CASH CONVERTERS has been confirmed as title sponsors of the 2012 World Cup of Darts, which could feature a quarter-final between hosts Germany and top seeds England in Hamburg.
Following last year's inaugural event, the second Cash Converters World Cup of Darts will be staged at Hamburg's Alsterdorfer Stadthalle from February 3-5, featuring 24 two-man teams representing countries from around the world.
Televised live on Sky Sports HD, the event will feature a combination of both Doubles and Singles games throughout three days of play.
The PDC is delighted to confirm that Cash Converters has retained their title sponsorship of the £150,000 tournament, which will also be shown live in Holland, Germany, Australia and the Middle East, as well as syndicated worldwide in highlights packages.
"We thank Cash Converters for their continued support of the Professional Darts Corporation and our major events," said PDC Chairman Barry Hearn.
"Both the 2010 World Cup of Darts and last December's Cash Converters Players Championship provided great drama and excitement and we're thrilled that Cash Converters has continued to back this emerging event."
David Patrick, chief executive of Cash Converters UK, added: "We are delighted to be title sponsors of the PDC World Cup of Darts again this year.
"We recognise that the grassroots popularity of darts is a perfect for our brand and we are pleased to invest in this prestigious event as the sport continues to grow, welcoming new fans year on year."
The First Round of the Cash Converters World Cup of Darts sees the teams ranked 9-24 play off in knockout Doubles matches, before the Second Round sees the top eight seeds - including reigning champions the Netherlands, and the English pair of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis - enter the fray.
The Second Round will be split across two sessions, with Singles matches being played on Friday night and Doubles games being held on Saturday afternoon, as team's battle for places in Saturday night's Quarter-Finals.
The Netherlands - represented by Raymond van Barneveld and Vincent van der Voort - were drawn against Austria or New Zealand as they bid to retain the title they won in December 2010.
England's Taylor and Lewis have been drawn against Canada or Hungary, with Scotland - featuring Gary Anderson and Peter Wright - playing either Spain, who were semi-finalists in the last World Cup as Antonio Alcinas and Carlos Rodriguez lit up the tournament, or South Africa.
Wales, the runner-up to the Netherlands in 2010, will play either Finland or Croatia, Australia will meet either the Republic of Ireland or Malaysia as they bid to better their previous semi-final finish and Germany meet the USA or Philippines.
Northern Ireland take on Gibraltar or Denmark, and Belgium play Sweden or Japan in the other contest, with the draw having been made by PDC Director Rod Harrington and PDPA Chief Executive Alan Warriner-Little during Qualifying School last weekend.
Tickets for the tournament are already proving highly popular and can be purchased through www.pdc-europe.net. Tickets range from €8.90-€24.90 per session, with combination tickets available for both daily sessions and/or all sessions throughout the event.
Cash Converters World Cup of Darts
Schedule of Play
All times local (GMT+1)
Friday February 3
Afternoon Session (2pm-6pm)
First Round x8 Games
Best of nine legs, 501 Doubles, loser throws first.
Knockout between teams 9-24
Order of Play
Canada (John Part & Ken MacNeil) v Hungary (Nandor Bezzeg & Kristian Kaufmann)
Republic of Ireland (William O'Connor/Mick McGowan v Malaysia (Lee Choon Peng/Amin Bin Abdul Ghani)
USA (Darin Young & Gary Mawson) v Philippines (Christian Perez & Lourence Ilagan)
Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Dietmar Burger) v New Zealand (Warren French & Preston Ridd)
Sweden (Magnus Caris & Dennis Nilsson) v Japan (Haruki Muramatsu & Morihiro Hashimoto)
Spain (Antonio Alcinas & Carlos Rodriguez) v South Africa (Devon Petersen & Shawn Hogan)
Finland (Petri Korte & Marko Kantele) v Croatia (Boris Krcmar & Tonci Restovic)
Gibraltar (Dylan Duo & Dyson Parody) v Denmark (Per Laursen & Jann Hoffmann)
Second Round
Play split across Friday night & Saturday afternoon sessions
Draw Bracket - to be used from Second Round onwards
England (1) v Canada/Hungary
Germany (8) v USA/Philippines
Wales (5) v Finland/Croatia
Scotland (4) v Spain/South Africa
Australia (2) v Republic of Ireland/Malaysia
Belgium (7) v Sweden/Japan
Northern Ireland (6) v Gibraltar/Denmark
Netherlands (3) v Austria/New Zealand
Evening Session (8pm-12am)
16 x Singles matches. Top ranked player from each team plays second ranked player from opposing team.
Best of seven legs, 501 Singles, loser throws first.
One point awarded for each match winner.
Order of Play
Northern Ireland v Gibraltar/Denmark
Brendan Dolan v Dyson Parody/Jann Hoffman
Michael Mansell v Dylan Duo/Per Laursen
Belgium v Sweden/Japan
Kim Huybrechts v Dennis Nilsson/Morihiro Hashimoto
Kurt Van De Rijck v Magnus Caris/Haruki Muramatsu
Australia v Republic of Ireland/Malaysia
Simon Whitlock v Mick McGowan/Amin Bin Abdul Ghani
Paul Nicholson v William O'Connor/Lee Choon Peng
Wales v Finland/Croatia
Mark Webster v Marko Kantele/Tonci Restovic
Richie Burnett v Petri Korte/Boris Krcmar
Germany v USA/Philippines
Jyhan Artut v Gary Mawson/Lourence Ilagan
Bernd Roith v Darin Young/Christian Perez
Scotland v Spain/South Africa
Gary Anderson v Carlos Rodriguez/Shawn Hogan
Peter Wright v Antonio Alcinas/Devon Petersen
England v Canada/Hungary
Phil Taylor v Ken MacNeil/Kristian Kaufmann
Adrian Lewis v John Part/Nandor Bezzeg
Netherlands v Austria/New Zealand
Raymond van Barneveld v Dietmar Burger/Preston Ridd
Vincent van der Voort v Mensur Suljovic/Warren French
Saturday February 4
Afternoon Session (2.30pm-6.30pm)
Second Round
8x Doubles matches. Best of nine legs, 501 Doubles, loser throws first.
Two points awarded for each match winner. In the event of this resulting in a 2-2 tie between countries, a sudden death doubles leg will take place with the team who threw first in the doubles match throwing first for the bull in the sudden death leg.
Order of Play
Northern Ireland v Gibraltar/Denmark
Belgium v Sweden/Japan
Australia v Republic of Ireland/Malaysia
Wales v Finland/Croatia
Germany v USA/Philippines
Scotland v Spain/South Africa
England v Canada/Hungary
Netherlands v Austria/New Zealand
Evening Session (8pm-12am)
Quarter-Finals
4x Quarter-Final ties. Play proceeds in bracket order from the Second Round onwards.
Same format as Second Round, with Doubles match immediately following second Singles match in each tie.
Order of Play TBC
Sunday February 5
Afternoon Session (3pm-6.30pm)
Semi-Finals
2x Semi-Final ties.
Semi-finals consist of four best of nine leg Singles games followed by a best of nine leg Doubles match (if required).
One point is awarded per singles match won, two per doubles. Loser throws first.
If the match finishes all square (3-3), a sudden-death Doubles leg will be played with a bull-up on stage to determine who throws first. Once a team has an unassailable lead, the tie is over and no further matches shall be played.
Order of Play TBC
Evening Session (8pm-11.30pm)
Final
Same format as semi-finals but matches played over the best of 15 legs.