World Cup of Darts: Why there should be more doubles matches, plus Paul Nicholson's tournament predictions

Up for the Cup

From my experience as a commentator and a player, there are some competitors who look forward to this event a lot more than others. Some aren’t too sure about it due to the lack of ranking money but for others it’s one of the most important events in their calendars.

Belgium fall into the latter category – just look at how Kim Huybrechts has famously celebrated down the years and how well he performs. He’d probably want to win this more than anyone and while he’d have loved to do it with his brother back in the day, he obviously has a better partner in Dimitri Van den Bergh from an overall performance perspective.

I know it seems that I probably enjoyed the World Cup more than any other event but I actually felt more pressure playing for Australia. I had this fire inside me that I wanted to pay them back for everything they did to support my career and in retrospect I put too much pressure on myself. I obviously came ridiculously close one year against England and I think that pressure was a pivotal factor in not getting over the line.

Overall, how can you not enjoy playing with a country’s colours on your back, especially when you have a partner like Simon Whitlock. I loved it, but the tournament broke my heart many times!

More doubles please

There’s no question about it – there should be doubles rubbers in every single match at the World Cup. I’m not even sure why that hasn’t come into force yet.

The only certainty of a doubles rubber comes in the first round – when matches are decided by one best-of-nine leg encounter – and in the final, where it precedes the reverse singles rubbers. But apart from that, the second round, quarter-finals and semi-finals could all be decided by a team winning both singles matches.

The doubles format has always been seen as a leveller. Even though the big nations like England (x4), Netherlands (x4), Scotland and Wales are the only ones to win this event, it doesn’t mean they’ve breezed it or never suffered early exits in the doubles.

Phil Taylor and James Wade crashed out in the very first edition to Spain while Scotland have only won it once with their obvious strength and in 2017 they famously lost to Singapore, who then dumped out Wales a year later.

It’s the most exciting format of the World Cup and gets the juices going for fans and players alike. Having played in the tournament myself, it gives you that element of doubt and you need chemistry with your partner. I was always very lucky when it came to pairs because Simon Whitlock is one of the best pairs players the world has ever seen and it doesn’t matter who he plays with. He knows the complexities of it and makes that chemistry happen.

The singles gets some teams without chemistry out of jail and that’s why we do see big names reaching the latter stages so frequently.

One solution would be to make all matches a longer doubles rubber such as best-of-19 but I would prefer to see two singles matches as usual, followed by a guaranteed doubles rubber which is worth two points.

Therefore, if it’s 1-1 after the singles then the doubles is the decider, and if it’s 2-0 after the singles then the losing team still has a chance to level it up. If they make it 2-2 with a doubles win, then we have a sudden death doubles leg. What’s not to love about that?

We must make sure the pairs element is more crucial.

World Cup predictions

· Scroll down to the bottom for the full draw, team line-ups & schedule

Quarter One: Canada to win

England have been given some tough tests early on but there should be no repeat of 2010, when James Wade suffered a shock defeat alongside Phil Taylor to Spain.

That was Wade’s last appearance in the World Cup so he should at least get his first win against Brazil – but I’m not sure how well he’ll click with Dave Chisnall for the whole tournament.

It’s hard to decipher any player who’d find that chemistry with James, whereas Chizzy would have been brilliantly suited to pairing up with Michael Smith.

We could see a Lampard-Gerrard situation but you never know, they could surprise everyone and be a Kalvin Phillips-Declan Rice combination!

I believe they’ll get through to the quarter-finals but their run will then be ended by Canada.

I think the way Jeff Smith and Matt Campbell gel, the experience they gained from last year’s run to the quarters and also how Matt has recently won a PDC Tour Card for 2022 will give them real confidence.

Jeff may not have been at his best on the PDC Tour this year but he’s recently won a CDC title to get his mojo back, so I’ve got a really good feeling about them. Everything to do with their preparation has been spot on and they are ready more than most.

They represent a nightmare opening-round draw for hosts Germany, who have plenty of question marks over Max Hopp, and they should go far.

• Click here to back Canada at 12/1 to win their quarter with Sky Bet

Quarter Two: Northern Ireland to win

This is the most intriguing quarter and toughest to call.

Belgium should come through their mini section to reach the quarters while their opponents should be either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

The Northern Irish duo of Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan don’t have it easy with Hong Kong while the Republic pair of William O’Connor and Steve Lennon have far better chemistry than Portugal’s Jose de Sousa and Jose Marques.

I really want to see this all-Irish showdown – it has pay-per-view written all over it.

Overall, I’m going for Northern Ireland to come through the quarter because both Gurney and Dolan are simmering right now. It’s a spicy quarter to get their juices going and they’ll be ready for Belgium in what could be the match of the tournament.

Just imagine Gurney and Huybrechts going up against each other – they’ll make Dolan v Van den Bergh look extremely cool and collected. That said, it’s a lottery as to what the specific singles match ups will be – like Ryder Cup singles.

Nobody is talking about Austria due to Mensur Suljovic not having a busy season. He’s had shoulder tendonitis but he played pretty well at the Hungarian Darts Trophy without success and is also wearing glasses for the first time.

He’s got Rowby-John Rodriguez as his partner and he plays better with him than he does with Zoran Lerchbacher so that will make him feel good.

• Click here to back Northern Ireland at 2/1 to win their quarter with Sky Bet

Quarter Three: Wales to win

Wales are the favourites to defend their title and you can’t argue with that due to the fact they have the world champion and Premier League winner in their team.

I have few doubts they’ll end up in yet another battle with Australia in the quarter-finals and I’ve lost count the number of times these nations have met each other down the years!

