Daryl Gurney and Josh Rock, playing as a team for the first time, edged past two-time champions Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton in Frankfurt to lift the trophy and take home the £80,000 winner’s prize.

Rock, just 24m said: “Me and Daryl always believed we could win this if we teamed up – and we did. We’ve made history for Northern Ireland.” A tearful Gurney added: “Josh’s power scoring was incredible, and I was there to finish it off. I’ve never been prouder of both of us.”

Wales, with higher-ranked players in Price (11th) and Clayton (5th), had the edge on paper, but Northern Ireland – ranked 17th and 25th – started stronger. Despite Rock missing two darts to take a 4-1 lead, Clayton’s 142 checkout brought Wales back to 3-3. The Welsh team then moved ahead 7-5, but Northern Ireland responded by winning four straight legs. After missing four match darts, they were taken to a decider at 9-9, where Gurney coolly hit double eight in an 11-dart leg to clinch the win.

Earlier, Northern Ireland crushed host nation Germany 8-1 in the semi-finals, with Gurney averaging 105. They had also come from behind to defeat the Republic of Ireland 8-5 in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Wales reached the final with an 8-5 win over the Netherlands, who had led 4-2 before crumbling under pressure.

Germany had earned a spot in the last four by knocking out Australia in a decider, while the Dutch had dominated early rounds, winning 16 straight legs before being tested by the Czech Republic in the quarters.