It’s not just the footballers who will be looking for a World Cup win this summer as defending champions England aim to do the business on the dartboard in Germany, live on Sky Sports.
The fourth edition of the PDC’s World Cup of Darts kicks off on Friday, June 6, at the RWE Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany, the same venue where England claimed their second successive title last year, getting the better of Belgium in the final.
An expanded World Cup tournament will this year see 32 nations, each represented by two players, competing for the title and a £200,000 prize fund, including new entries from France, China and India.
This unique knockout event will begin with the first round being held across two sessions as the 16 seeded nations face the 16 unseeded countries.
The top eight seeds will enter the first round on Friday night, with reigning champions England beginning their bid for a third successive title as they meet Thailand.
Saturday’s action will see the second round split across two sessions as the remaining 16 nations face off, with the quarter-finals being held on Sunday afternoon and seeing a mixture of singles and doubles games.
The tournament will then conclude on Sunday evening with the semi-finals and final, also featuring a mixture of Singles and Doubles contests, from which the fourth PDC World Cup of Darts winner will be crowned.
Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis are teaming up once more after their victory over Belgium in last year’s final, but there’s a star-studded line-up standing in their way.
Dutch pair Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld crashed out early 12 months ago, but MvG’s World Championship win and Barney’s success in the Premier League could give the duo the edge.
Peter Wright and Robert Thornton are flying the flag for number three seeds Scotland, while Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson will hope to take fourth seeds Australia further than their second-round exit last year.
Will it be three times in a row for England or could it be Dutch delight in Hamburg?
Sky Sports will screen all three days of the PDC World Cup of Darts in Germany exclusively live over the weekend of June 6-8.
Dave Clark will introduce the action from Hamburg alongside Rod Harrington and Wayne Mardle, while Rod Studd, Stuart Pyke and Nigel Pearson provide commentary.
The Sky Sports darts website will feature all the latest news, interviews and features from Sky experts, plus video highlights.
Fans can also interact with the on-air team via Twitter during the event – @SkySportsDarts.
In addition to live coverage, Sky Sports will also broadcast a special preview show looking ahead to the 2014 tournament, first airing on Wednesday, June 4, at 6.00pm on Sky Sports 1.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE WORLD CUP TEAMS
.
.
.
