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Reigning champions Wales crashed out of the World Cup of Darts after a shock second round defeat to Croatia over the weekend.

Wales went into the tournament, held in Frankfurt, Germany, without Markham’s Gerwyn Price – who was ruled out through illness.

Presteigne’s Jim Williams, who is ranked 44th in the world, took Price’s place and competed alongside Jonny Clayton, from Carmarthenshire.

However, the duo were stunned by Croatia’s Boris Krcmar and Romeo Grbavac – who defied a 91 average from Wales to reach their first world cup quarter-final since 2013.

They took the initiative early on before Clayton and Williams fought back valiantly to level at six apiece.

Nevertheless, after Wales squandered four darts at double for a 7-6 advantage, Grbavac landed successive 84 and 83 combinations to cap off a famous triumph.

“This is beautiful – it’s like a dream,” reflected Krcmar, who landed three 180s in inspiring his side to victory.

“I know that we can beat anybody, but this is a big moment for Croatia and Croatian darts and we’re very happy.”

Grbavac meanwhile described it as “a very good feeling” and added: “This is the biggest win of my career. Boris believed in me, and I believed in him. I’m very happy for me, Boris and all the Croatian people.”

Croatia would go on to lose to eventual finalists Austria in the quarter-finals, who in turn went on to lose to England’s Luke Humphries and Michael Smith in the final on Sunday June 30.