The PDC World Cup of Darts is a team darts tournament organised by the Professional Darts Corporation, and was one of the three new tournaments introduced into the PDC calendar in 2010. It is broadcast live by Sky Sports.[1]
| PDC World Cup of Darts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament information | |
| Established | 2010 |
| Organisation(s) | PDC |
| Format | Pairs event |
| Prize fund | £450,000 |
| Month(s) Played | December (2010) February (2012–13) November (2020) September (2021) June (2014–19; 2022–) |
| Current champion(s) | |
 England (2026) | |
The first edition was held in 2010 but due to the rescheduling of the Players Championship Finals in the PDC calendar, the second edition was played in Hamburg, Germany, in February 2012.[2] In 2015, the event took place the Eissporthalle Frankfurt,[3] where it stayed until returning to Hamburg in 2019 when it moved to the Barclaycard Arena. In 2020, the event was held at the Salzburgarena in Salzburg, Austria, and in 2021, it returned to Germany, this time in the Sparkassen-Arena, Jena, and in 2022 it returned to Frankfurt where it has been held since.
The competition succeeded the Jocky Wilson Cup; a one-off international match between England and Scotland held in Glasgow on 5 December 2009. England defeated Scotland by 6 points to 0.
Background
editIn October 2009, PDC chairman Barry Hearn announced his intention to buy the British Darts Organisation and inject £2 million into amateur darts, but the BDO decided not to accept the offer. In a statement, Hearn stated "The aim of our offer to the BDO was to unify the sport of darts and this remains our long-term objective despite the decision by the BDO County Associations"[4] The Jocky Wilson Cup was held in December.
But following the BDO's rejection, the PDC went on to arrange three brand new tournaments for 2010 to help the development of youth and women's darts: the PDC Under-21 World Championship, the PDC Women's World Championship, and the PDC World Cup of Darts.[1]
Format
editIn the first 3 competitions (held in 2010, 2012 and 2013), the participating teams were the top 24 countries in the PDC Order of Merit at the end of October after the 2010 World Grand Prix. Each nation's top ranked player was then joined by the second highest player of that country. For seeding, the average rank of both was used.
The top 8 nations automatically started in the second round (last 16). The other 16 nations played in the first round. Matches were best of 11 legs in doubles, and the losing team threw first in the next leg. The winners of the first round played the top eight ranked teams in the second round, also in best of 11 doubles.
In 2010, the winners of the second round were drawn into two groups of four (A & B). Each team played each other once (three matches per team). Each match consisted of two singles and one doubles – all over best of five legs. 1 point was awarded for a singles win, and 2 points for a doubles win, with all points counting towards the overall league table. The top two teams in each group advanced to the semi-finals.
The semi-finals consisted of four singles games and one doubles game (if required) per match – all over best of 11 legs. Again, 1 point was awarded for a singles win, and 2 points for a doubles win. If the match score is 3–3 at the end of the games, then a sudden-death doubles leg would decide who goes through to the final.
The final was the same format as the semi-final, but each game was best of 15 legs.[5]
In 2012, the first round format remained the same, with the exception being that the matches were best of 9 doubles. The second round had games where each match consisted of two singles and one doubles – over best of seven legs in singles, and best of 9 legs in doubles. As before, 1 point was awarded for a singles win, and 2 points for a doubles win. If the score was tied 2–2, then a sudden death doubles leg took place to determine the winner. The format was the same for the quarter-finals, with the exception that the doubles matches were best of 7 legs, like the singles.
In the semi-finals, games had each match consisting of four singles and one doubles match – over best of seven legs. As before, 1 point was awarded for a singles win, and 2 points for a doubles win. If the score was tied 3–3, then a sudden death doubles leg took place to determine the winner. In the final, the match consisted of four singles and one doubles match – over best of 13 legs. As before, 1 point was awarded for a singles win, and 2 points for a doubles win. If the score was tied 3–3, then a sudden death doubles leg took place to determine the winner.
In 2013, a new format was created. The 24 teams were put into groups of 3, which each contained one of the top 8 seeds, plus two other teams. The teams played each other in best of 9 doubles matches, with the top 2 in each group progressing to the last 16. The last 16 also used the same best of 9 doubles format.
In the quarter-finals onwards, the matches began with two best of 7 leg singles matches. If one team won both singles matches, they were declared the winner, if each team won one match each, a best of 7 doubles match would decide the winner. In the final, there would be four best of 7 leg singles matches (if needed), with a point for each win, with a 7 leg doubles decider, if the singles matches ended making the score 2–2.
In 2014 and 2015, the field extended to 32 teams, with the top 16 teams being seeded, and each playing a best of 9 doubles match to begin. After that, the format was the same as the later stages of the previous tournament with two best of 7 leg singles matches. If one team won both singles matches, they were declared the winner, if each team won one match each, a best of 7 doubles match would decide the winner. In the final, there would be four best of 7 leg singles matches (if needed), with a point for each win, with a 7 leg doubles decider, if the singles matches ended making the score 2–2. In 2015, the final was tweaked, so that the doubles match would be the third match.
The format remained the same until 2023, with the only major change being in 2016, when only the top 8 teams were seeded, rather than the top 16.
