AUSTRALIA TO BEGIN TITLE DEFENCE AGAINST DEBUTANTS GUYANA

Debutants Guyana face current title holders Australia on the opening night in Frankfurt on Thursday June 15th. The host nation Germany face 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.

Courtesy of the PDC

2023 My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts

Eissporthalle, Frankfurt, Germany

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

Draw Bracket – Second Round onwards

(1) England v

v

(4) Scotland v

v

(2) Netherlands v

v

(3) Wales v

v

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