The format for the final was four best of 7 legs singles matches with the team reaching 3 points being the winners. Should the scores be tied at 2-2, a final best of 7 doubles match would be played.
If Carlsberg created dream World Cup final line-ups between the four finest arrows men in the world then a showdown between Taylor/Lewis and van Gerwen/van Barneveld would most definitely be at the top of the wish lists of most darts aficionados.
Between them they currently hold the Matchplay, World Grand Prix, Masters, Players Championship, World Championship and UK Open title so to say that there was very little to choose between the two teams was an understatement, though the bookies slightly favoured the English pair ahead of the Dutch dynamos.
Michael van Gerwen must have got word of the bookies pre-match prediction as he exploded out of the blocks, quickly firing in a 180 in leg one, following it up with a 65 finish to gain the early initiative. Then came a 129 outshot secured with the bull, a 10-darter in leg three and finally an 88 checkout to seal a 4-0 victory in a truly jaw-dropping performance that really did ‘take the Mick’.
Most worryingly for the English pair it meant that the horrendously off-form Adrian Lewis needed to get something out of his forthcoming two singles matches but his dip in performance failed to lift despite team England’s now desperate circumstances.
Four missed doubles in leg one for Barney seemed to have let Lewis off the hook in leg one, only for Jackpot to miss three of his own to concede the throw right from the off. It was a break he was never to regain, even when left with a 96 checkout in leg
two. A couple of 180s and a replica showing of his performance in last month’s Premier League final were enough for RVB to mimic the result of his young partner as he secured a 4-0 whitewash.
When MVG landed a 74 outshot in the first leg of the third singles match against Lewis it looked like curtains for the English, but a last glimmer of hope came as Adrian overcame the disappointment of missing the bull for a 164 to secure the leg at the second time of asking and then hit double 10 to keep things neck and neck at 2-2.
It only delayed the inevitable as a finish of 68 for van Gerwen put him one leg away from another major title and then Lewis’ doubles deserted him yet again in leg six which Michael was only too pleased to see as he nailed 94 to put him and Barney on top of the world with two games to spare.