England will begin the defence of their World Cup crown against Gibraltar, whilst top seeds Scotland kick off their assault for a first World Cup title against Singapore, when the seventh staging of the annual Pairs event takes place in Frankfurt next month.
The new-look England team of Adrian Lewis and Dave Chisnall will be amongst 32 nations competing in the unique tournament, which is held from June 1st-4th live on Sky Sports. Chisnall is making his debut in the absence of 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, as Lewis begins his search for an unprecedented fifth World Cup crown.
Top seeds Scotland will headline the opening night next Thursday, as they take on Singapore. Gary Anderson and Peter Wright will team up for the second time, having reached the final in 2015 when previously paired together. However, they’ll come up against the legendary Paul Lim- the man who hit the first televised nine-darter in 1990.
Third seeds Netherlands will enter the fray on Friday evening when they come up against the new-look Czech Republic pairing of Frantisek Humpula and Karel Sedlacek. Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld won the title in 2014 and were losing finalists last year, and they begin this event as favourites with title sponsors Betway.
Number four seeds Wales will take on 2013 semi-finalists Finland in a tricky opener, whilst the Australian duo of Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson come up against Denmark in round-one. Elsewhere, former finalists Belgium have been pitted against New Zealand, who will be led by emerging talent Cody Harris.
Host-nation Germany begin their campaign on Friday against sixth seeds Northern Ireland. The pairing of Max Hopp and Martin Schindler is the youngest in the competition’s history, and they’ll be hoping to go beyond the quarter-final stage for the very first time.
Seventh seeds Austria will take on China, whilst the two tournament debutants Brazil and Switzerland face each-other. Friday’s other matches see the experienced American side meet Italy, South Africa play Sweden, whilst Hungary will take on a Canadian team spearheaded by three-time world champion John Part.
The opening night of action will see the dangerous Spanish pairing of Cristo Reyes and Antonio Alcinas take on Japan, with the winner set to face top seeds Scotland in round-two. In addition, the new Hong Kong pairing of Royden Lam and Kai Fan Leung will lock horns with Russia’s Boris Koltsov and Aleksandr Oreshkin.
The remaining first-round encounters see the Republic of Ireland pairing of Mick McGowan and William O’Connor face Poland; who will be captained by European Tour ever-present Krzysztof Ratajski.
Finally, Thailand will take on the Greek duo of John Michael and Ioannis Selachoglou, with both nations searching for their first ever World Cup victories. The full draw, tournament bracket and schedule of play can be viewed below.
Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/PDC
Betway World Cup of Darts
First Round Draw & Tournament Bracket
(1) Scotland v Singapore
Japan v Spain
(8) Belgium v New Zealand
Thailand v Greece
(5) Australia v Denmark
Hong Kong v Russia
(4) Wales v Finland
Republic of Ireland v Poland
(2) England v Gibraltar
South Africa v Sweden
(7) Austria v China
Hungary v Canada
(6) Northern Ireland v Germany
Brazil v Switzerland
(3) Netherlands v Czech Republic
United States of America v Italy
Schedule of Play
Thursday June 1 (8pm local time, 7pm BST)
First Round
Thailand v Greece
Hong Kong v Russia
Republic of Ireland v Poland
Japan v Spain
Belgium v New Zealand
Australia v Denmark
Scotland v Singapore
Wales v Finland
Friday June 2 (8pm local time, 7pm BST)
First Round
United States of America v Italy
Hungary v Canada
Austria v China
South Africa v Sweden
Brazil v Switzerland
Northern Ireland v Germany
England v Gibraltar
Netherlands v Czech Republic
Saturday June 3
Second Round
Afternoon Session (2pm local time, 1pm BST)
Belgium/New Zealand v Thailand/Greece
Wales/Finland v Republic of Ireland/Poland
Australia/Denmark v Hong Kong/Russia
Scotland/Singapore v Japan/Spain
Evening Session (8pm local time, 7pm BST)
Austria/China v Hungary/Canada
Northern Ireland/Germany v Brazil/Switzerland
England/Gibraltar v South Africa/Sweden
Netherlands/Czech Republic v United Staes of America/Italy
Sunday June 4
Afternoon Session (2pm local time, 1pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Order of Play TBC
Evening Session (8pm local time, 7pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Final
Competing Nations
Seeded Nations
1 Scotland – Gary Anderson & Peter Wright
2 England – Adrian Lewis & Dave Chisnall
3 Netherlands – Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld
4 Wales – Gerwyn Price & Mark Webster
5 Australia – Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson
6 Northern Ireland – Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
7 Austria – Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez
8 Belgium – Kim Huybrechts & Ronny Huybrechts
Other Nations
Brazil – Diogo Portela & Alexandre Sattin
Canada – John Norman Jnr & John Part
China – Weihong Li & Yuanjun Liu
Czech Republic – Frantisek Humpula & Karel Sedlacek
Denmark – Per Laursen & Alex Jensen
Finland – Kim Viljanen & Marko Kantele
Germany – Max Hopp & Martin Schindler
Gibraltar – Dyson Parody & Dylan Duo
Greece – John Michael & Ioannis Selachoglou
Hong Kong – Kai Fan Leung & Royden Lam
Hungary – Janos Vegso & Zoltan Mester
Italy – Daniele Petri & Gabriel Rollo
Japan – Haruki Muramatsu & Yuki Yamada
New Zealand – Cody Harris & Rob Szabo
Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski & Tytus Kanik
Republic of Ireland – Mick McGowan & William O’Connor
Russia – Boris Koltsov & Aleksandr Oreshkin
Singapore – Paul Lim & Harith Lim
South Africa – Devon Petersen & Deon Oliver
Spain – Cristo Reyes & Antonio Alcinas
Sweden – Magnus Caris & Daniel Larsson
Switzerland – Patrick Rey & Philipp Ruckstuhl
Thailand – Thanawat Gaweenuntawong & Attapol Eupakaree
United States of America – Darin Young & Larry Butler
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