bwin World Cup of Darts Preview

NATIONS SET TO COLLIDE IN BWIN WORLD CUP OF DARTS
 

THE bwin World Cup of Darts kicks off on Thursday night, as 32 nations bid to claim the title in the annual Pairs tournament at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt.

The tournament will see 32 teams do battle across four days from June 11-14 to claim the title in the fifth staging of the PDC's World Cup of Darts.

The £250,000 event begins with the first round split across Thursday and Friday evenings, with the two-player teams doing battle in a Doubles format over the best of nine legs.

Thursday's opening games will be headlined by two-time champions England - represented for a fourth successive year by Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis - taking on Denmark's Per Laursen and Per Skau.

The 2012 and 2013 champions were defeated in last year's final by the Netherlands, but are aiming to reclaim their title this weekend in Frankfurt.

"I'm really looking forward to the World Cup and I know Adrian is too because it's a great honour for us to be representing our country and we love this event," said Taylor.

"We've done well in previous years but that counts for nothing this weekend and we've got to make sure that we play well, especially in the first round because it's a short format and in Doubles anything can happen.

"Per Laursen's been in the World Championship a few times and I played against Per Skau over 20 years ago, so they've both got plenty of experience."

Thursday's opening session will also feature former finalists Australia and Belgium taking on Russia and the Philippines respectively.

Spain - who were shock semi-finalists in 2010 - kick off against Russia and Japan take on China before Austria play the Czech Republic, Gibraltar face Italy and hosts Germany come up against India.

Holders Netherlands will again be represented by world number one Michael van Gerwen and five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld, who was also one half of their 2010 World Cup-winning pairing.

They face the American pair of Darin Young and Larry Butler in the first round on Friday night, with van Gerwen in top form after winning the Dubai Duty Free Darts Masters and Dutch Darts Masters over the past fortnight.

"Winning the World Cup last year was very special and I can't wait for this event," said van Gerwen. "I've had a great year so far and I want to retain it.

"I think we're going to be one of the favourites but we're both playing really well and our confidence is there.

"This is a different type of pressure to other tournaments because it's not just for me but I'm playing with Raymond and representing our country, but I love it and I hope we can have another successful tournament."

Number two seeds Scotland - represented by World Champion Gary Anderson and world number five Peter Wright - also enter the fray on Friday night as they take on Singapore's Paul Lim and Harith Lim.

Anderson has come into the team this year after leapfrogging Robert Thornton in the world rankings, and is aiming to add the World Cup after his treble of major wins in the Players Championship Finals, World Championship and Premier League since November.

"I've had a great six months or so and it would be brilliant to add the World Cup title too, not just for me but because we're representing Scotland too," said Anderson.

"As a country we've not had a good record in the past in this event but Peter's been in great form recently and if we can put it together this weekend then hopefully we've got a good chance.

"It's going to be tough in the first round, though, because Paul Lim's a great player who's been around for so many years, and he's got loads of experience in playing Doubles."

Friday's first round also sees Wales, the 2010 finalists, taking on Hong Kong, while Canada play New Zealand, Sweden meet Hungary, the Republic of Ireland face Poland, Northern Ireland up against Thailand and South Africa's clash with Finland.

The tournament continues into the weekend with a mixture of both Singles and Doubles matches during the second round - which is split across two sessions on Saturday - and Sunday's quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

2015 bwin World Cup of Darts
Schedule of Play
Thursday June 11 - Evening Session (20:00-00:00 local time)
First Round
Spain (12) v Norway
Japan (16) v China
Austria (8) v Czech Republic
Gibraltar (13) v Italy
Belgium (5) v Philippines
England (1) v Denmark
Germany (9) v India
Australia (4) v Russia

Friday June 12 - Evening Session (20:00-00:00 local time)
First Round
Canada (11) v New Zealand
Sweden (15) v Hungary
Wales (7) v Hong Kong
Republic of Ireland (10) v Poland
Northern Ireland (6) v Thailand
Scotland (2) v Singapore
Netherlands (3) v United States of America
South Africa (14) v Finland

Saturday June 13
Afternoon Session (14:00-18:00 local time)
Second Round
Belgium/Philippines v Spain /Norway
Australia /Russia v Gibraltar/Italy
Northern Ireland/Thailand v Canada/New Zealand
Wales/Hong Kong v Republic of Ireland/Poland

Evening Session (20:30-00:30 local time)
Second Round
Scotland/Singapore v Sweden/Hungary
Netherlands/USA v South Africa/Finland
England/Denmark v Japan/China
Austria/Czech Republic v Germany/India

Sunday June 14
Afternoon Session (14:00-18:00 local time)
Quarter-Finals
Order of Play TBC

Evening Session (20:00-00:00 local time)
Semi-Finals
Final

Format
First Round
Best of nine legs Doubles
Players will be required to nominate their order of throw to the PDC’s Tournament Director upon arrival at the venue on Friday before their first round games.

Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals
The Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play. In the event of both nations winning one Singles match apiece, a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.

Final
The Final will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play the first two matches, followed by a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match and then Reverse Singles matches. The first team to win three games is the winner.

Draw Bracket
England (1) v Denmark
Japan (16) v China
Austria (8) v Czech Republic
Germany (9) v India
Belgium (5) v Philippines
Spain (12) v Norway
Australia (4) v Russia
Gibraltar (13) v Italy
Scotland (2) v Singapore
Sweden (15) v Hungary
Wales (7) v Hong Kong
Republic of Ireland (10) v Poland
Northern Ireland (6) v Thailand
Canada (11) v New Zealand
Netherlands (3) v United States of America
South Africa (14) v Finland

bwin World Cup of Darts
Outright Tournament Winner
7/4 Netherlands
24/13 England
3/1 Scotland
16/1 Belgium
20/1 Australia
40/1 Wales
50/1 Northern Ireland
66/1 Austria
80/1 Spain
100/1 Germany
200/1 South Africa
200/1 Canada
200/1 Japan
250/1 USA
250/1 Sweden
300/1 Republic of Ireland
500/1 Denmark
500/1 Finland
500/1 Gibraltar
500/1 Hong Kong
500/1 New Zealand
500/1 Norway
500/1 Philippines
1000/1 China
1000/1 Czech Republic
1000/1 Hungary
1000/1 India
1000/1 Italy
1000/1 Poland
1000/1 Russia
1000/1 Singapore
1000/1 Thailand
Odds courtesy www.bwin.com and correct at 5pm BST on June 10 2015. Odds subject to fluctuation.

Click below to watch a special On The Wire - bwin World Cup of Darts Preview with Dan Dawson & Rod Harrington