WORLD CUP OF DARTS 2025
What, When and Where is the World Cup of Darts?
The World Cup of Darts is the PDC’s only pairs event, and sees duos represent their respective countries. This year’s edition is set to take place from the 12th to the 15th of June at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany.
The prize fund has stayed steady at £450,000, with the winners getting £40,000 each. The event is a non-ranked major and therefore does not count toward to the Order of Merit, but valuable spots in the Grand Slam are awarded to the four finalists
Michael Smith and Luke Humphries won the title for England in 2024. Photo by PDC.
What is the History of the Event?
The World Cup of Darts was first held in 2010, and after a year off has been held every year since 2012, meaning that this year will mark the 15th edition. All but two of the editions have been held in Germany, with this year’s tournament being the eighth in eleven years to be held at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle.
The venue also holds ice rinks and during the colder months is the home of Löwen Frankfurt, a team which competes in the top division of German Ice Hockey.
So far the tournament has yet to see a nine-darter, but Australia memorably wired double 18 for one in the 2023 edition.
What is the Format?
Following a change in 2023, each match is played entirely using the doubles format, with players alternating for their team’s throws.
There are 40 teams, with Argentina being the only debutants. All but the top four pairs (ranked by their combined Order of Merit rankings) start in round one. Round one is a Group Stage. The Group Stage sees the other 12 highest-ranked duos seeded into 12 groups, which are then filled with two other nations.
The top team from each group qualifies for the last 16, where they are joined by the top four seeds. The last 16 continue in a knock-out format.
How Do Countries Qualify for the World Cup of Darts?
Any nation with two PDC tour card holders automatically qualify for the event and will be represented by their two highest ranked players on the 13th May deadline. That accounts for 13 countries this year, with the next 10 spots going to countries with just one tour card holder, with qualifiers held to determine their teammate.
The remaining 17 spots are filled by countries chosen by the PDC or which come through qualifying events. This year there was an Asian Qualifier with three spots, a Nordic & Baltic Qualifier with two spots and a Latin & Caribbean Qualifier (CDLC) with one spot.
Argentina managed to secure their debut via the CDLC, having beaten the 2023 and 2024 qualifiers Guyana along the way.
The only other change compared to 2024 is the PDC selecting India over Iceland.
Which Countries are Seeded?
For the first time since the introduction of the new format, the four seeded teams exempt from the group stage are the four countries of the United Kingdom.
Seed 1: England
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Led by Luke Humphries and Luke Littler, the top two players in the world by a distance, England will head into the event as massive favourites.
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Littler will make his debut at the event, but Humphries appeared for the first time last year and won the title alongside Michael Smith.
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That win was England’s fifth victory, but their first since a golden era between 2012 and 2016 which saw the team of Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis reach five straight finals, winning four of them.
Seed 2: Wales
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The Welsh team of world numbers 5 and 11, Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price, are the most realistic challengers to England.
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Clayton and Price have played together since 2018, apart from last year when Gerwyn withdrew shortly before the event due to medical reasons.
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The pair have won the event twice, Wales’ only two titles in the event, first in 2020 and then in 2023, both times as the second seeds.
Seed 3: Scotland
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The Scottish team is made up of world numbers 12 and 16, Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, who are both legendary two-time individual World Champions.
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Anderson has only played in the event selectively over the years, meaning that he and Wright have only been a team in 2012, 2015, between 2017 and 2019 and since 2023.
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Anderson and Wright won the title together in 2019, while Wright won Scotland’s only other title in the event alongside John Henderson in 2021.
Seed 3: Northern Ireland
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Northern Ireland are represented by world numbers 17 and 25, Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, who will be playing together for the first time.
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Gurney appeared in the event every year from 2016 to 2023 but was denied his spot by Rock last year.
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Gurney is now back in the team, which has reached the semi-finals twice, after passing Brendan Dolan in the rankings, meaning that Dolan will miss out on the World Cup for the first time after a 14-year streak.
Betting Tips and Odds for the World Cup of Darts
England Unlikely to Offer Value in the Outright Market
As 4/11 favourites with the tournament sponsors before the draw had even been conducted, England will likely not offer value in the outright market throughout the event.
Each Way Punts Could be the Way to Go
18/1 and 20/1 shots the Netherlands and Northern Ireland could be good E/W picks in the outright market to account for England’s likely win.
South Africa to Make the Last 16
Devon Petersen and Cameron Carolissen will play together for South Africa for the first time this year. They could offer some great value to make it through their group, after encouraging performances from Petersen in the Modus Supers Series and Carolissen at Ally Pally.
Bahrain to go Winless
Bahrain, who failed to win a game in the first two World Cup appearances, will be likely to keep this run going as they will be represented by two debutants with no big stage experience
Who Have the Past Winners Been?
Outside of this year’s top three seeds, only two other nations have won the World Cup.
The Netherlands won the first edition of the event back in 2010 with a team of Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé. Following this, van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen won three editions in five years between 2014 and 2018.
In 2022 Australia became the first non-European nation to win the title, with a team of Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock, who will keep his ever-present status in the event this year despite having lost his tour card.
