PDC World Cup of Darts

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] 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 and 2023, it returned to Frankfurt once more.

PDC World Cup of Darts
Tournament information
VenueEissporthalle Frankfurt
LocationFrankfurt
CountryGermany
Established2010
Organisation(s)PDC
FormatPairs event
Prize fund£450,000
Month(s) PlayedDecember (2010)
February (2012–13)
November (2020)
September (2021)
June (2014–19; 2022–)
Current champion(s)
 England

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

edit

In 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

edit

In 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

edit
# Year Winners Score[7] Runners-up Venue Prize money (team) Sponsors
Players Team Team Players Total Winners Runners-up
1 2010 Raymond van Barneveld
Co Stompé
 
Netherlands
4–2 (p)  
Wales
Mark Webster
Barrie Bates
Rainton Meadows Arena
  England, Houghton-le-Spring
£150,000 £40,000 £20,000 Cash Converters
2 2012 Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis
 
England
4–3 (p) †  
Australia
Simon Whitlock
Paul Nicholson
Alsterdorfer Sporthalle
  Germany, Hamburg
3 2013[8] Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis
 
England
3–1 (m)  
Belgium
Kim Huybrechts
Ronny Huybrechts
Betfair
4 2014[9] Michael van Gerwen
Raymond van Barneveld
 
Netherlands
3–0 (m)  
England
Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis
£200,000 Bwin
5 2015 Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis
 
England
3–2 (m)  
Scotland
Gary Anderson
Peter Wright
Eissporthalle
  Germany, Frankfurt
£250,000 £50,000 £26,000
6 2016 Phil Taylor
Adrian Lewis
 
England
3–2 (m)  
Netherlands
Michael van Gerwen
Raymond van Barneveld
Betway
7 2017 Michael van Gerwen
Raymond van Barneveld
 
Netherlands
3–1 (m)  
Wales
Mark Webster
Gerwyn Price
£300,000 £60,000 £32,000
8 2018 Michael van Gerwen
Raymond van Barneveld
 
Netherlands
3–1 (m)  
Scotland
Gary Anderson
Peter Wright
9 2019 Gary Anderson
Peter Wright
 
Scotland
3–1 (m)  
Ireland
Steve Lennon
William O'Connor
Barclaycard Arena
  Germany, Hamburg
£350,000 £70,000 £40,000 BetVictor
10 2020 Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton
 
Wales
3–0 (m)  
England
Michael Smith
Rob Cross
Salzburgarena
  Austria, Salzburg
11 2021 Peter Wright
John Henderson
 
Scotland
3–1 (m)  
Austria
Mensur Suljović
Rowby-John Rodriguez
Sparkassen-Arena
  Germany, Jena
Cazoo
12 2022 Damon Heta
Simon Whitlock
 
Australia
3–1 (m)  
Wales
Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton
Eissporthalle
  Germany, Frankfurt
13 2023 Gerwyn Price
Jonny Clayton
 
Wales
10–2 (l)  
Scotland
Peter Wright
Gary Anderson
£450,000 £80,000 £50,000 My Diesel Claim
14 2024 Luke Humphries
Michael Smith
 
England
10–6 (l)  
Austria
Mensur Suljović
Rowby-John Rodriguez
BetVictor
  • (p) = points
  • (m) = matches
  • (l) = legs
  • Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis won the 2012 title on the sudden death doubles leg.

Records and statistics

edit
As of 18 June 2023.

Individual appearances

edit

As of the 2024 tournament, only 4 players have played in all 14 editions of the World Cup of Darts.

They are:

Total finalist appearances

edit

Country

edit
Country Champions Runners-up Finals Appearances
  England 5 2 7 14
  Netherlands 4 1 5 14
  Scotland 2 3 5 14
  Wales 2 3 5 14
  Australia 1 1 2 14
  Austria 0 2 2 14
  Belgium 0 1 1 14
  Ireland 0 1 1 14

Team

edit
Players Team Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis   England 4 1 5 6
Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld   Netherlands 3 1 4 6
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton   Wales 2 1 3 6
Gary Anderson and Peter Wright   Scotland 1 3 4 7
Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock   Australia 1 0 1 5
Luke Humphries and Michael Smith   England 1 0 1 1
Peter Wright and John Henderson   Scotland 1 0 1 2
Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé   Netherlands 1 0 1 1
Mensur Suljović and Rowby-John Rodriguez   Austria 0 2 2 9
Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson   Australia 0 1 1 5
Kim Huybrechts and Ronny Huybrechts   Belgium 0 1 1 5
Steve Lennon and William O'Connor   Ireland 0 1 1 5
Mark Webster and Gerwyn Price   Wales 0 1 1 2
Michael Smith and Rob Cross   England 0 1 1 3
Mark Webster and Barrie Bates   Wales 0 1 1 1

Player

edit
Player Team Won Runner-up Finals Appearances
Raymond van Barneveld   Netherlands 4 1 5 8
Adrian Lewis   England 4 1 5 6
Phil Taylor   England 4 1 5 6
Michael van Gerwen   Netherlands 3 1 4 9
Peter Wright   Scotland 2 3 5 9
Gerwyn Price   Wales 2 2 4 8
Jonny Clayton   Wales 2 1 3 6
Gary Anderson   Scotland 1 3 4 9
Simon Whitlock   Australia 1 1 2 14
John Henderson   Scotland 1 0 1 3
Damon Heta   Australia 1 0 1 4
Co Stompé   Netherlands 1 0 1 1
Mark Webster   Wales 0 2 2 7
William O'Connor   Ireland 0 1 1 14
Mensur Suljović   Austria 0 1 1 14
Kim Huybrechts   Belgium 0 1 1 12
Rowby-John Rodriguez   Austria 0 1 1 8
Ronny Huybrechts   Belgium 0 1 1 5
Paul Nicholson   Australia 0 1 1 5
Steve Lennon   Ireland 0 1 1 5
Rob Cross   England 0 1 1 4
Michael Smith   England 0 1 1 4
Barrie Bates   Wales 0 1 1 1
  • Active players are shown in bold
  • Only players who reached the final are included
  • In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by family name

