Overview

• Luke Littler and Luke Humphries entered the World Cup as top seeds following their MBEs but suffered an 8-4 loss to Germany in the second round on June 14.
• Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko capitalised on missed doubles by the English pair to dominate the match at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle.
• The partisan crowd booed Littler and Humphries during their walk-on to “Vindaloo,” prompting Schindler to criticise the whistling as unacceptable.
• England managed only four successful doubles from 11 attempts, marking a rare off-night for the world’s number one and number two players.
• Germany advances to face Australia in the quarter-finals, while England exit at the first hurdle despite being pre-tournament favourites.