Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand are the latest nations to confirm pairings for this summer’s new-look My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts.
Last weekend saw Asian Tour Events 10-12 take place in Hong Kong, with the top two players on the Asian Tour Order of Merit from each of the five nations to represent their country.
Darts legend Paul Lim will team up with Harith Lim for a ninth time for Singapore, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in 2017.
PDC Tour Card Holder Christian Perez and seven-time World Championship competitor Lourence Ilagan will fly the flag for the Philippines, while Hong Kong will be represented by Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee.
Jun Matsuda and debutant Tomoya Goto will team up for 2019 semi-finalists Japan, and Attapol Eupakaree and Yong Gaweenuntavong will compete for Thailand.
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.
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 with qualifiers from the PDC Nordic & Baltic region will see their players confirmed on 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 featuring 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 for the first time 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
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
Confirmed Pairings
Bahrain – Basem Mahmood, Abdulnasser Yusuf
China – Xiaochen Zong, Lihao Wen
Hong Kong – Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
Hungary – Patrik Kovács, Levente Sárai
India – Prakash Jiwa, Nitin Kumar
Japan – Jun Matsuda, Tomoya Goto
New Zealand – Ben Robb, Warren Parry
Philippines – Christian Perez, Lourence Ilagan
Portugal – Jose de Sousa, Luis Ameixa
Singapore – Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa – Devon Petersen, Vernon Bouwers
Thailand – Attapol Eupakaree, Yong Gaweenuntavong
Ukraine – Vladyslav Omelchenko, Illia Pekaruk
Schedule of Play
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
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.
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
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