World Cup of Darts 2020: Free darts betting tips, preview and predictions for the Sky Sports televised major in Austria

• Follow @ChrisHammer180 on Twitter

Recommended Bets: World Cup of Darts

• 1pt Belgium to win World Cup of Darts at 10/1
• 1pt Germany to win World Cup of Darts at 14/1
• 1pt Philippines to win first quarter at 14/1
• 1pt Canada to win second quarter at 16/1
• 1pt Poland to win third quarter at 9/1
• Click here for all of Sky Bet's World Cup of Darts odds

The World Cup of Darts is the one tournament of the year when national pride bursts onto the stage and although there'll be no fans in Austria to create a partisan atmosphere at the Salzburgarena, the fascinating pairs format will still ensure emotions run as high as ever.

This eagerly-anticipated major doesn't really need any extra 'levelling' factors considering the amount of memorable shocks and surprises it's thrown up down the years, but the lack of crowds could certainly act as one - especially for the lesser known players from minnow nations - just like it has during conventional singles events since the restart in July.

Nevertheless, the betting is unsurprisingly dominated by the Netherlands, Wales and England while 'defending champions' Scotland are one of the huge outsiders at 100/1 due to John Henderson and Robert Thornton stepping in to fill the giant shoes of Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.

There's just one player in the entire field who has lifted the trophy before - Michael van Gerwen - so whichever team emerges triumphant, we will effectively see at least one new champion.

Netherlands (2010, 2014, 2017, 2018), England (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016) and Scotland are the only three nations to win the World Cup in its nine stagings since 2010 and many feel the pairing of Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will add Wales to that list at long last.

The Iceman has reached the final before with Mark Webster back in 2017 and not only is he obviously a much greater force now, he also has imperious back-up in the shape of in-form Jonny Clayton - the world number 16.

Sure, they didn't fare very well during the 2019 edition when they became Singapore's latest high-profile victims, but at least they won't have to worry about Paul Lim and Harith Lim this time around. As sad as their Covid-19 enforced absence is.

Price heads to Austria on the back of winning four of the possible 12 titles available to him since the start of September, including the televised World Grand Prix and World Series of Darts Finals, while Clayton reached the final of the German Darts Championship six weeks ago and the semi-finals of last weekend's European Championship, where he lost to eventual champion Peter Wright 11-8 in a high-class affair.

What's not to love apart from the skinny odds of 11/4?

That said, it's a more appealing price than the 5/2 on favourites Netherlands when you consider how inconsistent Michael van Gerwen has been this season and the fact his partner Danny Noppert is making his debut after a fairly decent season helped him climb a handful of places above Jeffrey de Zwaan and Jermaine Wattimena on the PDC Order of Merit at 21.

As closely-fought that battle has been, the toughest challenge is earning a spot on the England team.

With five Englishmen in the world's top 10, the honour to represent their nation falls to Michael Smith and Rob Cross while Nathan Aspinall narrowly misses out despite closing the gap considerably on the former world champion.

Despite being strongest combined duo on rankings, England are third favourites at a best of 4/1 but that could end up looking pretty big if they get past who I feel are the biggest threat in their quarter - the Philippines - in the very first round.

Both players just need some victories to build some confidence and momentum following shaky runs of results since Smith reached the World Matchplay semi-finals and there'll be plenty of darts fans already eyeing a mouth-watering last-four showdown with the dangerous Belgian duo of Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts.

Here, I'm going to run through each quarter of the draw before predicting a final and the eventual champions.

Quarter One

• (1) England v Philippines
• Lithuania v Gibraltar
• (8) Austria v USA
• Portugal v Hungary

Sky Bet odds to win quarter: England 2/3, Austria 7/2, Portugal 15/2, Lithuania 10/1, Philippines 14/1, Gibraltar 50/1, USA 80/1, Hungary 150/1

Verdict: England but Philippines for value at 14/1

England's Michael Smith and Rob Cross are top seeds based on their cumulative ranking and are understandably hot favourites to win a quarter which seems pretty manageable...apart from the small matter of a nightmare of a first-round draw.