In March 2023, the PDC announced a completely revamped format for the following tournament set to happen between 15–18 June 2023. This new format consisted of 40 different nations for the first time in the events history and a group stage for the first time since 2013. 12 groups of 3 countries were drawn, with the winner of each group advancing into the second round, while the top four ranked countries automatically advance into the second round. This format also consisted of doubles throughout the competition for the first time.[6]
Results by year
editRecords and statistics
edit- As of 14 June 2026.
Individual appearances
editAs of the 2026 tournament, only 2 players have played in all 16 editions of the World Cup of Darts.
They are:
Total finalist appearances
editCountry
edit| Rank | Country | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 6 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| 2 |  Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| 3 |  Wales | 2 | 4 | 6 | 16 |
| 4 |  Scotland | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 5 |  Australia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 6 |  Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
| 7 |  Austria | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| 8 |  Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
 Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
- In the event of identical records, countries are first sorted by date first achieved
Team
edit| Rank | Players | Team | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis | England | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 2 | Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton | Wales | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 4 | Gary Anderson and Peter Wright | Scotland | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Peter Wright and John Henderson | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Luke Humphries and Michael Smith | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney | Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Luke Littler and Luke Humphries | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 11 | Mensur Suljović and Rowby-John Rodriguez | Austria | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 12 | Mark Webster and Barrie Bates | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson | Australia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Kim Huybrechts and Ronny Huybrechts | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Steve Lennon and William O'Connor | Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Michael Smith and Rob Cross | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- In the event of identical records, teams are first sorted by date first achieved
Player
edit| Rank | Player | Team | Won | Runner-up | Finals | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrian Lewis | England | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Phil Taylor | England | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
| Raymond van Barneveld | Netherlands | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 | |
| 4 | Michael van Gerwen | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 5 | Peter Wright | Scotland | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 |
| Gerwyn Price | Wales | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | |
| 7 | Jonny Clayton | Wales | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 8 | Luke Humphries | England | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 9 | Gary Anderson | Scotland | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 10 | Simon Whitlock | Australia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Michael Smith | England | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| 12 | Co Stompé | Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| John Henderson | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Damon Heta | Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | |
| Daryl Gurney | Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | |
| Josh Rock | Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Luke Littler | England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 18 | Mark Webster | Wales | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Rowby-John Rodriguez | Austria | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | |
| Mensur Suljović | Austria | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | |
| 21 | Barrie Bates | Wales | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Paul Nicholson | Australia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Kim Huybrechts | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |
| Ronny Huybrechts | Belgium | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| Steve Lennon | Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| William O'Connor | Ireland | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 | |
| Rob Cross | England | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Gian van Veen | Netherlands | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
- Active players are shown in bold
- Only players who reached the final are included
- In the event of identical records, players are first sorted by date first achieved, and second in alphabetical order by family name
High averages
editTeam
edit
Whitewashes
editThis table consists of the countries who have been whitewashed with the new pairs format (from the knockout stages) that was introduced in the 2023 PDC World Cup of Darts.
| Year | Winner | Score | Loser | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Scotland (89.07) |
8–0 |  France (80.59) |
|
| 2025 | Netherlands (100.20) |
8–0 | Scotland (79.37) |
[10] |
| 2026 | Scotland (99.37) |
8–0 |  Norway (83.82) |
Individual
editThis table consists of the players who hit the highest singles averages before the new pairs format was introduced in the 2023 edition.
| Ten highest World Cup of Darts one-match individual averages | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average | Player | Year (+ Round) | Opponent | Result |
| 121.97 | Kim Huybrechts |
2017, Quarter-finals |  Paul Lim |
4–1 (l) |
| 117.88 | Gerwyn Price |
2022, Quarter-finals |  Martin Schindler |
4–0 (l) |
| 115.62 | Ronny Huybrechts |
2017, Second round |  John Michael |
4–0 (l) |
| 115.10 | William O'Connor |
2019, Second round | Rob Cross |
4–1 (l) |
| 113.43 | Phil Taylor |
2015, Final | Peter Wright |
4–0 (l) |
| 113.43 | Mensur Suljović |
2019, Second round |  Chuck Puleo |
4–0 (l) |
| 113.38 | Raymond van Barneveld |
2018, Semi-finals | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
4–2 (l) |
| 111.33 | Michael van Gerwen |
2018, Final | Gary Anderson |
4–0 (l) |
| 110.64 | Dirk van Duijvenbode |
2022, Second round | Steve Lennon |
4–1 (l) |
| 110.29 | Peter Wright |
2019, Quarter-finals | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
4–2 (l) |
References
edit- 1 2 PDC announces 3 new tournaments Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 15 July 2010, PDC.tv
- ↑ "Players Championship Finals Date Set". PDC. 15 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ↑ "bwin World Cup of Darts NetZone". PDC. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
- ↑ PDC launch World Cup Retrieved 15 July 2010 Skysports.com
- ↑ Cash Converters World Cup Format Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 November 2010, PDC.tv
- ↑ "World Cup of Darts expanded as radical new format announced". Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on March 9, 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
- ↑ Score decided in matches except for (p) which indicates score decided by points. Format changed from matches to legs in 2023.
- ↑ "Betfair World Cup of Darts Tickets". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ↑ "Bwin World Cup of Darts Schedule". Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
- ↑ "World Cup of Darts: Netherlands annihilate Scotland". Sky Sports.