Draw for group stage 2024 World Cup of Darts confirmed: dark horse Belgium set to face iconic Lim duo

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.

(5) Belgium

Singapore

Philippines

(6) Northern Ireland

South Africa

Switzerland

(7) Germany

New Zealand

Finland

(8) Australia

Japan

Hong Kong

(9) Republic of Ireland

Lithuania

Chinese Taipei

(10) Austria

China

Guyana

(11) Poland

Norway

Hungary

(12) Czech Republic

Bahrain

Iceland

(13) Croatia

Malaysia

Canada

(14) France

Latvia

Denmark

(15) Sweden

Spain

Gibraltar

(16) USA

Portugal

Italy

(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

(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

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