As previously mentioned, I really wouldn't be surprised to see Bully Boy and Voltage end up in at least the semi-finals if they get their acts together and get on a roll but this draw would have been easier if the Filipinos were a potential second-round or quarter-final opponent when the format becomes slightly less of a lottery.

The opening fixtures are, of course, played over just one best-of-nine-legs pairs match, which has seen many big-named duos stumble such as Anderson and Wright against Singapore back in 2017 - as well as the Welsh in 2019.

You can read about what it's like to play in the 'cut-throat' Pairs matches - as well as the other unique features of the World Cup - in the latest instalment of Paul Nicholson's Sporting Life column.

Keen darts fans will need no introduction to Asian Tour stars Lourence Ilagan and Noel Malicdem due to their previous exploits at the World Championship.

To say the fiery Ilagan wears his heart on his sleeve is an understatement and he gave Cristo Reyes a real run for his money in a thrilling Ally Pally clash last December when tempers memorably flared.

Malicdem reached round two for the second year in a row and then came agonisingly close to knocking out Peter Wright before the eventual champion conjured up six magical darts with 302 remaining to save his skin.

It ended up being a very long yet absorbing night for me in the press room, with interviews and write-ups going on long past midnight, but for everyone watching that night, Malicdem left a lasting impression.

This footage below of Ilagan's nine-darter against Malicdem last year shows just what a tight-knit unit they should be and a first-round upset at 7/2 could well be on the cards if their chemistry and talents come together in this short format.

The main concern is the fact Covid-19 wiped out the 2020 Asian Tour season so their preparations will be limited to say the least, but they will have been practicing hard for this and the short format will benefit them.

Although this is a repeat of the 2019 first-round meeting between the same pairings, which England won 5-1, it obviously came before Ilagan and Malicdem got another taste of the big time and also when Smith and Cross were in much better form than they currently are.

If they're good value to win this clash, then we may as well go for them to win the quarter which would become relatively easier in some respects although Austrian duo Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez will fancy themselves as the eighth seeds.

Jose De Sousa will fancy his chances in any singles rubber against anyone in the world right now but his Portuguese partner Jose Marques will probably give him too much to do in the Pairs.

Quarter Two

• (4) Northern Ireland v Canada
• New Zealand v Denmark
• (5) Belgium v Czech Republic
• Hong Kong v Latvia

Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Belgium 11/10, Northern Ireland 7/4, New Zealand 9/1, Canada 14/1, Czech Republic 25/1, Denmark 80/1

Verdict: Belgium but Canada for value at 14/1

Belgium are being widely talked up up as title dark horses and it's easy to see why with World Matchplay champion Dimitri Van den Bergh teaming up with World Cup stalwart Kim Huybrechts.

The duo lost to Scotland in the quarter-finals last year having overcome hosts Germany while they shocked England in the 2018 edition en route to a semi-final defeat to arch-rivals Netherlands.

Huybrechts has also reached the 2013 final and three other semi-finals alongside his brother Ronny down the years so it's clear just how much playing for his country brings the best out of him. Indeed, he almost threatened to break MVG's world record TV average back in 2017 when he posted a mark of 121.97 against Paul Lim.

Van den Bergh has found another level to his game since the 2019 edition having broken his PDC title duck with the second biggest of the lot, and that was in no small part down to spending lockdown in the house of Peter Wright.

I would expect them to reach the quarter-finals as comfortably as you possibly can for a World Cup but after that it's going to be a tough old run in against either Northern Ireland - powered by Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan - or the dangerous Canadian pairing of Jeff Smith and Matt Campbell.

Therefore, as a kind of 'value saver' to my tip of Belgium winning the title, I'm going to chance my arm with Canada at a huge price of 14/1 in this quarter.

