Van Gerwen talks about Dutch chances at World Cup of Darts: 'We are the favorite together with Wales'

Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert are taking a shot at the title at the World Cup of Darts on behalf of the Netherlands this year. They face Brazil in the opening round on Friday evening.

For Van Gerwen, Noppert is his third teammate in three years. He played with Raymond van Barneveld from 2013 to 2018, which led to three titles at the World Cup of Darts. In 2019 Jermaine Wattimena replaced his fellow countryman Van Barneveld. Noppert is now the second Dutchman on the PDC Order of Merit.

'We are the favorite together with Wales (Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton)'', said Van Gerwen to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Another contender is England, with Rob Cross and Michael Smith in the ranks. ''They are on the other side of the draw and we can only meet in the final. But I think the winner comes from the bottom half, which includes Wales (second seed) and the Netherlands (third seed). We should reach the semi-finals anyway.''

Last year, Van Gerwen and Wattimena reached the semi-finals as they surprisingly lost to Ireland. Irish duo William O'Connor and Steve Lennon were in excellent form in 2019 as they also overcame England and Austria, before losing to Scotland in the final.

Now the world number one is forming a team with Noppert, who is the perfect teammate for Van Gerwen according to Van Barneveld. The 31-year-old Dutchman doesn't disagree with that. ''He does his own thing and is not concerned about someone else. I also let him do his own thing. He knows what to do.''