Here’s What You Need To Know About The World Cup Of Darts 2020
The 2020 World Cup of Darts takes place this week in Salzburgarena, Austria running from November 6-8.
32 nations will be represented in total, all hoping to emulate last year’s winners and reigning champions Scotland. As a quick side note, Singapore will not be among these as planned due to Covid-19 restrictions preventing their travel to Austria meaning that they have been replaced by Portugal.
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Michael van Gerwen’s Netherlands are the 2/1 with bet365 favourites to win the title for a fifth time, with Gerwyn Price’s Wales installed as the 11/4 second favourites. Wales may not represent enough value for some, but they do look a good shout with Jonny Clayton joining the World number two. Based on current form Wales should be favourites to go one better than 2017 when Price reached the World Cup final with Mark Webster.
Scotland’s chances have taken a hit owing to the fact that darting superstars Gary Anderson and Peter Wright have opted out and will be replaced instead by Robert Thornton and John Henderson. Had they had the world champions playing, they would unquestionably have been favourites themselves. Instead they are priced at 66/1 with bet365.
England though are the top seed and open up against Lithuania on Friday. The English pair Michael Smith and Rob Cross have had a tricky year, what was made of it anyway, but pairings are based on the PDC Order Of Merit, meaning Glenn Durrant and Nathan Aspinall, who have had stronger years, weren’t available for selection.
In a year of shocks both Durrant and Aspinall have been winning PDC debutants as has Dimitri Van den Bergh who won the World Matchplay at the first time of asking. Van den Bergh, playing here with Kim Huybrechts, makes Belgium look a real threat to go deep here. Bet365 clearly agree and have ranked Belgium as the fourth favourites.
Germany’s Gabriel Clemens and Max Hopp are another pair to keep your eye on. There has never been bigger than a 6-1 winner in the Darts World Cup but the Germans are 14/1 at bet365 and some might be tempted to take that punt on each way.
As for the Dutch favourites, world number one Michael van Gerwen teams up with PDC World Cup debutant Danny Noppert who is currently 21st in the PDC rankings. Holland have had a fine record in the ten years this trophy has been up for grabs. Not surprising given the perfect pairing of MVG and Raymond van Barneveld.Netherlands are the third seeds even though MVG hasn’t been his normal dominant self this season. Such form shouldn’t last long though as there is simply too much class and ability there. Of course, he did still take down the UK Open over the summer so he has still done better than most and with Noppert in tow could well fancy his chances of adding a World Cup to his 2020 trophy haul too.
World Cup Of Darts Teams
- England – Michael Smith & Rob Cross
- Wales – Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
- Netherlands – Michael van Gerwen & Danny Noppert
- Northern Ireland – Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
- Belgium – Dimitri Van den Bergh & Kim Huybrechts
- Germany – Max Hopp & Gabriel Clemens
- Republic of Ireland – William O’Connor & Steve Lennon
- Austria – Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez
- Australia – Simon Whitlock & Damon Heta
- Brazil – Diogo Portela & Bruno Rangel
- Canada – Jeff Smith & Matt Campbell
- China – Zizhao Zheng * & Di Zhuang
- Czech Republic – Karel Sedlacek & Adam Gawlas
- Denmark – Neils Heinsøe & Per Laursen
- Finland – Marko Kantele & Kim Viljanen
- Gibraltar – Craig Galliano & Justin Hewitt
- Greece – John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
- Hong Kong – Kai Fan Leung & Royden Lam
- Hungary – Patrik Kovacs & Janos Vegsö
- Italy – Andrea Micheletti & Daniele Petri
- Japan – Seigo Asada & Yuki Yamada
- Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas
- New Zealand – Cody Harris & Haupai Puha
- Philippines – Lourence Ilagan & Noel Malicdem
- Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski & Krzysztof Kciuk
- Portugal – Jose De Sousa & Jose Marques
- Russia – Boris Koltsov & Aleksei Kadochnikov
- Scotland – John Henderson & Robert Thornton
- South Africa – Devon Petersen & Carl Gabriel
- Spain – Jesus Noguera & Toni Alcinas
- Sweden – Daniel Larsson & Dennis Nilsson
- USA – Chuck Puleo & Danny Lauby
Friday November 6 from 12.00
First Round (Best of nine legs – doubles)
- Lithuania v Gibraltar
- Hong Kong v China
- Portugal v Hungary
- New Zealand v Denmark
- Northern Ireland v Canada
- Belgium v Czech Republic
- Austria v USA
- England v Philippines
- Italy v Spain
- Sweden v Greece
- Japan v Scotland
- Poland v South Africa
- Republic of Ireland v Australia
- Wales v Russia
- Germany v Finland
- Netherlands v Brazil
Saturday November 7 from 12.30
Second Round (Best of 3 points)
- Eight Matches
Sunday November 8 from 12.00
Four Quarter-Finals (Best of 3 points)
- Semi-Finals (Best of 3 points)
- Final (Best of 5 points)
QUICK GLANCE AT
Venue: Salzburgarena, Austria
Dates: November 6 – November 8
Format: Best of nine legs, 3 points, 5 points
Current Champion: Scotland
Where To Watch: Sky Sports
When To Watch: (1900 GMT)
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