Smith endured a nightmare Autumn Series of results before surviving a real scare against Fallon Sherrock in the World Series of Darts Finals but let's not forget how well he played at the start of the season when reaching a maiden PDC final against Gary Anderson and also as recently as the Summer Series where he beat Peter Wright en route to the semis, where he lost to MVG.

He has plenty of experience playing Pairs in Canada, where the format is more common, and is itching to make the most of this opportunity having last appeared in the 2013 edition when he and John Part got to the last 16 before losing to Wales.

The Silencer is making the long trip from North America with Campbell, who averaged almost 90 during a battling 3-1 defeat to Mark McGeeney on his Ally Pally debut last December. Nicholson, who is close friends with Smith, said of Campbell in his column: "You won’t yet have seen the best of Campbell on TV. Trust me, he does have a very high level."

The Northern Irish won't be an easy ride but Gurney is lacking form and this tie has upset potential before what should be a softer tie against either New Zealand or Denmark.

Quarter Three

• (2) Wales v Russia
• Japan v Scotland
• (7) Republic of Ireland v Australia
• Poland v South Africa

Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Wales 8/11, Australia 11/2, Republic of Ireland 9/1, Poland 9/1, Scotland 14/1, South Africa 25/1, Japan 33/1, Russia 150/1

Verdict: Wales but Poland for value at 9/1

There's nothing more that needs to be said about why Wales are worthy favourites to reach the semis but this has to go down has one of the most wide open quarters of the draw in terms of the number of threats.

Anyone who has been keeping an eye on the remote darts scene will know about Russia's Boris Koltsov but it's going to be ridiculously unlikely for him to play to a standard that carries Aleksei Kadochnikov to victory over Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.

However after that they could either run into the underrated Scottish duo of John Henderson and Robert Thornton - who will play with plenty of pride and have the motivation of silencing those who say they can't fill the void left by Anderson and Wright - or Japan, who have the talented Seigo Asada in their side along with the more than able Yuki Yamada.

Like Malicdem, Asada gave Wright a stern test in the last 32 of the World Championship and posted a higher average of 95 in a 4-2 defeat while Yamada won on his Ally Pally debut by beating Ryan Meikle 3-1 prior to a 3-0 loss to Darren Webster.

I'm really struggling to pick a winner between the 2019 runners-up Republic of Ireland and Australia in what could be one of the ties of the round.

The 2019 runners-up are represented again by William O'Connor and Steve Lennon while World Cup ever present Simon Whitlock will have the rising star that is Damon Heta by his side for the first time.

The Aussies will be favourites due to Whitlock's form at the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix, where he thrashed MVG along the way in both, while Heta has enjoyed a superb debut PDC season and recently won his maiden ranking title at a Players Championship final against Joe Cullen.

You'd expect the winner to come up against the soaring Polish Eagle Krzysztof Ratajski and his reliable wing man Krzysztof Kciuk, who has earned a decent amount of experience of the PDC circuit this season having earned his Tour card at European qualifying school back in January.

As phenomenally as Devon Petersen has been playing this season - including at last weekend's European Championship where he lost a last-leg decider to James Wade in the semi-finals - I'm not sure how much we can expect from his little known partner Carl Gabriel.

There's only so much carrying you can do, especially against a team made up of one title-winning star and a known steady operator.

In future rounds I'd back Ratajski to win his best of seven leg singles matches and if it then boils down to a doubles rubber then he has a more than fighting chance at those chunky odds of 9/1.

Quarter Four

• (3) Netherlands v Brazil
• Italy v Spain
• (6) Germany v Finland
• Sweden v Greece

Sky Bet odds to win quarter: Netherlands 4/11, Germany 9/4, Spain 16/1, Greece 28/1, Sweden 28/1, Finland 100/1, Brazil 150/1, Italy 150/1

Verdict: Germany

All signs, logic and odds point towards yet another Netherlands v Germany quarter-final in what is possibly the weakest section of the draw in terms of depth.

