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Preview World Cup of Darts 2023: Who will take prestigious title at the annual Nations tournament?
PDCThursday, 15 June 2023 at 14:55
It is time again for the World Cup of Darts. From Thursday 15 June to Sunday 18 June, 40 countries will compete for the final victory in the only pairs tournament on the PDC calendar.
This year, the Nations tournament can rightly be called a pairs event again. After years of criticism, the PDC finally decided to scrap singles and play only pairs at the World Cup of Darts.
This did come with some additional adjustments. The event now consists of two stages; a group stage and a knockout stage. Top nations England (Michael Smith and Rob Cross), the Netherlands (Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert), Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton) and Scotland (Peter Wright and Gary Anderson) are automatically qualified for the knockout phase.
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The remaining 36 countries are divided into 12 groups of three countries each. The 12 group winners join the above four countries in the last 16. From then on, knockout matches will be played.
Former winners
The Nations tournament first appeared on the calendar in 2010. At the time, Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé won the first edition of the World Cup of Darts. Van Barneveld would eventually win the tournament four times, as he triumphed alongside compatriot Michael van Gerwen in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
With the exception of 2011, when the tournament was cancelled, England took the title each time in the intervening years. Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis captured the overall victory together in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
2019 finally saw another winner. Peter Wright and Gary Anderson provided the first Scottish success at the World Cup of Darts. Wright also took the title at this unique event with John Henderson in 2021.
Welsh duo Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton were the best at the World Cup of Darts in 2020. The defending champions this year are Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock. They gave Australia its first title in 2022.
Who are the favourites this year?
This year, it is more important than ever that countries have not only two quality darters but also two players who are a good match. If it does not click between two players, it will be difficult to bring out the best in the other.
In that respect, Wales looks like the big favourite for the overall win this year. Price and Clayton are two good friends of each other and not for nothing they have been in the final twice in the past three years.
In the England and Netherlands teams, the players are a bit further apart in terms of character and pluses, but who knows, maybe that will make them complement each other. The cool Danny Noppert with the fiery Dirk van Duijvenbode for the Dutch team, and the always heart on his sleeve Michael Smith with the stoic Rob Cross.
So Wales is the top favourite, with the Netherlands and England behind them. That is followed by four more outsiders. How about the Scottish duo Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, although Wright is in moderate form. Anderson, on the other hand, is actually on an upswing this season.
Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens will go high with Germany. The two home players have shown in recent years that they can play well together at the World Cup of Darts. Of course, defending champion Australia cannot be missing either. Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock surprisingly took the title at the tournament last year. Finally, Belgium, with Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts, can also be counted among the outsiders.
Where can the World Cup of Darts be seen on TV?
The Nations tournament will be broadcast in the UK by Sky Sports.
On Thursday 15 June and Friday 16 June, the matches from the group phase are scheduled. On Saturday 17 June, the second round is scheduled. The rest of the tournament will be completed on Sunday. In the afternoon, the quarter-finals will take place, followed by the semi-finals and the final in the evening session.
What is the distribution of prize money at the World Cup of Darts?
There will be £450,000 in prize money during this pairs tournament. The event has a higher prize pool than last year. A total of £100,000 has been added to the prize money to be distributed.
The 36 countries in the group stage will receive a minimum of £2,000 per player, while players from the top four seeded countries will receive at least £9,000 each. This could eventually rise to £40,000 per player on winning the World Cup of Darts.
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