Wales and Australia are among the favourites (Picture: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe)

World Cup of Darts 2023: Every match being pairs is a brilliant move, as Paul Nicholson previews the expanded tournament

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed June 14, 2023 · 1y ago

Paul Nicholson looks ahead to the expanded World Cup of Darts, which will feature just pairs matches, 40 nations and a group stage.

Scroll down for full draw, pairings and format

Everyone has been screaming out for more pairs matches at the World Cup for years and now they’ve finally got their wish! It was always this element of the tournament that fans looked forward to seeing most so it makes perfect sense to ditch the singles element from now on.

In previous years, there would be so many matches that would finish 2-0 after two singles games and you wouldn’t even get the pairs tie. That would frustrate a lot of fans who love seeing four players up on stage in a team format, so finally the PDC have listened.

Although the way people are these days, I wouldn’t be surprised if some say afterwards that they miss the singles!

I did once float the idea of the pairs match being worth two points so that it would always feature in every tie but I much prefer the simplicity of making it all doubles throughout the whole tournament.

It didn’t really make much sense to have different formats at different stages of the tournament. For example, you wouldn’t have five-a-side in the group stages of a football World Cup and then 11-a-side in the knockouts!

Having pairs only all the way is both consistent and simple.

The other thing I’m looking forward to is having both winning players on stage at the very end of the tournament rather than one of them watching backstage – like John Henderson a few years ago.

That took a little shine off his career high and I’m glad it won’t happen again.

Of course when me, Simon Whitlock, Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were all on stage together at the end of the 2012 World Cup final, it was as dramatic as hell! So hopefully we’ll get unforgettable drama like that on Sunday.

Pairs marathons

This will also be the first time we see pairs matches played over such a long format.

Although the group stage is first to four legs, it then extends to first to eight for the second round, quarter-finals and semi-finals before best of 19 for the final!

That will be the longest pairs match ever and it will feel like a slog for the participants when you consider you only get a throw every four visits!

This will also favour players who are mentally strong because there will obviously be a lot of thinking time up on that stage while you wait for your next turn.

In singles darts, you think 50% of the time and play 50% of the time. In this event you are only playing 25% of the time! Now imagine if you are playing with a couple of slow players on stage!

There was a lot of mental torture for me, Simon, Phil and Adrian in our final and there have been other similar incidents in other years. This weekend, we’ll see a lot more now.

World Cup of Darts 2012 Final - Sudden death - England v Australia

If you own the stage with your mind, you can win this. The overthinkers won’t.

Balancing act

I guess some critics of this format may argue that with the expanded number of nations, there could potentially be overkill of pairs matches. There will be 36 of them in the group stages alone.

However, there are so many countries playing this sport to a high enough level to warrant inclusion in this competition. I was outraged last year when France didn’t get a spot so now we get to see them.

Although we can’t really have a qualifying competition for this event either – it just wouldn’t be practical given the logistics. It’s not like getting Qatar and Australia – for example - to have a two legged play-off for a place in a football World Cup. Imagine France and Guyana doing this over seven legs for the World Cup of Darts!

Group stages

We did have group stages in the 2010 edition and it’s great to see that part of the competition brought back this year.

The ‘big four’ of England, Netherlands, Scotland and Wales go straight into the knockout stages because of their superior combined PDC rankings (although Michael van Gerwen has now withdrawn to be replaced by Dirk van Duijvenbode) but the other 36 nations are put into groups of three with the winner advancing into the second round.

This is great news for the smaller nations, especially those from the other side of the world who have travelled thousands of miles to be a part of the action.

In the past they would tend to have their dreams ended in one match on opening night – unless they caused an upset of course - but now they get to experience the major occasion over a minimum of two games across two days.

Having these extra nations and a group stage also means darts fans get to see even more unfamiliar players from places like Thailand, Guyana and Iceland, who are hoping to showcase what they can do.

These nations have nothing to lose and the short format gives them an opportunity to spring a surprise.