The Welsh have never been as strong as they are now with Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton and the only reason they aren’t top seeds is because the Ferret’s ranking of 13 lies to us considering he’s won four titles this season.

It couldn’t be more emotional for Australia coming so soon after the tragic passing of Kyle Anderson and my heart really wants them to win the whole tournament for him.

On top of that, I’d love them to win it for Simon Whitlock. I tried to do that and for the DPA – rather than myself – and came up just short.

Simon is one of the very few ever-present players left in this World Cup and in Damon Heta he has a partner with at least some experience having made his debut last year.

If they get through Wales, they can win it, but my head says they’ll lose in the quarters.

• Click here to back Wales at 4/9 to win their quarter with Sky Bet

Quarter Four: Netherlands to win

Netherlands are my not so obvious pick to come through this quarter.

Michael van Gerwen has a lot of frustration to get out after his defeat to Brendan Dolan at the weekend and he’ll be desperate to get his hands on a trophy he’s lifted three times before.

In Dirk van Duijvenbode he has a partner who will fire him up to another level again and they will have fans there to put them into a comfort zone. Dirk won’t be fazed about it being his debut – he just gets up and plays like we saw when making his other major bows last year.

Their chemistry will be solid and should attain a better level than Scotland if they meet in the quarter-finals.

However, what kind of celebrations in Huntly will there be if John Henderson wins the World Cup for Scotland alongside Peter Wright?!

That said, they could come unstuck earlier than the quarters when they face the winners of what could be one of the ties of the first round: Czech Republic v Poland.

The Poles are potentially the most dangerous unseeded nation apart from Canada and I’d probably be tipping them to go further were it not for this tough opener.

Adam Gawlas has never felt as confident as he does now following his brilliant run in Hungary whilst Karel Sedlacek is going to love this challenge.

If the Krzysztofs can come through the Czechs then it could be them shaping up for the Dutch rather than the Scots.

• Click here to back Netherlands at 10/11 to win their quarter with Sky Bet

Who will win the World Cup?

Of my predicted semi-finals, I’m going for Northern Ireland to overcome Canada and the Netherlands to edge Wales.

If that final could be achieved it would take me back to the time they had an incredible semi-final in the 2014 edition when Mickey Mansell and Brendan Dolan took MVG and Barney all the way to the deciding doubles rubber. Dolan pipped MVG 4-3 in their singles clash that day and he’s in a great place right now too having beaten him at the weekend’s Hungarian Darts Trophy.

Dolan was the MVP of the entire World Cup and if Northern Ireland can go as far as I think they will, then he’d probably get that moniker again.

Gurney is also starting to play well again having pushed MVG hard in Hungary with a 100 average and as a team, they are as ripe as can be. This is the best chance they’ve ever had of winning it.

• Click here to back a Northern Ireland v Netherlands final at 16/1 with Sky Bet
• Click here to back Northern Ireland at 10/1 to win the World Cup with Sky Bet

World Cup of Darts draw & tournament bracket

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

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

* Greece replaced Croatia due to Boris Krcmar's withdrawal through illness.

World Cup of Darts: Daily Schedule

Thursday September 9
Evening Session
(7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)

• Hungary v Lithuania
• Czech Republic v Poland
• Gibraltar v Singapore
• USA v Sweden
• Scotland v China
• Netherlands v Denmark
• Wales v Finland
• Australia v Italy

Friday September 10
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports
First Round (Best of nine legs - doubles)

• Russia v Japan
• Spain v South Africa
• Republic of Ireland v Portugal
• Austria v Philippines
• Northern Ireland v Hong Kong
• Germany v Canada
• England v Brazil
• Belgium v Greece

Saturday September 10
Afternoon Session (2pm local time, 1pm 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 September 11
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

World Cup of Darts: 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.

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

Seeded Teams (provisional):

• (1) England - James Wade & Dave Chisnall
• (2) Wales - Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
• (3) Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen & Dirk van Duijvenbode
• (4) Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh & Kim Huybrechts
• (5) Northern Ireland - Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
• (6) Scotland - Peter Wright & John Henderson
• (7) Australia - Simon Whitlock & Damon Heta
• (8) Germany - Gabriel Clemens & Max Hopp

Unseeded:

• Austria - Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez
• Brazil - Diogo Portela & Artur Valle
• Canada - Jeff Smith & Matt Campbell
• China - Jianfeng Lu & Wenqing Liu
• Czech Republic - Karel Sedlacek & Adam Gawlas
• Denmark - Andreas Toft Jørgensen & Niels Heinsøe
• Finland - Marko Kantele & Veijo Viinikka
• Gibraltar - Sean Negrette & Justin Hewitt
• Greece - John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
• Hong Kong - Kai Fan Leung & Man Lok Leung
• Hungary - János Végső & Patrik Kovács
• Italy - Danilo Vigato & Michele Turetta
• Japan - Matsuda Jun & Yoshihisa Baba
• Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas
• Philippines - Lourence Ilagan & Christian Perez
• Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski & Krzysztof Kciuk
• Portugal - Jose de Sousa & Jose Marques
• Republic of Ireland - William O’Connor & Steve Lennon
• Russia - Boris Koltsov & Evgenii Izotov
• Singapore - Paul Lim & Harith Lim
• South Africa - Devon Petersen & Carl Gabriel
• Spain - Jesus Noguera & Jose Justicia
• Sweden - Daniel Larsson & Johan Engström
• USA - Danny Lauby & Chuck Puleo

* Greece replaced Croatia due to Boris Krcmar's withdrawal through illness.

World Cup of Darts 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.

World Cup of Darts: 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)
• 2020 - Wales (Price/Clayton) 3-0 England (Cross/Smith)

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