The BetVictor World Cup of Darts 2026 is off and running as No 1 Luke Littler joins forces with No 2 Luke Humphries to represent Team England.
Wales will open their challenge for a third title, as hosts Germany and former champions Australia also headline at the 40-nation event.
Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament between 11-14 June at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt – live on Sky Sports.
Can Littler and Humphries gel to win the crown?
Luke Littler and Luke Humphries join forces again at the World Cup of Darts
Littler and Humphries will renew their partnership for five-time winners England, as the world’s top two aim to reclaim the coveted crown.
The top two ranked players in the world, who lost in the second round to Germany last year in a shock defeat, will enter the tournament as the No 1 seeds, meaning they will enter in the second round along with Netherlands, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Speaking on the latest edition of Love The Darts Podcast, Paul Nicholson said: “I don’t think they go out early like they did last year, but I don’t think they win it at a canter.
“That fact is, this is a different discipline and I like that fact Litter hasn’t won this because it reinforces the appetite to get something that he doesn’t have.
“Humphries has already got it so he knows how to get it and until these two win this World Cup there are going to be people on their backs saying, ‘you haven’t won that, have you?’ And that could be part of the banter in the practice room with Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney. ‘We’ve won this and you haven’t!’
“It will be an interesting backroom chat that they will be having against each other.
“The narrative coming into this tournament hasn’t been about them. It’s been about Wales not being at full strength and it’s about other teams possibly going all the way.
“Twelve months on there are people out there who are not convinced that Luke and Luke are going to be a team that are going to dominate this thing.”
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Paul Nicholson discusses England’s chances at the World Cup of Darts
Who can challenge favourites England?
Michael van Gerwen teams up with Gian van Veen for the Dutch
The Dutch team boasts a formidable line-up of Gian van Veen and Michael Van Gerwen, while Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney enter the tournament as defending champions after winning the World Cup for Northern Ireland last year.
The No 5 seeded duo of Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko return for Germany and will be hoping to better last year’s semi-final exit in front of their home crowd, while Belgian pair Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh will look to redeem themselves after a disappointing group stage exit in 2025.
Northern Ireland pair Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney won the tournament for the first time with an epic victory over Wales in a final-leg decider in 2025 and they’re back to defend their title.
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Highlights as Germany stunned England at the World Cup of Darts
Where is Gerwyn Price?
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Devon Petersen and Polly James discuss Gerwyn Price’s decision to withdraw from the World Cup of Darts
Perhaps the biggest surprise comes from the Welsh line-up, where Price did not make himself available for selection for the second time in three years, leaving Nick Kenny to join an in-form Jonny Clayton as the No 7 seed.
Price, 41, said at the Premier League of Darts: “My focus is there, but health-wise I’m not in a great place at the moment.
“But I’m battling on, searching for some results. Hopefully, over the next few weeks, they will come and put me at ease.”
However, Price published a message on his Instagram, which read, “Just to clarify. I have NOT withdrawn from the World Cup because of health reasons.”
Speaking on Love The Darts podcast, Devon Petersen said: “Price is approaching it very differently and it’s something I didn’t expect from him. He is proud of his country Wales.”
Polly James added: “I just think he wants to have a week off to work on his farm.”
What was the greatest World Cup match?
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Take a look back at one of the most dramatic finals in the competition as England overcame Australia in 2012 after a sudden-death leg
There’s only one winner in this category!
England and Australia met in the final of the second World Cup in 2012 and they served up a clash that went all the way to a sudden-death leg.
All four players got the chance to throw at a double to win the match.
In a nail-biting finale, Paul Nicholson, Phil Taylor and Simon Whitlock each missed two match darts before back-to-back world champion Adrian Lewis pinned double five to secure England’s first World Cup success.
Gibraltar called up to replace Uganda
Uganda’s Patrick Ocheng and Juma Said were set to represent their country in its first appearance at the BetVictor World Cup of Darts 2026, but were forced to withdraw following visa issues.
Ocheng and Said had gained a berth in the tournament by winning the African Darts Group qualifier. Runners-up, Malawi, were in line to take their place, but they were unable to source visas in time.
