The Sky Sports-televised BetVictor World Cup of Darts takes place in Germany this weekend and our Chris Hammer brings you his preview and best bets.
Darts betting tips: World Cup of Darts
2pts England to face Northern Ireland in the final at 11/2 (Sky Bet)
2pts any nine-darter in the World Cup at 9/4 (Sky Bet)
SL ACCA: 1pt Germany, Austria and Hong Kong to win their groups at 10/1 with Sky Bet
Everyone loves our annual dose of pairs darts and the hype this year is a little bigger than usual as it coincides with the start of the lesser known football World Cup in North America.
It's not often England find themselves odds-on to win any major World Cup but Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are the hottest of favourites to lift the trophy and make amends for last year's disaster when they were sent packing by hosts Germany.
Despite being ranked world number one and two by quite some distance having won the lion's share of the majors over the past couple of seasons, they clearly lacked cohesion and team spirit compared to many other of the nations.
However, 12 months on they've got to known each other even more and the 'friendly rivalry' that's developed could well pay off spectacularly this time round.
Obviously pairs has thrown up many shocks in the past and the format is undeniably a bit of a leveller due to factors such as longer waits for each player between visits and if team-mates have different preferences on their finishing doubles, so Littler and Humphries will be eager to put the record straight and prove they can work together.
In fact, I am sensing them to break average records during the tournament and potentially hit the first ever televised pairs nine-darter. They'll have definitely spoken about it during the build up to the tournament and it would be typical of Littler to share a slice of more history-making feats.
They should coast to the title this year, especially as Gerwyn Price isn't competing for Wales, who have Nick Kenny pairing up with Jonny Clayton.
With the unpredictable Cameron Menzies lining up alongside Gary Anderson, anyone backing Scotland are doing so out of hope rather than expectaction.
Therefore England's chief rivals will either be defending champions Northern Ireland or the Netherlands.
Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney were a sensational team this time last year and I'd expect them to bring the best out of each other once again, especially now they know exactly how to get the job done.
If the big four seeds - England, Scotland, Netherlands and Northern Ireland - all were to progress to the semi-finals then Rock and Gurney would take on the new Dutch pairing of Gian van Veen or Michael van Gerwen.
Van Veen will be the captain as the highest ranked Dutch player but MVG has found some form in recent weeks by winning the Nordic Darts Masters.
If they do collide, I really do fancy Rock and Gurney to stand up to this test and set up a mouthwatering final with England.
World Cup of Darts: Knockout stage draw bracket
Top four seeded nations avoid group stage and go straight to the knockout stages
- (1) England v Group Winner
- Group Winner v Group Winner
- (4) Scotland v Group Winner
- Group Winner v Group Winner
- (2) Netherlands v Group Winner
- Group Winner v Group Winner
- (3) Northern Ireland v Group Winner
- Group Winner v Group Winner
Group Stage
Only the group winners advance to the knockout stage.
Group A
(5) Germany (Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko)
Philippines (Alexis Toylo, Paolo Nebrida)
New Zealand (Jonny Tata, Ben Robb)
Germany enjoyed one of their best ever runs 12 months ago when knocking England out en route to the semi-finals - but eventually the pressure proved too much as they were thumped 8-1 by Northern Ireland.
They haven't been given an easy group and the Philippines duo of Alexis Toylo and Paolo Nebrida are capable of causing problems. However, Ricardo Pietreczko won't be put off by Toylo's slow style given his methodical approach himself and I fancy the crowd support to play a part too.
- Group Winner Prediction: GERMANY (8/13)
Group B
(6) Belgium (Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh)
Hong Kong (Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee)
Slovenia (Benjamin Pratnemer, Stefano Bozicek)
Belgium are seeded but there's plenty of question marks surrounding the form of both Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh, while we know the dangerous Hong Kong pairing of Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee will be fired up to cause a shock.
- Group Winner Prediction: HONG KONG (3/1)
Group C
(7) Wales (Jonny Clayton, Nick Kenny)
Lithuania (Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas)
Thailand (Sarayut Ouamumpa, Sowaris Rodman)
Wales have dropped out of the top four feeds due to Gerwyn Price withdrawing and being replaced by Nick Kenny and that will ultimately harm their. chances of lifting this trophy once again.
However they should have plenty of quality to ease through the group stages.
- Group Winner Prediction: WALES (2/9)
Group D
(8) Republic of Ireland (William O'Connor, Mickey Mansell)
Singapore (Paul Lim, Phuay Wey Tan)
Gibraltar (Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt)
Virtually all neutrals will be rooting for more fairytale moments in the career of Paul Lim as he prepares to team up with Phuay Wey Tan, but William O'Connor and Mickey Mansell are a much stronger pairing and will even fancy their chances of a deep run.
- Group Winner Prediction: IRELAND (1/6)
Group E
(9) Poland (Krzysztof Ratajski, Sebastian Bialecki)
Portugal (Luis Camacho, Jose de Sousa)
Switzerland (Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen)
Poland are a very dangerous outfit this year, with Sebastian Bialecki providing the support for Krzysztof Ratajski and it's no surprise to see some people backing them for a lengthy run in this year's World Cup.
- Group Winner Prediction: POLAND (1/4)
Group F
(10) Sweden (Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak)
South Africa (Graham Filby, Devon Petersen)
Mongolia (Altantulkhuur Myagmarsuren, Ganzorig Lkhagvasuren)
Jeffrey de Graaf knows what it's like to be victim of a huge shock having suffered such fate at the World Championship, but he's recovered since then and even won a ranking title in recent weeks.
