The
World Cup of Darts is the only PDC tournament where the matches are (partly) played in pairs. The first round even consists entirely of pair matches.
In the past, especially the Dutch team with Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld excelled in the doubles. Since 2019, however, 'Barney' is no longer part of the Dutch team. The last two years respectively Jermaine Wattimena and Danny Noppert took his place, while Dirk van Duijvenbode is teaming up with Mighty Mike this year.
No fewer than six of the ten highest team averages at the World Cup of Darts are owned by Van Gerwen and Van Barneveld. The three highest averages are all occupied by the Netherlands, one of which is an unofficial world record.
In 2014, the two Dutchmen hit an average of 117.88 against Northern Ireland. In addition, the Netherlands threw averages of 111.33, 109.33, 107.77, 105.17 and 102.95 during the couple pairs at the World Cup.
Australia holds the highest pairs average not achieved by a Dutch team. Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson averaged 108.41 in their match against Canada in 2010. Belgium (105.48 in 2013), Wales (103.52 in 2020) and Scotland (102.35 in 2010) are the other three nations in the top 10 with highest team averages.