The 2024 BetVictor World Cup of Darts gets underway on Thursday, as 40 nations compete for the coveted title across the four-day festival of darts.
The 14th staging of the World Cup of Darts will take place at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt from June 27-30, with group and knockout stages featuring Doubles matches throughout the pairs event.
England, Wales, Netherlands and Scotland – the top four ranked nations based on lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking – will enter the tournament in Saturday's second round.
The remaining 36 nations have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin phase – including 12 seeded nations – from which each group winner will progress.
Reigning champions Wales will be led by two-time winner Jonny Clayton and debutant Jim Williams, who is drafted in as a late replacement for Gerwyn Price, who has been ruled out due to health issues.
“I feel really sorry for Gezzy, but it’s a big opportunity for me,” reflected Williams, the world number 44 who will take time away from his joinery business to compete in Frankfurt.
“I’m not going to try and fill Gezzy’s shoes, because there’s probably not a player in the world that can replace a player like him.
“I’m just going to do my own thing and play my game. I’ve not played too much competitive darts this year, so to get this chance on the big stage is great.
“Representing your country is always an amazing honour, and it will be great to partner Jonny. If we were to win the title, nothing would probably come close to that [in my career so far]."
World number one Luke Humphries will spearhead England’s title challenge in Frankfurt, as the top seeds eye a record fifth World Cup of Darts crown – and a first since 2016.
The World Champion will make his debut in the unique pairs event alongside world number three Michael Smith, who is making a fifth World Cup appearance in six years.
Michael van Gerwen will make his return for four-time champions Netherlands, as he teams up with former UK Open champion Danny Noppert for the first time since 2020.
Elsewhere, Peter Wright and Gary Anderson will renew their partnership for two-time champions Scotland, and Wright is relishing his return to the Eissporthalle.
“The World Cup is a totally different tournament,” admitted Wright, one of only two players – along with Raymond van Barneveld – to win the World Cup with two different partners.
“You're not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for your partner, you're playing for your country, and that’s more important.
"It's a lot of pressure playing with Gary because so many people would love to play alongside Gary Anderson, and I'm honoured to represent Scotland with him.
"We have a good record together, and we're only getting older and wiser, so hopefully all of our experience will help!”
Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens will again fly the flag for hosts Germany, having advanced to the semi-finals of last year’s extravaganza.
Schindler has enjoyed a terrific start to 2024, lifting the International Darts Open title in April and becoming Germany’s new number one in the process.
“The World Cup is my home tournament, and I’m really excited to be back,” insisted Schindler, who is bullish about Germany’s title prospects.
“The atmosphere in the Eissporthalle is always amazing, and I am looking forward to playing alongside Gabriel again.
“Me and Gabriel get along very well, so we’re just going to play our own game and hopefully it’s enough to win the tournament.
“Our spirit is there. We have the potential to fight back from any position, so I think we basically have everything. We just need to put it together when it matters.”
Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts continue their partnership for fifth seeds Belgium, while Brendan Dolan maintains his ever-present record alongside debutant Josh Rock for sixth seeds Northern Ireland.
Australia’s Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock are the only former champions involved in this year’s round-robin phase, and the 2022 winners will be joined by former finalists Republic of Ireland and Austria.
Poland, Czechia, Croatia, France, Sweden and USA make up the seeded nations in the group phase, with Chinese Taipei the solitary debutants in the £450,000 event.
The losing nations from Thursday’s opening games will play the third team from each group in Friday's afternoon session, before the decisive final group games are played on Friday evening.
Following the conclusion of the round-robin phase, the draw for the last 16 will take place on Friday evening, as England, Wales, Netherlands and Scotland enter the fray in the second round stage.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will then take place during a bumper double session on Sunday, with the schedule of play for the remainder of the tournament to be confirmed in due course.
The BetVictor World Cup of Darts will be broadcast on Sky Sports for viewers in the UK & Ireland, through the PDC's international broadcast partners, including DAZN and Viaplay, and on PDCTV for Rest of the World Subscribers.
