2023 World Cup of Darts: Preview, schedule, prize money, pairings for the Sky Sports-televised event
- Planet Sport writer
- 9 June 2023
Australia will begin their defence of the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts against Guyana on Thursday’s opening night in Frankfurt, as host nation Germany kick off their campaign against Hong Kong.
The 2023 World Cup of Darts will take place at the Eissporthalle from June 15-18, with an expanded tournament featuring 40 teams and a £450,000 prize fund under the exciting new format.
The top four ranked nations - based on the lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking of the two competing players - are seeded and will enter at the second round stage.
Four-time winners England and Netherlands will begin their campaign in the last 16, alongside 2020 winners Wales and two-time champions Scotland.
The remaining 36 teams have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin first round - including 12 seeded nations - from which each group winner will progress.
Reigning champions Australia - represented by Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock - have been pitted against debutants Guyana in their opening Group C tie, before they take on Gibraltar on Friday.
Meanwhile, German duo Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler will play Hong Kong and Japan in Group B, as they bid to lead their nation to a maiden World Cup success on home soil.
Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts will represent fifth seeds Belgium, who were drawn against Finland and China in Group A.
Northern Ireland's pairing of Brendan Dolan and Daryl Gurney will headline Group D alongside France and Ukraine, while former finalists Republic of Ireland face Thailand and Croatia in Group E.
Mensur Suljovic and Rowby-John Rodriguez will team up again for 2021 runners-up Austria, who meet Denmark on Thursday's opening night, with USA also set to feature in Group F.
Poland's Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk will lead Poland's title charge in Group G, with Portugal and Lithuania battling it out against them for a place in the last 16.
Newly crowned North American champion Jeff Smith will partner Matt Campbell for three-time quarter-finalists Canada, who will take on India and Hungary in Group H.
Czech Republic, Singapore and Philippines make up Group I, with Spain, South Africa and debutants Iceland competing for a place in the knockout stages in Group J.
Elsewhere, Latvia headline Group K which also includes 2019 quarter-finalists New Zealand and newcomers Bahrain, while Switzerland, Italy and Sweden complete the draw in Group L.
The losing nations from Thursday's opening matches will play the third team from each group in Friday's afternoon session, with the decisive final group games set to be played on Friday evening.
Following the completion of the round-robin phase, the draw for the last 16 will take place on Friday evening, as England, Netherlands, Wales and Scotland prepare to enter the fray in Frankfurt on Saturday.
World Champion Michael Smith and Rob Cross will star for top seeds England, with three-time World Cup winner Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert set to fly the flag for Netherlands.
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will bid to repeat their 2020 exploits as they represent Wales for a sixth straight year, while Gary Anderson returns to partner Peter Wright for fourth seeds Scotland.
The top four seeded nations will be pre-allocated into the draw bracket, with the 12 group winners to be drawn at random.
The second round will take place across a double session on Saturday, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on a bumper Finals Day in Frankfurt.
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.
2023 My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts
Location: Eissporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany
Dates: June 15-18 2023
Seeded through to Second Round
(1) England
(2) Netherlands
(3) Wales
(4) Scotland
Group Stage Draw
Group A
(5) Belgium
Finland
China
Group B
(6) Germany
Hong Kong
Japan
Group C
(7) Australia
Guyana
Gibraltar
Group D
(8) Northern Ireland
France
Ukraine
Group E
(9) Republic of Ireland
Thailand
Croatia
Group F
(10) Austria
Denmark
USA
Group G
(11) Poland
Portugal
Lithuania
Group H
(12) Canada
India
Hungary
Group I
(13) Czech Republic
Singapore
Philippines
Group J
(14) Spain
South Africa
Iceland
Group K
(15) Latvia
New Zealand
Bahrain
Group L
(16) Switzerland
Italy
Sweden
Session Schedule
Thursday June 15 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage - First Matches x12
Team 1 v Team 2 from each group - match order TBC
Belgium v Finland
Germany v Hong Kong
Australia v Guyana
Northern Ireland v France
Republic of Ireland v Thailand
Austria v Denmark
Poland v Portugal
Canada v India
Czech Republic v Singapore
Spain v South Africa
Latvia v New Zealand
Switzerland v Italy
Friday June 16
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage - Second Matches x12
Loser First Match v Team 3
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage - Final Matches x12
Winner First Match v Team 3
Saturday June 17
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Second Round x4
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Second Round x4
Sunday June 18
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals
Final
Format
Group Stage - Best of seven legs
Second Round - Best of 15 legs
Quarter-Finals - Best of 15 legs
Semi-Finals - Best of 15 legs
Final - Best of 19 legs
All games will be played in a Doubles format.
Competing Nations & Pairings
Australia - Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
Austria - Mensur Suljovic, Rowby-John Rodriguez
Bahrain - Basem Mahmood, Abdulnasser Yusuf
Belgium - Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts
Canada - Matt Campbell, Jeff Smith
China - Xiaochen Zong, Lihao Wen
Croatia - Boris Krcmar, Romeo Grbavac
Czech Republic - Adam Gawlas, Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Vladimir Andersen, Benjamin Reus
England - Michael Smith, Rob Cross
Finland - Marko Kantele, Paavo Myller
France - Thibault Tricole, Jacques Labre
Germany - Gabriel Clemens, Martin Schindler
Gibraltar - Craig Galliano, Justin Hewitt
Guyana - Norman Madhoo, Sudesh Fitzgerald
Hong Kong - Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
Hungary - Patrik Kovács, Levente Sárai
Iceland - Hallgrimur Egilsson, Vitor Charrua
India - Prakash Jiwa, Amit Gilitwala
Italy - Michele Turetta, Massimo Dante
Japan - Jun Matsuda, Tomoya Goto
Latvia - Madars Razma, Dmitriy Zhukov
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert
New Zealand - Ben Robb, Warren Parry
Northern Ireland - Brendan Dolan, Daryl Gurney
Philippines - Christian Perez, Lourence Ilagan
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski, Krzysztof Kciuk
Portugal - Jose de Sousa, Luis Ameixa
Republic of Ireland - William O'Connor, Keane Barry
Scotland - Peter Wright, Gary Anderson
Singapore - Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa - Devon Petersen, Vernon Bouwers
Spain - Jose Justicia, Tony Martinez
Sweden - Dennis Nilsson, Oskar Lukasiak
Switzerland - Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen
Thailand - Attapol Eupakaree, Yong Gaweenuntavong
Ukraine - Vladyslav Omelchenko, Illia Pekaruk
USA - Jules van Dongen, Leonard Gates
Wales - Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton
Prize Fund (Per 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