And don’t forget, some of these smaller nations will be playing each other and although it could end up being a ‘dead rubber’ as far as winning the group is concerned, both teams would be absolutely thrilled to pick up a victory on the big stage.

You want the likes of China to make this trip knowing they can really enjoy the whole major experience without it being over in a flash with no real hope of getting a winning feeling.

ALSO READ: CHRIS HAMMER'S GROUP-BY-GROUP BETTING PREVIEW

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO READ THE PREVIEW

Big four advantage?

Perhaps the only fair gripe that some people might have with this year’s format is the top four seeds bypassing the group stage. Some may say the tournament should have been 36 teams in total rather than 40 and they all go into the groups.

However, you have to question whether it’s an advantage for the ‘big four’ to miss the group stages even though they now obviously have to win fewer matches than anyone else to lift the trophy.

The likes of defending champions Australia, Germany and Belgium are going to be warmed up and well-rehearsed in the pairs format by the time they get to the second round potentially, whereas England, Netherlands, Scotland and Wales could be caught cold.

The format throws them under the bus although at least it’s a longer format of first to eight legs in the second round so they can recover from a bad start maybe.

The big nations outside the top four will probably have two wins under their belt and won’t fear anyone – and they will hardly be mentally or physically fatigued either.

Don’t get me wrong, Wales and co will be ready – but will they be battle hardened enough for those who have come through the groups?

One-man teams and star names

In the past, the perceived ‘one-man teams’ like Devon Petersen’s South Africa, Jose de Sousa’s Portugal or Madars Razma’s Latvia would struggle to go far in a World Cup because their partner would not be expected to contribute points in the singles.

And that in turn put an awful lot of pressure on the likes of Petersen to win their singles match just to force a doubles decider, which is a bit more of a lottery.

Now they can work as more of a unit and devise a doubles gameplan that can give bigger nations a run for their money. The singles element detached players from their partners but now it definitely feels more like a team effort than ever before.

As for nations with the big superstar names, who would always expect to get a singles point on the board, I think they also prefer the pairs format. Even though it could be feasibly seen as more of a ‘leveller’ against a slightly lesser nation.

The fact is, all players crave an occasional change in format, especially at the end of the Premier League campaign when they’ve played so much singles under such intense pressure.

I really think everyone will love it – the minnows, the stars and the supporters.

Ones to watch

Wales are very fair favourites and tick the boxes to lift this trophy in the new all-pairs format.

Gerwyn Price has incredible mental strength as we all know and the calming influence of his close friend Jonny Clayton – on and off the stage – will be crucial.

Kim Huybrechts will probably have the opposite effect on the usually zen-like Dimitri Van den Bergh but only time will tell as to whether that’s a good thing or not!

Keane Barry will have a wonderful effect on William O’Connor. He may still be very young and making his debut in this tournament but he’s so mentally strong and extremely calm under pressure.

Willie can get a little bit fiery at times and I’m sure Keane’s influence will benefit him.

Canada are my other team to watch with Jeff Smith teaming up with Matt Campbell, whom he beat at the North American Championship recently before going on to reach the US Darts Masters final.

They have a great chemistry and playing superb darts right now.

As for Germany, the expectations often get the better of them but they regularly reach the latter stages.

Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens are climbing the rankings and I’d say the home fans will be more hopeful than ever before. There have been question marks over their mental strength on TV and towards the end of tournaments, especially when you consider neither have won a title - so it’ll be interesting to see how they perform together.

Nine dart magic

The Michael Smith nine-darter in the World Championship final can’t be topped but if there’s a first ever pairs perfect leg, then it’ll go into the top 10 for sure. Maybe even the top five depending on the situation!