High averages

edit

Team

edit
Ten highest World Cup of Darts one-match team averages
Average Team Year (+ Round) Opponents Result
118.10 (WR)   Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk 2023, Group Stage   Darius Labanauskas and Mindaugas Barauskas 4–1 (L)
117.88   Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 2014, Semi-finals   Brendan Dolan and Mickey Mansell 4–0 (L)
111.33   Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 2017, Second round   Darin Young and Larry Butler 4–0 (L)
109.33   Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 2017, First round   Karel Sedláček and František Humpula 5–1 (L)
109.31   Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock 2022, Quarter-finals   Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts 4–0 (L)
108.41   Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson 2010, Group stage   John Part and Ken MacNeil 3–1 (L)
107.77   Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 2016, Quarter-finals   Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson 4–3 (L)
105.48   Kim Huybrechts and Ronny Huybrechts 2013, Semi-finals   Jani Haavisto and Jarkko Komula 4–0 (L)
105.17   Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 2017, Quarter-finals   Max Hopp and Martin Schindler 4–1 (L)
104.97   Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk 2021, First round   Karel Sedláček and Adam Gawlas 5–2 (L)
Different teams with a 100+ match average (Updated 29/06/2024)
Team Total Highest Av. Year (+ Round)
  Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld 6 117.88 2014, Semi-finals
  Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton 3 103.93 2021, Semi-finals
  Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk 2 118.10 2023, Group Stage
  Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson 2 108.41 2010, Group stage
  Kim Huybrechts and Ronny Huybrechts 2 105.48 2013, Semi-finals
  Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock 1 109.31 2022, Quarter-finals
  Karel Sedláček and Adam Gawlas 1 103.47 2021, First round
  Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton 1 102.35 2010, Group stage
  Gary Anderson and Peter Wright 1 101.55 2019, First round
  Danny Noppert and Michael van Gerwen 1 100.96 2024, Second round
  Luke Humphries and Michael Smith 1 100.62 2024, Final
  Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri Van den Bergh 1 100.20 2018, Quarter-finals
  Steve Lennon and William O'Connor 1 100.20 2019, Semi-finals
  Gerwyn Price and Mark Webster 1 100.14 2017, First round

Individual

edit
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)
Different players with a 100+ match average (Updated 19/06/2022)
Player Total Highest Av. Year (+ Round)
  Phil Taylor 10 113.43 2015, Final
  Raymond van Barneveld 10 113.38 2018, Semi-finals
  Michael van Gerwen 10 111.33 2018, Final
  Kim Huybrechts 8 121.97 2017, Quarter-finals
  Simon Whitlock 7 107.77 2010, Semi-finals
  Mensur Suljović 7 113.43 2019, Second round
  Adrian Lewis 6 105.75 2013, Final
  Gary Anderson 6 109.98 2010, Group stage
  Gerwyn Price 4 117.88 2022, Quarter-finals
  Peter Wright 4 110.29 2019, Quarter-finals
  Dimitri Van den Bergh 4 107.54 2018, Semi-finals
  Rob Cross 3 107.48 2018, Quarter-finals
  Martin Schindler 2 110.00 2018, Quarter-finals
  Robert Thornton 2 107.97 2014, Quarter-finals
  Jonny Clayton 2 105.00 2020, Final
  Mark Webster 2 104.11 2010, Final
  Rowby-John Rodriguez 2 102.59 2016, Quarter-finals
  Paul Lim 2 102.29 2018, Second round
  Damon Heta 2 102.25 2020, Quarter-finals
  Michael Smith 3 101.54 2020, Quarter-finals
  Devon Petersen 2 101.52 2012, Quarter-finals
  Ronny Huybrechts 1 115.62 2017, Second round
  William O'Connor 1 115.10 2019, Second round
  Dirk van Duijvenbode 1 110.64 2022, Second round
  Richie Burnett 1 108.93 2012, Semi-finals
  Dave Chisnall 1 104.73 2021, Semi-finals
  James Wade 1 101.31 2021, Quarter-finals
  Toni Alcinas 1 100.38 2010, Group stage
  Ken MacNeil 1 100.27 2010, Group stage
  Seigo Asada 1 100.16 2019, Semi-finals
  Haruki Muramatsu 1 100.05 2013, Quarter-finals
  Luke Humphries 1 113.10 2024, Final
  Krzysztof Ratajski 2 118.45 2023, Group stage
  Krzysztof Kciuk 1 117.70 2023, Group stage

References

edit
  1. ^ a b PDC announces 3 new tournaments Archived 2010-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 15 July 2010, PDC.tv
  2. ^ "Players Championship Finals Date Set". PDC. 15 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  3. ^ "bwin World Cup of Darts NetZone". PDC. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  4. ^ PDC launch World Cup Retrieved 15 July 2010 Skysports.com
  5. ^ Cash Converters World Cup Format Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 November 2010, PDC.tv
  6. ^ "World Cup of Darts expanded as radical new format announced". Professional Darts Corporation. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  7. ^ score decided in matches except for (p) which indicates score decided by points. Format changed from points to legs in 2023.
  8. ^ "Betfair World Cup of Darts Tickets". pdc.tv. Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 December 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  9. ^ "Bwin World Cup of Darts Schedule". Professional Darts Corporation. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
edit