As inconsistent as Michael van Gerwen has been, it's almost unfathomable to see him slip up alongside world number 21 Danny Noppert against Brazil and they should be too strong for either Italy or Spain.

The Germans, who are not on home soil for the first time since the inaugural edition, are represented by Max Hopp for the sixth year in a row but alongside him is debutant Gabriel Clemens following his rapid rise up the rankings above both Martin Schindler and his playing partner.

The German Giant has been regarded as his country's unofficial number one for quite some time but now he has that honour rubber stamped at 32 on the Order of Merit - two places higher than Hopp.

He picked up first-round wins on debut at both the World Matchplay and World Grand Prix as he continues to gain experience on the big TV stages while he did come so close to reaching the UK Open quarter-finals back in March when losing 10-9 to Gerwyn Price.

Hopp is beginning to rediscover some lost confidence and form having picked up some encouraging wins over the likes of Michael Smith, Ian White, John Henderson and Jose De Sousa since the start of September while he performed very well in a narrow 6-5 defeat to Jonny Clayton at the European Championship last week.

Not being the highest ranked German may take some pressure off Hopp's shoulders - as well as not having an expectant crowd behind him - while the physical presence of a 'giant' on stage alongside him rather than the diminutive Schindler may prevent any feeling of intimidation when or if they come up against MVG.

That did seem to happen during their previous meetings with the Dutch in the 2017 and 2018 quarter-finals but this time could be different.

Name the Finalists

A Belgium v Germany final can be backed at around 22/1 but as they are both live outsiders in the betting, I think a safer choice would be the Belgium v Wales option at 8/1.

The 'favourite' outcome is Netherlands to face England at 4/1 but I personally feel that's far too short for the factors given above. I'd rate Smith and Cross as having a better chance of reaching the final than MVG and Noppert but will both pairings get there?

For those wanting some massive odds then how about Canada v Poland at name your price?!

Winner

Wales are the logical choices on many levels but when looking for value, Belgium and Germany get my vote.

However, for massive each-way prices then Poland at 40/1, Philippines at 125/1 and Canada at 200/1 is where I'd look with small stakes.

• Odds correct as of 0900 GMT on 06/11/20

World Cup of Darts: Draw, schedule, team line-ups, format, past finals

DRAW BRACKET

• (1) England v Philippines
• Lithuania v Gibraltar
• (8) Austria v USA
• Portugal* v Hungary
• (4) Northern Ireland v Canada
• New Zealand v Denmark
• (5) Belgium v Czech Republic
• Hong Kong v Latvia
• (2) Wales v Russia
• Japan v Scotland
• (7) Republic of Ireland v Australia
• Poland v South Africa
• (3) Netherlands v Brazil
• Italy v Spain
• (6) Germany v Finland
• Sweden v Greece

* Portugal replaced Singapore due to Covid-19 restrictions preventing their travel to Austria

* Latvia replaced China due to complications with their travel to Austria

Scroll down for more

DAILY SCHEDULE

Friday November 6
Afternoon Session
(1pm local time, 12pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)

• Lithuania v Gibraltar
• Portugal v Hungary
• New Zealand v Denmark
• Northern Ireland v Canada
• Belgium v Czech Republic
• Austria v USA
• England v Philippines
• Italy v Spain

Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)

• Sweden v Greece
• Japan v Scotland
• Poland v South Africa
• Republic of Ireland v Australia
• Wales v Russia
• Germany v Finland
• Netherlands v Brazil
• Hong Kong v Latvia

Saturday November 7
Afternoon Session (1.30pm local time, 12.30pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Second Round (Best of 3 points)
(Two best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best of 7 doubles decider if required)

• Four Matches

Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Second Round (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)

• Four Matches

Sunday November 8
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
Quarter-Finals (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)

• Four Matches

Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 3 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches & one best-of-7-leg doubles decider if required)

• Two matches

Final (Best of 5 points)
(2x best-of-7-leg singles matches, one best-of-7-leg doubles, then reverse singles)

• Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2

TEAM LINE UPS

With nations represented by two-player teams, competitors are initially selected based on the PDC Order of Merit, where two or more players are ranked. If players do not wish to enter, then their fellow countrymen next on the Order of Merit will get called up - as is the case with John Henderson and Robert Thornton representing Scotland rather than Peter Wright and Gary Anderson.