World Cup of Darts draw & group standings

Seedings in brackets
Click here for Sky Bet odds
Scroll down for schedule, results & team line-ups

Top four seeded nations go straight to the knockout stages

(1) England
(2) Wales
(3) Netherlands
(4) Scotland

Group Stage

Top team in each group progress to the second round

Group A

(5) Belgium
Finland
China

Group B

(6) Germany
Hong Kong
Japan

Group C

(7) Australia
Guyana
Gibraltar

Group D

(8) Northern Ireland
France
Ukraine

Group E

(9) Republic of Ireland
Thailand
Croatia

Group F

(10) Austria
Denmark
USA

Group G

(11) Poland
Portugal
Lithuania

Group H

(12) Canada
India
Hungary

Group I

(13) Czech Republic
Singapore
Philippines

Group J

(14) Spain
South Africa
Iceland

Group K

(15) Latvia
New Zealand
Bahrain

Group L

(16) Switzerland
Italy
Sweden

Knockout Stages

Second Round bracket

(1) England v Group winner
Group winner v Group winner
(4) Scotland v Group winner
Group winner v Group winner
(2) Wales v Group winner
Group winner v Group winner
(3) Netherlands v Group winner
Group winner v Group winner

World Cup of Darts: Daily Schedule & Results

Thursday June 15 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – First Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Switzerland v Italy
Poland v Portugal
Czech Republic v Singapore
Spain v South Africa
Republic of Ireland v Thailand
Northern Ireland v France
Belgium v Finland
Canada v India
Austria v Denmark
Germany v Hong Kong
Australia v Guyana
Latvia v New Zealand

Friday June 16
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

12 matches (Loser of group's first match v Team 3 in group)

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

12 matches (Winner of group's first match v Team 3 in group)

Saturday June 17
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Second Round (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four matches

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Second Round (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four matches

Sunday June 18
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four Matches

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sport

Two matches

Final (Best of 19 legs)

Winner SF 1 v Winner SF1

World Cup of Darts: Competing nations and team line-ups

Australia - Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
Austria - Mensur Suljovic, Rowby-John Rodriguez
Bahrain - Basem Mahmood, Abdulnasser Yusuf
Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts
Canada - Matt Campbell, Jeff Smith
China - Xiaochen Zong, Lihao Wen
Croatia - Boris Krcmar, Romeo Grbavac
Czech Republic - Adam Gawlas, Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Vladimir Andersen, Benjamin Reus
England - Michael Smith, Rob Cross
Finland - Marko Kantele, Paavo Myller
France - Thibault Tricole, Jacques Labre
Germany - Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler
Gibraltar - Craig Galliano, Justin Hewitt
Guyana - Norman Madhoo, Sudesh Fitzgerald
Hong Kong - Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
Hungary - Patrik Kovács, Levente Sárai
Iceland - Hallgrimur Egilsson, Vitor Charrua
India - Prakash Jiwa, Amit Gilitwala
Italy - Michele Turetta, Massimo Dante
Japan - Jun Matsuda, Tomoya Goto
Latvia - Madars Razma, Dmitriy Zhukov
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Netherlands - Dirk van Duijvenbode*, Danny Noppert (*replaced the injured Michael van Gerwen)
New Zealand - Ben Robb, Warren Parry
Northern Ireland - Brendan Dolan, Daryl Gurney
Philippines - Christian Perez, Lourence Ilagan
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski, Krzysztof Kciuk
Portugal - Jose de Sousa, Luis Ameixa
Republic of Ireland - William O'Connor, Keane Barry
Scotland - Peter Wright, Gary Anderson
Singapore - Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa - Devon Petersen, Vernon Bouwers
Spain - Jose Justicia, Tony Martinez
Sweden - Dennis Nilsson, Oskar Lukasiak
Switzerland - Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen
Thailand - Attapol Eupakaree, Yong Gaweenuntavong
Ukraine - Vladyslav Omelchenko, Illia Pekaruk
USA - Jules van Dongen, Leonard Gates
Wales - Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton

Where can I watch the World Cup of Darts on TV?

The My Diesel Claim 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.

World Cup of Darts: Sky Bet Odds

Click here for Sky Bet's darts page

Prize Fund (Per two-player 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