it was to end the drought, but I think this one maybe, if we were to win, would be even more special because there is so much pressure on us.

“I don’t think there was that pressure on me and Michael Smith to win. I think people had us as favourites, but I don’t think that there was this expectation.”

The English pair raced into a 3-0 lead and it looked ominous for Spain, only for Cristo Reyes and Jose Justicia to hit back with three successive legs.

Littler pinned double 20 to reach the interval 4-3 ahead, but their Spanish rivals took the eighth leg to level once again as England endured another tough test.

A run of three straight legs put England clear and despite Spain extending the match at 7-5, Littler checked out 89 to seal his first win in this event.

“I’m glad we had a test and tomorrow we can just relax and throw our darts,” Littler said.