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Michael Smith and Luke Humphries

World Cup of Darts 2024: Paul Nicholson previews the purely pairs competition in Germany

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed June 27, 2024 · 9M ago

Paul Nicholson looks ahead to the World Cup of Darts, which features 40 nations, a group stage and pairs matches only.

How will the 'big four' do?

ENGLAND are the top seeds but have a new pairing in Luke Humphries and Michael Smith as Cool Hand makes his debut in the tournament.

Several people were a bit worried about Luke after the weekend's European Tour event because he had a poor defeat against Raymond van Barneveld but if he's rested well and strikes up chemistry with Smith then England should have a pretty decent package through to the quarter-finals.

Smith, whose individual form has improved of late, has plenty of experience of this tournament so you'd like to hope he 'coaches' Humphries and gives him the tips and tricks needed to get to grips with the pairs format as quickly as possible.

As for SCOTLAND, they have Gary Anderson and Peter Wright coming together once again, bidding to go one better than last year when they lost the final to Wales.

The 2019 champions are a strong horse due to Anderson's sparkling form this season and he's also been a well versed doubles player for around 30 years. Although Wright has endured a poor year, this could be the kind of tournament that ignites him just like what happened when he played with John Henderson in 2021. They have an excellent chance of winning this World Cup in my opinion.

Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert team up for NETHERLANDS and it's well documented they aren't the best of friends, so it'll be interesting to see if they can gel in this format.

There's been a lot of talk about the lack of titles for MVG this season while Noppert has been as solid as a rock, picking up a title earlier in the campaign.

Overall I don't expect a particularly lengthy World Cup run for the Dutch, who haven't won it since MVG played with Raymond van Barneveld, and I feel they are less likely than England or Scotland to lift the trophy.

The withdrawal of Gerwyn Price means the dynamic of the WALES team changes completely, with Jim Williams being drafted in to join Jonny Clayton, who now takes on the 'lead' role.

Jim does have experience of team darts for Wales in his pre PDC days but this late change out of the blue means he won't have had much chance to prepare and we have no idea how they will gel together.

Outsiders to watch

I'm not the only one piping up for the PHILIPPINES to have a good run this year even though they are in the worst possible group alongside Belgium and Singapore, who are of course represented by Paul Lim and Harith Lim.

But the Philippines duo of Christian Perez and Alexis Toylo really are in form and could be a superb pairing over the next few days, so I'm expecting them to top Group A and spring another shock or two.

You can make strong cases for the likes of Hong Kong and New Zealand but for the past few months I've had a strong feeling for CROATIA.

Boris Krcmar is always dangerous while Romeo Grvabac has enjoyed an encouraging season of qualifying for some European Tour events so I can see them winning Group I which also features Canada, who don't have Jeff Smith this year to support Matt Campbell.

If Croatia come through a tough group it'll set them up with the momentum and belief to break new ground.

Pairs always deliver

Everyone had been screaming out for more pairs matches at the World Cup for years and last year they finally got their wish with the new expanded format. 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 listened.

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 enjoy is having both winning players on stage at the very end of each match - and indeed 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

Last year was first time we saw pairs matches played over such a long format, with the final being best of 19 legs.

This favours 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.

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

Group stages

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

The ‘big four’ of England, Netherlands, Scotland and Wales go straight into the knockout stages because of their superior combined PDC rankings but the other 36 nations are put into groups of three with the winner advancing into the second round.

This was 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.

Big four advantage?

Perhaps the only fair gripe that some people might have 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 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.

Last year that proved to be the case for the Netherlands, who crashed out to Belgium in the second round, while England lost out to Germany in the quarter-finals. Nevertheless Wales and Scotland both went on to reach the final so we'll need more years of this format to firmly decide if its a curse or not.

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.

Petersen and the little known Vernon Bouwers topped their group last year with two wins while Sweden were surprise quarter-finalists.

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.

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: Daily Schedule & Results

Thursday June 27 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – First Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Belgium v Singapore (A)
Northern Ireland v South Africa (B)
Germany v New Zealand (C)
Australia v Japan (D)
Republic of Ireland v Lithuania (E)
Austria v China (F)
Poland v Norway (G)
Czech Republic v Bahrain (H)
Croatia v Malaysia (I)
France v Latvia (J)
Sweden v Spain (K)
USA v Portugal (L)

Friday June 28
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Loser First Match v Team 3

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

Winner First Match v Team 3

Saturday June 29
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 30
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)

One Match

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