With the able support of Oskar Lukasiak, he should guide Sweden into the knockout stages.
- Group Winner Prediction: SWEDEN (1/4)
Group G
(11) Australia (Damon Heta, Adam Leek)
USA (Adam Sevada, Stowe Buntz)
Canada (Jim Long, David Cameron)
Canada are represented by tour card holder Jim Long and former World Masters senior champion David Cameron, who has enjoyed some decent results this season including victory at the CDC Cross-Border Challenge.
They aren't the favourites to come through this group but are worth siding with due to Damon Heta not having Simon Whitlock alongside him this time around.
- Group Winner Prediction: CANADA (5/2)
Group H
(12) Czechia (Karel Sedlacek, Adam Gawlas)
India (Nitin Kumar, Ankit Goenka)
Denmark (Andreas Toft Jorgensen, Jonas Graversen)
Karel Sedlacek and Adam Gawlas are an extremely solid outfit for Czechia and should have the all-round game to see off both India and Denmark.
- Group Winner Prediction: CZECHIA (3/10)
Group I
(13) Austria (Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez)
China (Qingyu Zhan, Xiaochen Zong)
France (Thibault Tricole, Nicolas Thuillier)
Austria have a very good record in the World Cup and it seems to bring out the best in Mensur Suljovic even when he's out of form from an individual perspective.
The two-time runners-up did fail to get out of the group stages last year but I can't see the same happening this time round despite France having very able team-mates in Thibault Tricole and Nicolas Thuillier.
- Group Winner Prediction: AUSTRIA (10/11)
Group J
(14) Latvia (Madars Razma, Valters Melderis)
Italy (Michele Turretta, Riccardo Castelli)
Trinidad and Tobago (Joshua Balfour, James Walkin)
A tricky group to call and a flip of a coin job really. Italy called tails and that's what it landed on.
- Group Winner Prediction: ITALY (11/8)
Group K
(15) Croatia (Boris Krcmar, Pero Ljubic)
Japan (Motomu Sakai, Haruki Muramatsu)
Spain (Cristo Reyes, Jose Justicia)
Motomu Sakai provided one of the biggest stories of the World Championship and there's no doubt he and Haruki Muramatsu will get the crowd on Japan's side in Germany.
In addition to this notable advantage, they also have the quality to spring a surprise despite the presence of Boris Krcmar and Cristo Reyes for Croatia and Spain respectively.
- Group Winner Prediction: JAPAN (5/2)
Group L
(16) Finland (Jani Haavisto, Jonas Masalin)
Norway (Cor Dekker, Kent Sivertsen)
Hungary (Patrik Kovacs, Pal Szekely)
Another very difficult group to predict and without much confidence in the selection, I'm siding with Norway.
- Group Winner Prediction: NORWAY (11/8)
Group Stage Schedule
Thursday June 11 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Seeded Nation v Team 2
Czechia v India (H)
Croatia v Japan (K)
Finland v Norway (L)
Ireland v Singapore (D)
Poland v Portugal (E)
Sweden v South Africa (F)
Latvia v Italy (J)
Belgium v Hong Kong (B)
Germany v Philippines (A)
Wales v Lithuania (C)
Austria v China (I)
Australia v USA (G)
Friday June 12
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Thursday's losing nation v Team 3
Same Group Order
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Thursday's winning nation v Team 3
Same Group Order
Saturday June 13
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Round Two x4
Sunday June 14
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals & Final
Darts: Related content
- Watch: Highest Prize Money winners in darts
- Watch: The most costly match darts ever
- Watch: Crazy darts facts and stats
- Is £1million for the world champion too much?
- 2025 Premier League Season
- 2025 PDC Darts Calendar
- How Littler won £1million in one season
- Should there be a Ryder Cup of Darts?
- Phil Taylor's crazy World Matchplay statistics
- What's easier, a nine-darter or a 147?
- Watch: Ranking the major winners in history
- Watch: Royal Rumble and other new tournament ideas
- Watch: How much do darts players earn?
- Watch: Is Luke Littler the next Phil Taylor?
- Watch: Building the perfect darts player
- Watch: How to become a darts professional
- How legends would fare today
- Troubles and triumphs
- Tournament ideas for darts
- 'What If' moments in darts
- Agony of missed match darts
- Good, Bad, Ugly: Nicholson on darts shirts
- Referees in darts
- Calling the shots in darts
- Weird actions in darts
- Hidden talents in darts
- Superstitions in darts
- Routes to glory
- Paul Nicholson's five darts drills
- Paul Nicholson's five mental tips
- Paul Nicholson's five practice games
- Worst losers in darts
- World number ones in darts
- Best players never to be number one
- Five characters in darts
- Do averages lie?
- Greatest Tournaments Ever
- Paul Nicholson's Ally Pally tales
- Watch all the Ally Pally nine-darters
- Players everyone hates to face
- Players everyone loves to face
- How to make it as a pro?
- How much money do players earn?
- Greatest darts rivalries
- Rivalries to cherish
- Be canny with counting
- Phil Taylor's greatest display
- Greatest World Championship displays
- World Cup of Great Darts performances
- Sky Bet's darts odds
