Ukraine, Bahrain, India and New Zealand’s pairings have been confirmed for this summer’s new-look World Cup of Darts.
Debutants Ukraine will be represented by Vladyslav Omelchenko, who became the first player from his nation to compete in the World Darts Championship last December, and 19-year-old Illia Pekaruk, who won last weekend’s World Cup Qualifier in Lviv.
Bahrain will also be among the nations competing for the first time, and their team will feature Basem Mahmood and Abdulnasser Yusuf, both of whom competed in January’s Bahrain Darts Masters.
Former PDC Tour Card Holder Prakash Jiwa will team up with three-time World Championship competitor Nitin Kumar for India, while Ben Robb and Warren Parry will fly the New Zealand flag for a third successive year.
Further pairings will be confirmed in due course, with Portuguese and South African qualifiers set to be played this weekend alongside the Superleague Play-Offs in Hungary which will determine their team.
A Latin America Qualifier, which is set to feature the likes of Brazil, Costa Rica and Guyana, will be held to determine one place from May 12-14.
Nations who will be represented by players from the PDC Order of Merit will see their teams confirmed on Monday May 29, with the top two ranked players invited to compete for their country.
Nations with qualifiers from the PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit will see their players confirmed on May 1, while nations in the PDC Nordic & Baltic region will have a cut-off of June 5 following the PDCNB weekend in Finland.
The 2023 World Cup of Darts will be staged at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 15-18, with an expanded tournament featyuring 40 teams and a £450,000 prize fund.
A revamped format which will feature a group and knockout stage of all Doubles matches across four days of action, as Australia defend the title they won in 2022.
The top four ranked nations, based on the lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking of the two competing players, will be seeded and will enter at the second round stage. The remaining 36 teams will be split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin first round – including 12 seeded nations – from which each group winner will progress.
The second round, featuring the last 16 nations, will be split across two sessions on Saturday June 17 before the quarter-finals take place on Sunday afternoon, with the tournament culminating in the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening – with the eventual champions to earn a combined £80,000 in prize money.
Tickets for the World Cup of Darts are available now through PDC Europe.
2023 World Cup of Darts
Thursday June 15 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – Opening Matches
Friday June 16
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches
Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches
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
Competing Nations
Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, USA, Wales + Latin America Qualifier
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
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
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