The 2018 PDC World Cup of Darts gets underway in Germany on Thursday night and with this being an event which is really making its way in the calendar this promises to be one of the best, and certainly most competitive, renewals of the tournament.
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the format but 32 pairs from 32 nations will put their patriotic pride into action over four days of play each aiming for the prize at the end of it which is a tidy £30,000 per player and a route into the Grand Slam of Darts on top.
Recent Winners
2017 – Netherlands
2016 – England
2015 – England
2014 – Netherlands
2013 – England
2012 – England
2011 – Netherlands
The Format
It has to be said that the format for this tournament is a complete mess but it is what it is. The 32 nations have been drawn into a draw bracket. The first round is the best of nine in the doubles format. The last 16, quarter finals and semi-finals are the best of three rubbers with the first two rubbers being best of seven singles and if the match is 1-1 a best of seven doubles will decide it. The final is the best of five rubbers with two best of seven singles then the doubles and two more singles over the seven leg distance if needed to determine the winner.
Top Half
With the pairings done on world rankings it is Scotland who are the number one seeds in the tournament this year. They are therefore in this top half where in truth the challengers could be themselves and the fact Gary Anderson and Peter Wright don’t always gel well. Austria, Australia and Wales make up the seeds in the top half.
There are one or two dangerous unseeded nations in this half of the draw. America are always tasty in the doubles while Japan have gone deep in this tournament before. Spain always need to be respected in this tournament while Canada could be genuine dark horses. Don’t write off the Brazilian pair either.
Bottom Half
It is this half of the draw where I expect the majority of the better action to come from. The defending champions, the Netherlands, represented by Michael van Gerwen and Raymond Barneveld, are the favourites to come through but England have the world champion Rob Cross in their ranks. Belgium and Northern Ireland are the other seeded duos.
The unseeded sides in this half look a much stronger set. Germany will have the fast improving Max Hopp leading them and a loud crowd behind them while Republic of Ireland have a couple of decent young players. Poland could be the dark horses although they’ve drawn a shocker of a first round draw. Singapore were the stars of the show last year while New Zealand, Finland and Sweden will all be looking to pull off major upsets.
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Betting
I think I’m going to steer well clear of that bottom half and let that play out as it wants to do. Although there are some tasty unseeded sides in it I find it hard to believe that a weak side will come through there so I’ll focus on the top half where one very well could if Scotland bomb out.
Wales look to me to be the best value in the entire tournament. Jonny Clayton is a TV event finalist and a European Tour winner now while Gerwyn Price has also had deep runs on TV and in the European Tour. Both have the quality to beat anyone over seven legs and you would think they would combine nicely as a pair. Australia are the seeds in their quarter and while they are a patriotic pair they’ve got missed doubles written all over them. At 20/1 Wales look a fair price to me.
I’ll throw a few coins at a real dark horse but I’m not convinced we should rule Canada out of this one. They have been to the quarter finals before but this year John Part has a genuine partner in Dawson Murschell, who is already making big strides on the pro tour. Canada should see off Italy without too much fuss and then they could have to run through Austria and Scotland. That is if both get through tricky first round tests. It isn’t a guarantee that this top quarter won’t get blasted wide open on the first night. If it does Canada could give us a right run at a humungous price.
Tips
Back Wales to win PDC World Cup of Darts (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 21.00 with Ladbrokes (1/3 1-2)
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Back Canada to win PDC World Cup of Darts (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 276.00 with Betfair (1/3 1-2)
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