Graig Galliano and Justin Hewitt were instead called up to play for Gibraltar, who will face Ireland and Singapore in Group D.
What are the groups, teams and schedule?
2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts
Seeded to Round Two
(1) England [Luke Littler, Luke Humphries]
(2) Netherlands [Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen]
(3) Northern Ireland [Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney]
(4) Scotland [Gary Anderson, Cameron Menzies]
Group Stage Draw
Group A
(5) Germany [Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko]
Philippines [Alexis Toylo, Paolo Nebrida]
New Zealand [Jonny Tata, Ben Robb]
Group B
(6) Belgium [Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh]
Hong Kong [Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee]
Slovenia [Benjamin Pratnemer, Stefano Bozicek]
Group C
(7) Wales [Jonny Clayton, Nick Kenny]
Lithuania [Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas]
Thailand [Sarayut Ouamumpa, Sowaris Rodman]
Group D
(8) Ireland [William O’Connor, Mickey Mansell]
Singapore [Paul Lim, Phuay Wey Tan]
Gibraltar [Craig Galliano, Justin Hewitt]
Group E
(9) Poland [Krzysztof Ratajski, Sebastian Bialeck]
Portugal [Luis Camacho, Jose de Sousa]
Switzerland [Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen]
Group F
(10) Sweden [Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak]
South Africa [Graham Filby, Devon Petersen]
Mongolia [Altantulkhuur Myagmarsuren, Ganzorig Lkhagvasuren]
Group G
(11) Australia [Damon Heta, Adam Leek]
USA [Adam Sevada, Stowe Buntz]
Canada [Jim Long, David Cameron]
Group H
(12) Czechia [Karel Sedlacek, Adam Gawlas]
India [Nitin Kumar, Ankit Goenka]
Denmark [Andreas Toft Jorgensen, Jonas Graversen]
Group I
(13) Austria [Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez]
China [Qingyu Zhan, Xiaochen Zong]
France [Thibault Tricole, Nicolas Thuillier]
Group J
(14) Latvia [Madars Razma, Valters Melderis]
Italy [Michele Turretta, Riccardo Castelli]
Trinidad & Tobago [Joshua Balfour, James Walkin]
Group K
(15) Croatia [Boris Krcmar, Pero Ljubic]
Japan [Motomu Sakai, Haruki Muramatsu]
Spain [Cristo Reyes, Jose Justicia]
Group L
(16) Finland [Jani Haavisto, Jonas Masalin]
Norway [Cor Dekker, Kent Sivertsen]
Hungary [Patrik Kovacs, Pal Szekely]
Group Stage Schedule
Thursday June 11 (6pm)
Seeded Nation v Team 2
Czechia vs India (H)
Croatia vs Japan (K)
Finland vs Norway (L)
Ireland vs Singapore (D)
Poland vs Portugal (E)
Sweden vs South Africa (F)
Latvia vs Italy (J)
Belgium vs Hong Kong (B)
Germany vs Philippines (A)
Wales vs Lithuania (C)
Austria vs China (I)
Australia vs USA (G)
Friday June 12
Afternoon Session (11am)
Thursday’s losing nation v Team 3
Same Group Order
Evening Session (6pm)
Thursday’s winning nation v Team 3
Same Group Order
Saturday June 13
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Round Two x4
Evening Session (6pm)
Round Two x4
Sunday June 14
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (6pm)
Semi-Finals & Final
What’s happening on Sky Sports next?
The 2026 World Cup of Darts will be held at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle, as 40 nations compete for the coveted title in the unique pairs event.
The top four ranked nations – based on the lowest cumulative PDC ranking of the two competing players – are seeded and will enter at the last 16 stage.
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Speaking on Love The Darts, Chris Murphy explains why the World Cup of Darts is so important for the sport
This includes top seeds England, four-time winners Netherlands, reigning champions Northern Ireland and two-time champions Scotland.
The remaining 36 nations have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin phase – including 12 seeded nations – from which each group winner will advance.
Who will win this year’s World Cup of Darts? Northern Ireland will be defending their title and you can watch all the action on Sky Sports from June 11-14. Stream darts and more top sport with NOW.
