Belgium has been drawn with two Asian nations for the group stage of the 2024 World Cup of Darts. Last year's semi-finalists Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts will take on iconic duo Paul Lim and Harith Lim from Singapore and Filipino team Christian Perez and Alexis Toylo.
The field for the World Cup of Darts consists of 40 countries. The four best-ranked countries will not play during the group stage. England (Luke Humphries and Michael Smith), Wales (Jonny Clayton and Jim Williams), the Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert) and Scotland (Peter Wright and Gary Anderson) enter from the second round.
The remaining 36 countries will start in a round-robin system, with the participating countries divided into 12 groups of three countries each. The 12 pool winners advance to the knockout stage.
So the outsiders for the final victory have to get past the group stage first. Northern Ireland's Josh Rock and Brendan Dolan start against South Africa and Switzerland, while host Germany - with Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens in the ranks - will battle against New Zealand and Finland. Former tournament winners Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock will go out for their country Australia against Japan and Hong Kong.
All group matches will be played on Thursday 27 June and Friday 28 June. The second round, with the last remaining 16 countries, will compete for a spot in the quarter-finals on Saturday 29 June. These will take place on Sunday afternoon, 30 June. The semi-finals and finals are scheduled for Sunday evening.
Group A
(5) Belgium
Singapore
Philippines
Group B
(6) Northern Ireland
South Africa
Switzerland
Group C
(7) Germany
New Zealand
Finland
Group D
(8) Australia
Japan
Hong Kong
Group E
(9) Republic of Ireland
Lithuania
Chinese Taipei
Group F
(10) Austria
China
Guyana
Group G
(11) Poland
Norway
Hungary
Group H
(12) Czech Republic
Bahrain
Iceland
Group I
(13) Croatia
Malaysia
Canada
Group J
(14) France
Latvia
Denmark
Group K
(15) Sweden
Spain
Gibraltar
Group L
(16) USA
Portugal
Italy
Seeds 1-4 - Through to Round Two
(1) England - Luke Humphries, Michael Smith
(2) Wales - Jonny Clayton, Jim Williams
(3) Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert
(4) Scotland - Peter Wright, Gary Anderson
Seeds 5-16 - Seeded for Group Stage
(5) Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts
(6) Northern Ireland - Josh Rock, Brendan Dolan
(7) Germany - Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens
(8) Australia - Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
(9) Republic of Ireland - William O'Connor, Keane Barry
(10) Austria - Rowby-John Rodriguez, Mensur Suljovic
(11) Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski, Radek Szaganski
(12) Czechia - Adam Gawlas, Karel Sedlacek
(13) Croatia - Boris Krcmar, Romeo Grvabac
(14) France - Jacques Labre, Thibault Tricole
(15) Sweden - Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
(16) USA - Danny Lauby, Jules van Dongen
Non-Seeded Nations
Bahrain - Basem Mahmood, Duda Durra
Canada - Matt Campbell, David Cameron
China - Xiaochen Zong, Chengan Liu
Chinese Taipei - Teng-Lieh Pupo, An-Sheng Lu
Denmark - Benjamin Reus, Claus Bendix Nielsen
Finland - Marko Kantele, Teemu Harju
Gibraltar - Justin Hewitt, Craig Galliano
Guyana - Norman Madhoo, Sudesh Fitzgerald
Hong Kong - Lok Yin Lee, Man Lok Leung
Hungary - Gabor Jagica, Nandor Major
Iceland - Arngrimur Olafsson, Petur Gudmundsson
Italy - Michele Turetta, Massimo Dalla Rosa
Japan - Tomoya Goto, Ryusei Azemoto
Latvia - Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Malaysia - Siik Hwang Wong, Mohamad Nasir
New Zealand - Haupai Puha, Ben Robb
Norway - Cor Dekker, Hakon Bjorge Helling
Philippines - Christian Perez, Alexis Toylo
Portugal - Jose de Sousa, David Gomes
Singapore - Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa - Johan Geldenhuys, Cameron Carolissen
Spain - Jose Justicia, Jesus Noguera
Switzerland - Stefan Bellmont, Bruno Stockli