World Cup of Darts: Rob Cross, Gary Anderson to take part as Australia aim to defend their title | Darts News

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We take a look back at some of the memorable moments from last year’s World Cup of Darts

The draw and pairings has been confirmed for this year’s World Cup of Darts at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle with Rob Cross and Gary Anderson returning to the event.

World Cup ever-present Simon Whitlock and world No 15 Damon Heta will once again don the famous green and gold having claimed a historic first win for Australia in 2022.

Rob Cross’ victory in Sindelfingen last weekend saw him seal a return to the event following a two-year absence, and he will partner world number one Michael Smith for four-time winners England.

The Netherlands, who have also won the title on four occasions, will be represented by newly-crowned six-time Premier League champion Michael van Gerwen and world number eight Danny Noppert, who reached the quarter-finals together in 2020.

Gary Anderson and Peter Wright won the tournament in 2019

Gary Anderson will make his first appearance in a Scotland shirt in four years, re-forming his 2019 World Cup winning partnership with world number two Peter Wright.

Wales, the 2020 champions, will be represented by world No 4 Gerwyn Price and five-time TV title winner Jonny Clayton for a sixth successive year.

Brendan Dolan, William O’Connor and Mensur Suljovic will maintain their ever-present records for Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and Austria alongside Daryl Gurney, Keane Barry and Rowby-John Rodriguez respectively.

Belgium, the 2013 runners-up, will be represented by Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts for a sixth consecutive year, while Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler will once again team up for host nation Germany.

The 2023 World Cup of Darts will be staged at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 15-18, with an expanded tournament featuring 40 teams and a £450,000 prize fund.

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Gerwyn Price averaged a remarkable 117.88 in a dominant win over Martin Schindler, where he reeled in a sensational 170 finish and did not miss a dart at a double!

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.

2023 World Cup of Darts
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, TBC
England – Michael Smith, Rob Cross
Finland – Marko Kantele, TBC
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 – TBC, TBC
India – Prakash Jiwa, Amit Gilitwala
Italy – Michele Turetta, Massimo Dante
Japan – Jun Matsuda, Tomoya Goto
Latvia – Madars Razma, Dmitriy Zhukov
Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas, TBC
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

What’s the format and when can you watch the World Cup of Darts?

Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta will be defending their World Cup of Darts title

The annual World Cup of Darts will expand to 40 teams from the previous 32 in a revamped format which will feature a group stage and doubles matches throughout four days of action at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 15-18 – live on Sky Sports – as Australia defend the title.

In a radical change to previous years, the tournament will see Iceland, Ukraine and Bahrain set to make their debuts.

Catch all the action from the World Cup of Darts from June 15-18 – live on Sky Sports.