The 2023 World Cup of Darts will last from 15 to 18 June and will be played in the German city of Frankfurt. The PDC tournament, in which several countries compete against each other for the title, has a new format in which the participating countries only play each other in pair matches.
ADVERTISEMENT
Which countries have the best papers to take the title in Frankfurt and which outsiders should be taken into account?
England
The number 1 seed has as its leader the number 1 in the world rankings: Michael Smith. The reigning world champion forms a team together with Rob Cross (world number 5). Cross secured his spot for this tournament in the final of the European Darts Grand Prix, in an outright shoot-out for a World Cup position with world No 6 Luke Humphries.
In 2020, Smith and Cross also formed the World Cup team for England and managed to reach the final then, in which they lost 3-0 to Wales. As multiple major winners, Smith and Cross certainly have it in them to improve on that performance and win the title again for England for the first time since 2016.
Netherlands
The Netherlands will be represented by Dirk van Duijvenbode and Danny Noppert, the current world number 8, for the second year in a row after the late withdrawal of Michael van Gerwen
Twelve months ago, the pair reached the semi-finals, where they were beaten 3-0 by Wales. The absence of Michael van Gerwen after his recent Premier League victory is undoubtedly a blow but with Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode both enjoying strong rises in the world rankings, the Netherlands is definitely a title contender.
ADVERTISEMENT
Wales
The 2020 World Cup winners are also sure to be among this year's title favourites again. Gerwyn Price (number 4 in the world rankings) and Jonny Clayton (number 7 in the world rankings) have been the team for Wales since 2018.
Both players managed to reach the play-offs of the Premier League and both were already successful on the Euro Tour this year. It can therefore be concluded that both Welshmen travel to Frankfurt in good shape.
Scotland
ADVERTISEMENT
Although the 2018 World Cup winners are seeded fourth, they will not travel to Frankfurt with their best form. Peter Wright (No 2 in the world rankings) has had a mediocre Premier League and Gary Anderson, meanwhile, has dropped to No 22 in the world rankings.
However, both players are also at times showing their top level again this year. Wright won the Euro tournament in the Czech Republic and Anderson has already won a Players Championship title. So the two experienced Scots are certainly not to be underestimated.
Australia
Outside the four top seeds, defending champion Australia also deserves to be named as title contenders. Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock fairly surprisingly made it to the final last year and then managed to beat Wales 3-1 in the final.
Heta then won his first Euro-tour title and moved up to number 14 in the world rankings. Whitlock has actually dropped down the world rankings in recent years and is now in spot 40, but he showed with last year's performance.
ADVERTISEMENT
Other contenders and outsiders
Outside the title contenders, there are still some countries that can certainly go far. The teams of Belgium (Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts), Germany (Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler) and Northern Ireland (Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney) consist of experienced players who are all in the top 32 of the world rankings.
Major outsiders are countries such as Ireland, Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, all of which have at least one competitor in the top 50 of the world rankings.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of DartsNews.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy across professional darts coverage. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces, playing a central role in the development and daily operation of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has extensive experience in darts media and has been closely involved in coverage of the professional darts circuit for several years. Within the UK darts community, he is a recognised figure known for his consistent editorial output and ongoing reporting on major tournaments and developments across the PDC calendar.
In his current role, Samuel works closely with editors and writers to ensure content meets clear journalistic standards, with a focus on source verification, editorial consistency, and timely updates when new, confirmed information becomes available.
𝙒𝙊𝙍𝙇𝘿 𝘾𝙐𝙋 𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙐𝙋𝙎 🏆🎯
The draw is made for the World Cup of Darts with the new format! 🤝
Some really exciting groups for the 15.-18. of June in the Eissporthalle! ☀️
Get your tickets via pdc-europe.tv! 😍