World Cup of Darts: When, where, format, TV schedule, which countries are competing, Scotland's chances rated
The World Cup of Darts gets underway this evening and Sky Sports has confirmed the TV broadcast schedule
The best darts players from around the globe have descended on Frankfurt as the World Cup of Darts kicks off in what promises to be another fantastic tournament.
Teams of two from 40 nations will battle it out over four days and compete for glory this weekend, with the champions crowned on Sunday evening in what is one of the most unique events on the PDC calendar.
The tournament will run from Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15 and will be televised live by Sky Sports throughout the weekend. England are the defending champions after lifting the trophy last year and the pair consisting of world number one Luke Humphries and world champion Luke Littler are strong favourites to reclaim their crown.
And fans of the sport will be able to fix themselves on all the darting action over the coming hours and days. But how can you follow the action at home?
Where is the World Cup of Darts being staged?
The World Cup of Darts is being staged at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany.
What channel is the World Cup of Darts on?
Sky Sports Darts and Main Event will be broadcasting the tournament live throughout the weekend. It follows the broadcaster’s recent coverage of the Premier League Darts during the first half of the year.
Those who have Now TV sports package can also watch the World Cup via that platform. Simply head to the sports section in the TV or mobile app.
Ahead of the start of the tournament, Sky has confirmed which channel the darts will be on each day. It includes:
Thursday June 12
- Sky Sports Action
Friday June 13
- Sky Sports Action (morning, afternoon sessions)
- Sky Sports Main Event (evening session)
Saturday June 14
- Sky Sports Action (morning, afternoon sessions)
- Sky Sports Main Event (evening session)
Sunday June 15
- Sky Sports Action (afternoon, evening session)
- Sky Sports Main Event (night session)
What time is the World Cup of Darts on TV?
Sky Sports has announced its timings for throughout the weekend.
Starting on June 12, Sky Sports will be live from 6pm on the opening night. For the second day of the tournament on June 13, the opening session will be live from 11am and then it will be live again from 6pm.
The penultimate day (June 14) will be live initially from 12pm and then again from 6pm through the rest of the evening.
Sky has confirmed that for the last day of the tournament coverage will begin for the early session at 12pm. They will be live again from 6pm and then from 9pm as the World Cup reaches its conclusion.
What is the World Cup of Darts format?
The format of the event has changed over the years, with every match now just one doubles contest. The group stages are best of seven legs, the second round, quarter-finals and semi-finals are best of 15, with the final best of 19.
Which countries are competing in the World Cup of Darts?
Group A
- Netherlands (Danny Noppert & Gian van Veen)
- Italy (Michele Turetta & Massimo Dalla Rosa)
- Hungary (Gyorgy Jehirszki & Gergely Lakatos)
Group B
- Belgium (Mike De Decker & Dimitri van den Bergh)
- Latvia (Madars Razma & Valters Melderis)
- Philippines (Lourence Ilagan & Paolo Nebrida)
Group C
- Germany (Martin Schindler & Ricardo Pietreczko)
- Portugal (Jose de Sousa & Bruno Nascimento)
- Singapore (Paul Lim & Phuay Wei Tan)
Group D
- Republic of Ireland (William O’Connor & Keane Barry)
- Gibraltar (Craig Galliano & Justin Hewitt)
- China (Xiaochen Zong & Lihao Wen)
Group E
- Poland (Krzysztof Patajski & Radek Szaganski)
- South Africa (Cameron Carolissen & Devon Petersen)
- Norway (Cor Dekker & Kent Joran Sivertsen)
Group F
- Canada (Matt Campbell & Jim Long)
- Malaysia (Tengku Shah & Tan Jenn Ming)
- Denmark (Benjamin Reus & Andreas Hyllgaardhus)
Group G
- Sweden (Jeffrey de Graaf & Oskar Lukasiak)
- Lithuania (Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas)
- France (Thibault Tricole & Jacques Labre)
Group H
- Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Rusty-Jake Rodriguez)
- Spain (Daniel Zapata & Ricardo Fernandez)
- Australia (Damon Heta & Simon Whitlock)
Group I
- USA (Danny Lauby & Jules van Dongen)
- Hong Kong (Man Lok Leung & Lok Yin Lee)
- Bahrain (Sadeq Mohamed & Hasan Bucheeri)
Group J
- Czech Republic (Karel Sedlacek & Petr Krivka)
- Chinese Taipei (Pupo Teng-Lieh & An-Sheng Lu)
- India (Nitin Kumar & Mohan Goel)
Group K
- Croatia (Pero Ljubic & Boris Krcmar)
- Japan (Ryusei Azemoto & Tomoya Goto)
- Switzerland (Stefan Bellmont & Alex Fehlmann)
Group L
- Finland (Teemu Harju & Marko Kantele)
- New Zealand (Haupai Puha & Mark Cleaver)
- Argentina (Jesus Salate & Victor Guillin)
Seeded through to Second Round
- (1) England: Luke Humphries & Luke Littler
- (2) Wales: Jonny Clayton & Gerwyn Price
- (3) Scotland: Gary Anderson & Peter Wright
- (4) Northern Ireland: Josh Rock & Daryl Gurney
World Cup of Darts prize money
Prize Fund (Per team)
- Winners – £80,000
- Runners-Up – £50,000
- Semi-Finalists – £30,000
- Quarter-Finalists – £20,000
- Last 16 Losers – £9,000
- Second in Group – £5,000
- Third in Group – £4,000
World Cup of Darts odds
- England 2/5
- Wales 5/1
- Netherlands 11/1
- Scotland 12/1
- Belgium 16/1
- Northern Ireland 20/1
- Germany 28/1
- Australia 40/1
- Poland 66/1
- Republic of Ireland 66/1
- Austria 66/1
- Croatia 80/1
- Canada 80/1
- Czech Republic 80/1
*Odds provided by BetVictor
What are Scotland’s chances of winning the World Cup of Darts?
Gary Anderson, 54, and Peter Wright, 55, will renew their partnership for two-time winners Scotland. The pair have finished runners-up on three previous occasions, with the Scots last winning the event back in 2021.
Both players have enjoyed stellar careers but arrive in Frankfurt ranked 13th and 14th in the world respectively and will go into this year’s tournament very much under the radar. However, they will be quietly confident of at least reaching the latter stages.