2024 BetVictor World Cup of Darts
Eissporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
June 27-30 2024
Seeded through to Second Round
(1) England
(2) Wales
(3) Netherlands
(4) Scotland
Group Stage Draw
Group A
(5) Belgium
Singapore
Philippines
Group B
(6) Northern Ireland
South Africa
Switzerland
Group C
(7) Germany
New Zealand
Finland
Group D
(8) Australia
Japan
Hong Kong
Group E
(9) Republic of Ireland
Lithuania
Chinese Taipei
Group F
(10) Austria
China
Guyana
Group G
(11) Poland
Norway
Hungary
Group H
(12) Czechia
Bahrain
Iceland
Group I
(13) Croatia
Malaysia
Canada
Group J
(14) France
Latvia
Denmark
Group K
(15) Sweden
Spain
Gibraltar
Group L
(16) USA
Portugal
Italy
Draw Bracket – Second Round onwards
(1) England v
v
(4) Scotland v
v
(2) Wales v
v
(3) Netherlands v
v
Thursday June 27 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – First Matches x12
Sweden v Spain (K)
Czechia v Bahrain (H)
France v Latvia (J)
Croatia v Malaysia (I)
Republic of Ireland v Lithuania (E)
Poland v Norway (G)
USA v Portugal (L)
Belgium v Singapore (A)
Northern Ireland v South Africa (B)
Germany v New Zealand (C)
Australia v Japan (D)
Austria v China (F)
Friday June 28
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches x12
Loser First Match v Team 3
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches x12
Winner First Match v Team 3
Saturday June 29
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Second Round x4
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Second Round x4
Sunday June 30
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
Group Stage - Best of seven legs
Second Round - Best of 15 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 15 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 15 legs
Final - Best of 19 legs
All games will be played in a Doubles format.
Competing Nations & Pairings
Australia - Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
Austria - Rowby-John Rodriguez, Mensur Suljovic
Bahrain - Basem Mahmood, Duda Durra
Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts
Canada - Matt Campbell, David Cameron
China - Xiaochen Zong, Chengan Liu
Croatia - Boris Krcmar, Romeo Grbavac
Czechia - Adam Gawlas, Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Benjamin Reus, Claus Bendix Nielsen
England - Luke Humphries, Michael Smith
Finland - Teemu Harju, Marko Kantele
France - Thibault Tricole, Jacques Labre
Germany - Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens
Gibraltar - Justin Hewitt, Craig Galliano
Guyana - Norman Madhoo, Sudesh Fitzgerald
Hong Kong - Lok Yin Lee, Man Lok Leung
Hungary - Gabor Jagicza, Nandor Major
Iceland - Arngrimur Olafsson, Petur Rudrik Gudmundsson
Ireland - William O'Connor, Keane Barry
Italy - Michele Turetta, Massimo Dalla Rosa
Japan - Tomoya Goto, Ryusei Azemoto
Latvia - Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Malaysia - Siik Hwang Wong, Mohd Nasir Bin Jantan
Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert
New Zealand - Haupai Puha, Ben Robb
Northern Ireland - Josh Rock, Brendan Dolan
Norway - Cor Dekker, Håkon Bjørge Helling
Philippines - Christian Perez, Alexis Toylo
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski, Radek Szaganski
Portugal - Jose de Sousa, David Gomes
Scotland - Peter Wright, Gary Anderson
Singapore - Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa - Johan Geldenhuys, Cameron Carolissen
Spain - Jose Justicia, Jesus Noguera
Sweden - Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
Switzerland - Stefan Bellmont, Bruno Stöckli
Chinese Taipei - Teng-Lieh Pupo, An-Sheng Lu
USA - Danny Lauby, Jules van Dongen
Wales - Jonny Clayton, Jim Williams
Prize Fund (Per Team)
Winners - £80,000
Runners-Up - £50,000
Semi-Final Losers - £30,000
Quarter-Final Losers - £20,000
Last 16 Losers - £9,000
Second in Group - £5,000
Third in Group - £4,000
Total - £450,000
BetVictor Winner Odds
1/2 England
4/1 Netherlands
8/1 Germany
10/1 Wales
18/1 Scotland
20/1 Northern Ireland
25/1 Belgium, Australia
66/1 Republic of Ireland, Poland
125/1 Austria, Czechia
150/1 Portugal, Croatia, USA
200/1 France, Lithuania, Canada, Latvia, Sweden
250/1 Spain, New Zealand, Philippines
300/1 Denmark, Singapore, Japan
400/1 Switzerland
500/1 Norway, Iceland, Hungary, Italy, Finland, Hong Kong
750/1 South Africa, China
1000/1 Guyana, Bahrain, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia
2000/1 Gibraltar
Odds correct at time of writing, subject to fluctuation.