One of the leading events on the PDC calendar is the World Cup of Darts, with the 2024 edition starting this week in Frankfurt, Germany, where 40 nations will battle it out to decide which nation rules the Darts roost.
It always shapes up to be an intriguing competition and we have you covered with a full World Cup of Darts preview and betting tips below!
2024 World Cup Of Darts Preview
Starts Friday June 28th 3:00am AEST
40 nations will do battle, where the early market has England as favourites to win their first World Cup title since 2016 when Phil Taylor combined with Adrian Lewis. This year they are represented by the past two world champions, the current being Luke Humphries, and 12 months behind him, Michael Smith. Humphries is on par with Luke Littler when it comes to the best darts player in the world and his high scoring, as well as double hitting, will come to the fore for England for sure. The problem could be his partner, Michael Smith. It seems that since his world championship win, he hasn't really gone on with, and his recent performances in the Premier League and Euro Tour have been quite poor. Can Humphries carry the work load and guide them to a win? They are around $1.60 to win the World Cup.
Second pick in betting is Netherlands, who are four time World Cup winners, with three of those coming courtesy of Michael Van Gerwen alongside Raymond Van Barneveld. Van Gerwen is paired with Danny Noppert for 2024 and that will be an interesting match up. Much like Michael Smith, Noppert is one of those players that can be quite hot and cold, more so cold. Van Gerwen can be the same, but when he is on, he is one of the best in the world and he is the proven performer with the three World Cup wins. His scoring, and how high it is, will be crucial to the success of Netherlands.
Wales have won two World Cups with Gerwyn Price and Johnny Clayton pairing up and they are at it again. They won the World Cup last year and were simply outstanding, especially Price, who loves the team format given his background in Rugby Union and the fact that he and Clayton are best mates. Clayton hasn't been dynamic with his play the last couple of years but with Price alongside him, and how high he can score, they are to be seriously respected.
We can't do a World Cup preview without talking about Australia, who have Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock paired up. They combined to win the World Cup in 2022 and are to be respected heading into 2024.
Damon Heta has come of age the last 18-24 months, going from an okay, solid player, to being one of the better players in the world. He played some outstanding games last year, especially in the majors, and he now has the belief and confidence that he can match it with the best. Whitlock...his better days are behind in terms of the PDC, but in the World Cup, he has proven time and time again that he is a gun in this format so with that in mind, Australia are a genuine chance.
Suggested Bets
Germany (Clements/Schindler) take on New Zealand (Puha/Robb) in the first round and while Germany have the far better pair on paper, I have liked what I have seen from Puha during recent Players Championships. He has pushed some gun players hard, including World Cup winner Gary Anderson. He is a very capable player in his own right and on the other side, Schindler, his recent efforts, especially hitting doubles, have been poor, so I reckon the Kiwis are in with a shout and can win a couple of legs.
I thought the 4-0 Correct Score was a good price for Whitlock/Heta against Azemoto/Goto. Goto was a find of the 2024 World Championship but overall, his form since has been just fair on the Asian tour, and Azemoto isn't much good IMO. Whitlock and Heta look as though they could get through this match quite comfortably and at the price, I think they are a good bet to get the job done in four legs.
Whitlock/Heta 4-0 Correct Score
$3.30
I'm pretty keen on Dolan/Rock to land the clean sweep of Most 180's, Highest Checkout and Win Match against Carolissen/Geldenhuys. Brendan Dolan had a fab World Championship, beating some high class players during his run, and his form since has been pretty good, while Josh Rock broke through for a recent PDC tour win in Europe so his confidence is up. Both players can hit 180's for fun, they can record a high checkout and they just look far superior to their rivals.
Dolan/Rock Most 180's, High Checkout and Win
$2.08
