THE NETHERLANDS will begin their defence of the Betway World Cup of Darts title against Gibraltar when the eighth staging of the annual pairs event is held in Frankfurt later this month.
The familiar Dutch line-up of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will be amongst 32 nations competing in the £300,000 tournament, which is held from May 31-June 3 live on Sky Sports.
Having claimed three World Cup of Darts titles, the Netherlands will begin their bid for a fourth triumph when they take on Gibraltar pair Dyson Parody and Justin Broton in the first round at the Eissporthalle.
Top seeds Scotland - represented by Peter Wright and Gary Anderson - will meet the United States of America in round one, while four-time winners England, who have Rob Cross and Dave Chisnall in action, drew the Czech Republic.
Number four seeds Australia will face Hong Kong, last year’s finalists Wales take on Thailand, and number six seeds Northern Ireland meet Poland in their first-round tie.
Former finalists Belgium will play Republic of Ireland, and eighth seeds Austria will come up against Japan.
Singapore, whose pairing of Paul Lim and Harith Lim reached last year's quarter-finals, will take on New Zealand, while Russia - who also progressed to the last eight in 2017 - will meet former semi-finalists Spain.
Host nation Germany drew Sweden, former semi-finalists Finland will play Greece, South Africa take on Hungary and Brazil - appearing in their second World Cup - meet Denmark.
Canada will come up against Italy, while Switzerland face China, whose pairing includes Momo Zhou, who will become only the second female competitor in the event's history.
The Betway World Cup of Darts will be held from May 31-June 3 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, and broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The schedule of play will be confirmed in due course.
Betway World Cup of Darts
Draw Bracket
(1) Scotland v United States of America
Denmark v Brazil
(8) Austria v Japan
Italy v Canada
(5) Wales v Thailand
Switzerland v China
(4) Australia v Hong Kong
Russia v Spain
(2) England v Czech Republic
New Zealand v Singapore
(7) Belgium v Republic of Ireland
Greece v Finland
(6) Northern Ireland v Poland
Sweden v Germany
(3) Netherlands v Gibraltar
Hungary v South Africa
The draw was broadcast on Facebook Live through the OfficialPDC Facebook page.
Competing Nations
Seeded Nations
1 Scotland - Peter Wright & Gary Anderson
2 England - Rob Cross & Dave Chisnall
3 Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld
4 Australia - Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson
5 Wales - Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
6 Northern Ireland - Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
7 Belgium - Kim Huybrechts & Dimitri Van den Bergh
8 Austria - Mensur Suljovic & Zoran Lerchbacher
Other Nations
Brazil - Diogo Portela & Bruno Rangel
Canada - John Part & Dawson Murschell
China - Momo Zhou & Xiaochen Zong
Czech Republic - Roman Benecky & Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Per Laursen & Henrik Primdal
Finland - Kim Viljanen & Marko Kantele
Germany - Max Hopp & Martin Schindler
Gibraltar - Dyson Parody & Justin Broton
Greece - John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
Hong Kong - Royden Lam & Ho Yin Shek
Hungary - Tamas Alexits & Nandor Bezzeg
Italy - Michel Furlani & Alessio Medaina
Japan - Seigo Asada & Haruki Muramatsu
New Zealand - Cody Harris & Warren Parry
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski & Tytus Kanik
Republic of Ireland - Steve Lennon & William O'Connor
Russia - Boris Koltsov & Aleksandr Oreshkin
Singapore - Paul Lim & Harith Lim
South Africa - Devon Petersen & Liam O'Brien
Spain - Cristo Reyes & Toni Alcinas
Sweden - Daniel Larsson & Dennis Nilsson
Switzerland – Alexander Fehlmann & Andreas Bless
Thailand - Thanawat Gaweenuntavong & Attapol Eupakaree
United States of America - Larry Butler & Darin Young
Prize Fund
Winners (Per Player) £30,000
Runner-Up (Per Player) £16,000
Semi-Finalists (Per Player) £10,000
Quarter-Finalists (Per Player) £7,000
Second Round Losers (Per Player) £4,000
First Round Losers (Per Player) £1,500
Total £300,000
Format
First Round
Best of nine legs Doubles
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 declared the winner.