(PREVIEW) Can Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert be the recipe for new Dutch success at World Cup of Darts?

Starting next Thursday, the PDC World Cup of Darts 2024 is on the calendar. Of course, the Netherlands is also among forty participating countries in Frankfurt. How did they do in the past at this tournament and how can we estimate their chances this year?

The World Cup of Darts is the unofficial world championship for national teams within the PDC. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2010, when 24 countries were present. This remained so until 2014, when the field of participants was expanded to 32 countries. Since last year there are 40 and only pair matches are played anymore.

For the very first edition of the World Cup of Darts, Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé were invited. The two Dutchmen already had many years together, because in their earlier days at the BDO they also regularly played pairs tournaments. They also formed a team several times at the WDF Europe Cup. In 2000, Van Barneveld and Stompé became European champions at that tournament.

Yet they were not the top favourite at the 2010 World Cup of Darts. That was the Englishmen Phil Taylor and James Wade. However, they surprisingly lost 6-5 to Carlos Rodriguez and Toni Alcinas of Spain in their first match.

The Netherlands started the tournament with a 6-2 victory over German duo Jyhan Artut and Andree Welge. Van Barneveld and Stompé then ended up in a group with Canada (John Part and Ken Macneil), Austria (Mensur Suljovic and Maik Langendorf) and Australia (Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson). The Netherlands won all its group matches 3-1 to qualify as group winners for the semifinals.

In the semifinals, the Netherlands easily won 4-0 over the Spaniards. In the other semifinal, Welsh duo Mark Webster and Barrie Bates triumphed 4-3 against Australia, making Wales the opponent in the final. Van Barneveld then put the Netherlands up 1-0 in the final by winning his single against Bates 8-4. However, Webster then brought Wales into the lead by beating both Stompé and Van Barneveld 8-6. With an 8-5 win over Bates, Stompé then forced a decisive pairs match. That match was won 8-5 by the Netherlands, allowing Van Barneveld and Stompé to lift the cup.

In 2012, Van Barneveld got to compete again at the World Cup of Darts. This time he got Vincent van der Voort next to him. With this fellow countryman 'Barney' had already achieved some successes. In 2004 they won the pairs tournament at the WDF Europe Cup together and a year later they even won the world title at the WDF World Cup.

The tournament started with a difficult 2-1 victory over Austria, which was defeated after a tie. In the quarterfinals against Northern Ireland, the Netherlands came out a lot stronger. Van der Voort won the first single from Brendan Dolan (4-3), after which Van Barneveld secured the second point by beating Mickey Mansell 4-2. The doubles match was also a 4-3 victory for the Dutch duo. Australia awaited in the semifinals, but leading up to this match, the Dutch duo faced a major setback. In the night from Saturday to Sunday, Van der Voort fell seriously ill, leaving him considerably weakened at the start of the final day.

Van der Voort still almost won the first single against Simon Whitlock, but had to concede 4-3. Van Barneveld beat Paul Nicholson to make it 1-1, but the next two singles matches went to Australia. Whitlock was 4-2 too strong for 'Barney', and Van der Voort lost 4-2 to Nicholson. The pairs match could still save the Netherlands, but the Dutch duo threw only 74 average in the pairing match. Australia won the tie match 4-0, and would then lose to England after a legendary World Cup final.

From 2013 to 2018, Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen did the honors for the Netherlands. After a poor start in 2013, this duo grew into one of the most successful pairs in the history of the World Cup of Darts.

In 2013, they surprisingly lost 5-3 to Finland's Jani Haavisto and Jarkko Komula. Determined to rectify this disappointment, 'Barney' and 'Mighty Mike' returned in 2014. With wins over Italy (5-2), Spain (2-0), Belgium (2-1) and Northern Ireland (2-1), the final was reached. In the semifinal against Northern Ireland, Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld combined to throw an average of 117.88 in the pairs match. This is still the highest pairs average ever. In the final, the English duo of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were pulverized. Van Gerwen started with a 4-0 victory over Taylor, after which Van Barneveld also recorded a 4-0 win over Lewis. With a 4-2 win over Lewis, Van Gerwen then clinched the title for the Netherlands.

A year later, Scots Gary Anderson and Peter Wright prevented another final place for the Netherlands. In 2016, there was a final spot for Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld, but then they lost 3-2 to England.

It turned out to be the last defeat of the Dutch team in this composition, as the title went to the Netherlands twice in a row in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, they won 3-1 in the final against Wales, which then played with Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price. A year later, they won 3-1 over Scottish duo Wright and Anderson in the final.

However, Van Barneveld did not get the chance to try to defend his title again in 2019. Jermaine Wattimena had passed him in the world rankings, causing the PDC to designate him as the second man behind Van Gerwen. It turned out to be the starting signal of a lot of changes in the Dutch team, causing the steadiness of the years before to disappear.

In 2019, Van Gerwen and Wattimena made it to the semifinals. They were eliminated in the decisive pairing match by tournament sensation Ireland, which had previously sent England and Austria home. Danny Noppert became Van Gerwen's new teammate in 2020. This time, Germany proved too big an obstacle in the quarterfinals. After both countries won one of the singles, Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens triumphed in the pairs match 4-3.

In 2021, Van Gerwen got yet another teammate. This time it was Dirk van Duijvenbode who got to don the orange shirt. Again a sour elimination in the quarter-finals followed. Van Gerwen put the Netherlands up 1-0 by beating John Henderson 4-1 in the first single, but Van Duijvenbode then lost 4-1 to Peter Wright. The pairs match was then won 4-3 by Scotland, which would eventually win the tournament as well.

After this edition, Van Gerwen disappeared from the Dutch team because of an injury (2022) and an operation on his teeth (2023). Noppert and Van Duijvenbode were allowed to team twice. In 2022 that resulted in a semifinal place. A strong tournament then came to an end against Wales. The 2023 edition turned out to be a disappointment however. In the new format with only pair matches, Noppert and Van Duijvenbode lost their first match 8-7 to the Belgian duo Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts.

After two missed editions, Michael van Gerwen returns to the Dutch team. With Danny Noppert, he will have a familiar face with him to the nations tournament in Frankfurt. It is up to them to get the Netherlands back to a final spot at the World Cup of Darts for the first time since 2018.

Potentially, Van Gerwen and Noppert should be an excellent duo. They are complementary to each other. 'Mighty Mike' is the scoring beast with plenty of swagger, while Noppert is the cool Freeze who is often very sharp with finishing. Also, there will be no fuss about who will take the lead. Noppert is not the person to engage in cockiness.

The Netherlands will have to wait and see who they will face at the World Cup of Darts. As number three on the ranking list, they do not have to participate in the group stage and are automatically qualified for the knockout stage. On Saturday, June 29, the Netherlands will play one of the 12 pool winners in the last sixteen. However, it is clear that the Netherlands will face Wales (Jonny Clayton and Jim Williams) in the draw. Van Gerwen and Noppert could possibly face the two Welshmen in the semifinals, but they would have to win two other matches first.

As in recent years, the Netherlands is primarily a major outsider to win the title. England (Luke Humphries and Michael Smith) and the aforementioned Wales seem more likely to win the title in advance.