World Cup of Darts 2022 Preview
World Cup of Darts 2022 Preview
The 2022 Cazoo World Cup of Darts begins in Germany on Thursday as the annual 32-nation festival of darts returns to Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle.
This year’s World Cup of Darts marks the 12th edition of the popular pairs event, which will see 32 countries represented by two-player teams from June 16-19.
Scotland looking to defend
The eighth seeds defeated Austria to secure a second World Cup success 12 months ago, and they will open their campaign against Hong Kong duo Lok Yin Lee & Ho Tung Ching on Friday night.
World Champion Wright retains last year’s successful pairing with Henderson, who is aiming to emulate the greatest day of his career in Frankfurt this weekend after being given the blessing of Gary Anderson to remain in the Scotland team.
England looking for first title since 2016
Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis led England to their previous four victories but having scooped five titles within the last month, Smith comes into this in a confident mood ahead of the clash against Czech duo Adam Gawlas and Karel Sedlacek on Friday.
Wales at Full Force in Germany
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will represent Wales for a fifth consecutive year, and the 2020 champions are highly-fancied to double their tally this weekend.
The second seeds headline Thursday’s opening night of first-round action against the Philippines, and the World Cup harbours special memories for Clayton, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since their 2020 triumph.
No MvG for the Third Seeds
Four-time winners Netherlands boast a new-look pairing in the absence of Michael van Gerwen, with UK Open champion Danny Noppert teaming up alongside Dirk van Duijvenbode ahead of their first-round clash against Brazil on Thursday.
Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts renew their partnership for 2013 runners-up Belgium, and the fourth seeds will face 2019 semi-finalists Japan in a tricky opener.
Australian number one Damon Heta and World Cup ever-present Simon Whitlock take on Lithuania, led by Darius Labanauskas, while Northern Irish duo Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan – another who has played in all 11 previous World Cups – continue their bid for maiden glory.
Competing Nations & Pairings
Australia – Damon Heta & Simon Whitlock
Austria – Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez
Belgium – Dimitri Van den Bergh & Kim Huybrechts
Brazil – Diogo Portela & Artur Valle
Canada – Jeff Smith & Matt Campbell
Czech Republic – Adam Gawlas & Karel Sedlacek
Denmark – Vladimir Andersen & Andreas Toft Jörgensen
England – Michael Smith & James Wade
Finland – Marko Kantele & Aki Paavilainen
Germany – Gabriel Clemens & Martin Schindler
Gibraltar – Justin Hewitt & Craig Galliano
Hong Kong – Lok Yin Lee & Ho Tung Ching
Hungary – Nándor Prés & Gergely Lakatos
Italy – Guiseppe Di Rocco & Gabriel Rollo
Japan – Tomoya Goto & Toru Suzuki
Latvia – Madars Razma & Nauris Gleglu
Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas
Netherlands – Danny Noppert & Dirk van Duijvenbode
New Zealand – Ben Robb & Warren Parry
Northern Ireland – Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
Philippines – Lourence Ilagan & RJ Escaros
Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski & Sebastian Bialecki
Portugal – Jose de Sousa & Vítor Jerónimo
Republic of Ireland – William O’Connor & Steve Lennon
Scotland – Peter Wright & John Henderson
Singapore – Paul Lim & Harith Lim
South Africa – Devon Petersen & Stefan Vermaak
Spain – Jose Justicia & Tony Martinez
Sweden – Daniel Larsson & Johan Engstrom
Switzerland – Stefan Bellmont & Thomas Junghans
USA – Danny Baggish & Jules van Dongen
Wales – Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
Schedule of Play
Thursday June 16 (1900 local time)
First Round x8
Denmark v Singapore
New Zealand v Switzerland
Republic of Ireland v Canada
Austria v Finland
Northern Ireland v Gibraltar
Wales v Philippines
Germany v Spain
Netherlands v Brazil
Friday June 17 (1900 local time)
First Round x8
Latvia v Hungary
Poland v USA
Sweden v South Africa
Portugal v Italy
Australia v Lithuania
England v Czech Republic
Scotland v Hong Kong
Belgium v Japan
Saturday June 18
Afternoon Session (1300 local time)
Second Round x4
Evening Session (1900 local time)
Second Round x4
Sunday June 19
Afternoon Session (1300 local time)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (1900 local time)
Semi-Finals
Final
Draw Bracket
(1) England v Czech Republic
Latvia v Hungary
(8) Scotland v Hong Kong
Portugal v Italy
(4) Belgium v Japan
Poland v USA
(5) Australia v Lithuania
Sweden v South Africa
(2) Wales v Philippines
Austria v Finland
(7) Germany v Spain
Denmark v Singapore
(3) Netherlands v Brazil
Republic of Ireland v Canada
(6) Northern Ireland v Gibraltar
New Zealand v Switzerland
World Cup of Darts 2022 Preview
