"It would be a dream come true" - Gian van Veen's excitement building ahead of likely World Cup of Darts debut

The World Cup of Darts takes place from Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15 in Frankfurt am Main. Normally, each country is represented by its two highest-ranked players on the PDC Order of Merit - provided they hold a Tour Card. For the Netherlands, however, Michael van Gerwen has recently confirmed he will not be available for this year’s tournament.

Van Gerwen, currently third in the world rankings, is the top-ranked Dutch player. Under usual circumstances, he would have teamed up with Danny Noppert, who sits sixteenth in the rankings.

With Van Gerwen stepping aside, the door opens for the next-highest Dutch player: world number 23 Gian van Veen. Just last weekend, Van Veen reached the final of the German Darts Grand Prix, where he was defeated by Van Gerwen.

“I’ve kept the weekend free, so if they call me up, I’m ready,” Van Veen told Viaplay. “I haven’t heard anything official yet, but I’ve already been in touch with Danny Noppert. We’d both love to play together - we get along really well."

“Of course, it would’ve been great for both of us to team up with Van Gerwen, but Danny and I could make a strong pair, too," Van Veen insists confidently. "For me, it would be a dream come true.”

Team England, the tournament favorites, also face uncertainty. Luke Humphries is confirmed, but it’s unclear who will partner him. Luke Littler, second in the world rankings behind Humphries, seems the obvious pick. However, the reigning world champion recently announced on social media that he won’t compete in any German tournaments until at least the autumn. Littler was booed during the Premier League night in Berlin and again last weekend at the German Darts Grand Prix - something that clearly didn’t sit well with him.

If Littler is indeed skipping the event, we could see Stephen Bunting make a World Cup of Darts debut alongside his good friend Humphries.