With seedings based on the cumulative PDC ranking of the two players, England will be the top seeds going into this year's event.

Seeded Teams:

• (1) England - Michael Smith & Rob Cross
• (2) Wales - Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
• (3) Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen & Danny Noppert
• (4) Northern Ireland - Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
• (5) Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh & Kim Huybrechts
• (6) Germany - Max Hopp & Gabriel Clemens
• (7) Republic of Ireland - William O'Connor & Steve Lennon
• (8) Austria - Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez

Unseeded:

• Australia - Simon Whitlock & Damon Heta
• Brazil - Diogo Portela & Bruno Rangel
• Canada - Jeff Smith & Matt Campbell
• China - Zizhao Zheng * & Di Zhuang
• Czech Republic - Karel Sedlacek & Adam Gawlas
• Denmark - Neils Heinsøe & Per Laursen
• Finland - Marko Kantele & Kim Viljanen
• Gibraltar - Craig Galliano & Justin Hewitt
• Greece - John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
• Hong Kong - Kai Fan Leung & Royden Lam
• Hungary - Patrik Kovacs & Janos Vegsö
• Italy - Andrea Micheletti & Daniele Petri
• Japan - Seigo Asada & Yuki Yamada
• Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas
• New Zealand - Cody Harris & Haupai Puha
• Philippines - Lourence Ilagan & Noel Malicdem
• Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski & Krzysztof Kciuk
• Portugal - Jose De Sousa & Jose Marques
• Russia - Boris Koltsov & Aleksei Kadochnikov
• Scotland - John Henderson & Robert Thornton
• South Africa - Devon Petersen & Carl Gabriel
• Spain - Jesus Noguera* & Toni Alcinas
• Sweden - Daniel Larsson & Dennis Nilsson
• USA - Chuck Puleo & Danny Lauby

* Jesus Noguera replaced Cristo Reyes for Spain

* Zizhao Zheng replaced Xicheng Han for China

FORMAT

• First Round

Best of nine legs - doubles. All players take part in every leg of the match, in an alternative visit format.

• Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals

These matches 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

This will be two best-of-seven-legs 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.

PRIZE FUND

• Winners (Per Player) £35,000
• Runner-Up (Per Player) £20,000
• Semi-Finalists (Per Player) £12,000
• Quarter-Finalists (Per Player) £8,000
• Second Round Losers (Per Player) £4,000
• First Round Losers (Per Player) £2,000
• Total £350,000

PAST FINALS

• 2010 - Netherlands (Stompe & van Barneveld) 4-2 Wales (Webster & Bates)
• 2012 - England (Taylor & Lewis) 4-3 Australia (Whitlock & Nicholson)
• 2013 - England (Taylor & Lewis) 3-1 Belgium (Huybrechts & Huybrechts)
• 2014 - Netherlands (van Gerwen & van Barneveld) 3-0 England (Taylor & Lewis)
• 2015 - England (Taylor & Lewis) 3-2 Scotland (Anderson & Wright)
• 2016 - England (Taylor & Lewis) 3-2 Netherlands (MVG & Barney)
• 2017 - Netherlands (MVG & Barney) 3-1 Wales (Price/Webster)
• 2018 - Netherlands (MVG & Barney) 3-1 Scotland (Anderson/Wright)
• 2019 - Scotland (Anderson/Wright) 3-1 Republic of Ireland (O'Connor/Lennon)

Related links

• 2020 World Cup of Darts guide
• 2020 PDC event calendar & results
• 2020 Premier League results
• 2019 PDC event results
• Sky Bet's darts odds