Start of the Darts World Cup in London: The best in the world compete in Alexandra Palace ("Ally Pally") until the beginning of January. This time, too, several Germans are competing, and three women are also at the start in the former male domain. This overview provides answers to the crucial questions.
There are 96 players in total. The top 32 players according to the world rankings are already seeded for the second round. The tournament starts on Thursday (8 p.m./DAZN and Sport1), the final will be held on January 3rd. With the exception of Christmas Eve, the two Christmas holidays and New Year's Eve, games are played every day, with afternoon and evening games most days.
In contrast to most other darts tournaments, the World Cup is played in set mode. There are three sets to be won in the earlier rounds, and then seven in the final. To win a set, players need three legs, i.e. three rounds in which they go from 501 points to zero with as few arrows as possible. A round must end with a hit in a double field. To win a round you need at least nine darts. However, the nine-darter is very difficult and relatively rare, although there have been a few of them at the World Cup.
World number one Gerwyn Price from Wales is one of the favorites, as is Scotland's Peter Wright, who won the 2022 World Cup. The Dutchman Michael van Gerwen may not have been number one in the world for some time, but he is also capable of the title. After a weaker year in 2021, he recently showed a lot of improvement. For darts expert Elmar Paulke, the Dutchman is the favorite to win. England's Michael Smith, a finalist at the previous World Cup, is also consistently cited as a contender.
Germany is represented by three players - one less than last year. Gabriel Clemens (ranked 25th as in the previous year), Martin Schindler (ranked 29th) and Florian Hempel. All three were there last year.
Should the 18-year-old Englishwoman Beau Greaves win her first round match, Germany's number one Clemens will play in his first game against the women's world champion. If she loses, Clemens will have to deal with Irishman William O'Connor.
Schindler plays against either Martin Lukeman (England) or Nobuhiro Yamamoto (Japan). As an unseeded player, Hempel has to face Keegan Brown (England) directly. In the second round, a difficult task would then await with Luke Humphries (number 5 in the world).
From the seed list it appears that both Clemens (against England's James Wade) and Schindler (against England's Michael Smith) would have very difficult tasks in a possible third round.
Three women compete at the World Cup. In addition to world champion Greaves, Lisa Ashton and Fallon Sherrock (all England) will be there. Sherrock's participation is disputed. The darts world association PDC had given her a ticket for the world championship. The association quickly changed the qualification guidelines for the tournament and increased the number of fixed starting places for women from two to three. Sherrock is particularly good for the PDC to market because she was the first woman to defeat two men at the World Cup in December 2019.
Steve Beaton is particularly experienced. The Englishman, nicknamed "The Bronzed Adonis" in reference to his tanned complexion, is playing his 32nd World Cup in a row. Five-time champion Raymond van Barneveld is also there. He had already ended his career, but celebrated his comeback only a short time later. A crowd favorite, on the other hand, failed to qualify. "Darts Grandpa" Paul Lim is not included. Germany's former Primus Max Hopp failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time in a row.
The tournament is endowed with 2.5 million pounds, which is around 2.9 million euros. The winner receives half a million pounds, around 580,000 euros.
