'The pressure got to them and they buckled' - Wayne Mardle reacts to Luke Littler & Luke Humphries' World Cup of Darts disappointment

So just what did go so wrong for England though? As mentioned, they were widely touted as pre-tournament favourites and many seemed to have already written their names on the trophy. Could all this hype and expectation have actually had a knock on effect on the performances of Humphries and Littler? According to Mardle the answer is yes.

"Luke and Luke, no doubt, were feeling the stresses and strains of being massive favourites and to go on about how good Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were, they just made it look easy - that's how difficult World Cup pairings can be," says the ex-pro turned expert analyst. "The pressure got to them at some point, Luke and Luke, and they buckled. Their opponents didn't, and full credit to Martin and Ricardo there."

"Playing for your country is different than playing for yourself. Playing with a teammate is different than playing just by yourself," Mardle added. "The rhythm that you get in is different. Luke Humphries having won it last year with Michael Smith, I thought would give him confidence, knowing what it's all about. But when you're under pressure, you're under pressure. You can't just think: 'I've been here before, it's fine.' You can't do that."