From 11 to 14 June 2026, Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle will host the World Cup of Darts, the only major PDC tournament where nations compete in a pairs format.
A unique event on the calendar: no individual rankings are at stake, but a rare collective pressure that regularly produces surprises. In 2025, Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney secured Northern Ireland’s first-ever title. In 2026, 40 nations will be vying for the crown.
Here is everything you need to know: the exact schedule, how the format works, the qualified nations, the full list of winners, ticketing and TV coverage.
Dates and venue: Frankfurt, 11–14 June 2026
The tournament kicks off on Thursday 11 June 2026. The group stage takes place over the first two days, spread across three sessions on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 June. Saturday 13 June is dedicated to the second round, featuring the round of 16. Sunday 14 June is the full final day: the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final are played back-to-back, and the champion is crowned in the evening.
Since 2022, the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt am Main has been the tournament’s permanent home. This will be the fifth consecutive edition held at this venue. However, the tournament has changed cities several times since its inception: it began in 2010 in England, at Houghton-le-Spring, before moving to Hamburg in 2012 for three editions. Frankfurt hosted the tournament for the first time between 2015 and 2018, before stints in Hamburg, Salzburg and Jena, linked in particular to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nations players list
Pays | Joueur 1 | Joueur 2 |
|---|---|---|
England | Luke Littler | Luke Humphries |
Netherlands | Gian van Veen | Michael van Gerwen |
Northern Ireland | Josh Rock | Daryl Gurney |
Scotland | Gary Anderson | Cameron Menzies |
Germany | Martin Schindler | Ricardo Pietreczko |
Belgium | Mike De Decker | Dimitri Van den Bergh |
Wales | Jonny Clayton | Nick Kenny |
Republic of Ireland | William O'Connor | Mickey Mansell |
Poland | Krzysztof Ratajski | Sebastian Bialecki |
Sweden | Jeffrey de Graaf | Oskar Lukasiak |
Australia | Damon Heta | Adam Leek |
Czechia | Karel Sedlacek | Adam Gawlas |
Austria | Mensur Suljovic | Rusty-Jake Rodriguez |
Latvia | Madars Razma | Valters Melderis |
Croatia | Boris Krcmar | Pero Ljubic |
Finland | Jani Haavisto | Jonas Masalin |
Canada | Jim Long | David Cameron |
China | Qingyu Zhan | Xiaochen Zong |
Denmark | Andreas Toft Jorgensen | Jonas Graversen |
France | Thibault Tricole | Nicolas Thuillier |
Hong Kong | Man Lok Leung | Lok Yin Lee |
Hungary | Patrik Kovacs | Pal Szekely |
India | Nitin Kumar | Ankit Goenka |
Italy | Michele Turetta | Riccardo Castelli |
Japan | Motomu Sakai | Haruki Muramatsu |
Lithuania | Darius Labanauskas | Mindaugas Barauskas |
Mongolia | Altantulkhuur Myagmarsuren | Ganzorig Lkhagvasuren |
New Zealand | Cor Dekker | Kent Sivertsen |
Norway | Cor Dekker | Kent Sivertsen |
Philippines | Alexis Toylo | Paolo Nebrida |
Portugal | Luis Camacho | Jose de Sousa |
Singapore | Paul Lim | Phuay Wey Tan |
Slovenia | Benjamin Pratnemer | Stefano Bozicek |
South Africa | Graham Filby | Devon Petersen |
Spain | Cristo Reyes | Jose Justicia |
Switzerland | Stefan Bellmont | Marcel Walpen |
Thailand | Sarayut Ouamumpa | Sowaris Rodman |
Trinidad and Tobago | Joshua Balfour | Joshua Balfour |
Uganda | Patrick Ocheng | Juma Said |
USA | Adam Sevada | Stowe Buntz |
Format and qualification: the logic of national pairs
The Darts World Cup operates on a principle unique to the PDC circuit: each nation fields a pair of players, and all matches from the group stage through to the final are contested in pairs. This exclusive pairs format has been in place since the 2023 overhaul, which abolished the singles matches that previously existed.
Group stage
A total of 40 nations take part. The top four nations in the combined PDC Order of Merit ranking of their two players are directly seeded and exempt from the group stage. The remaining 36 nations are divided into twelve groups of three teams. Group matches are played as best-of-7 legs. Only the winner of each group progresses. The 12 qualifiers join the four seeded nations to form a 16-nation draw.
Knockout stage
From the second round onwards, the format becomes more intense. The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals are played as best-of-15 legs. The final switches to a best-of-19 legs format, guaranteeing a long and tense encounter, as demonstrated by the thrilling 10-9 final in 2025 between Northern Ireland and Wales.
Nation selection criteria
Selection is based on the PDC Order of Merit: the two highest-ranked players from the same nation form the national pair. The top 16 nations in the combined rankings are generally seeded. If a country does not have two players holding a PDC Tour Card, alternative qualification routes apply.
In 2026, for the first time in the tournament’s history, two African nations are eligible to participate. Two additional places are allocated via the PDC Nordic & Baltic Tour, several via the PDC Asian Tour, and one via the CDLC qualifier. Six places remained to be allocated at the time of writing.
Participating nations and historical results
15 editions have been held since 2010. England and the Netherlands have won the majority of titles, but the competition has regularly defied the favourites since 2019.
The complete list of winners, edition by edition
| Year | Winning nation (pair) | Score | Runners-up (pair) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Netherlands (Raymond van Barneveld & Co Stompé) | 4-2 | Wales (Barrie Bates & Mark Webster) |
| 2012 | England (Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis) | 4-3 | Australia (Paul Nicholson & Simon Whitlock) |
| 2013 | England (Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis) | 3-1 | Belgium (Kim Huybrechts & Ronny Huybrechts) |
| 2014 | Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld) | 3-0 | England (Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis) |
| 2015 | England (Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis) | 3-2 | Scotland (Gary Anderson & Peter Wright) |
| 2016 | England (Phil Taylor & Adrian Lewis) | 3-2 | Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld) |
| 2017 | Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld) | 3-1 | Wales (Gerwyn Price & Mark Webster) |
| 2018 | Netherlands (Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld) | 3-1 | Scotland (Gary Anderson & Peter Wright) |
| 2019 | Scotland (Gary Anderson & Peter Wright) | 3-1 | Ireland (Steve Lennon & William O'Connor) |
| 2020 | Wales (Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton) | 3-0 | England (Rob Cross & Michael Smith) |
| 2021 | Scotland (Peter Wright & John Henderson) | 3-1 | Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez) |
| 2022 | Australia (Damon Heta & Simon Whitlock) | 3-1 | Wales (Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton) |
| 2023 | Wales (Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton) | 10-2 | Scotland (Gary Anderson & Peter Wright) |
| 2024 | England (Luke Humphries & Michael Smith) | 10-6 | Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Rowby-John Rodriguez) |
| 2025 | Northern Ireland (Josh Rock & Daryl Gurney) | 10-9 | Wales (Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton) |
Results by nation
| Nation | Titles | Finals lost | Last victory |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 5 | 1 | 2024 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 1 | 2018 |
| Scotland | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Wales | 2 | 4 | 2023 |
| Australia | 1 | 0 | 2022 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 0 | 2025 |
England dominated for a long time thanks to Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. The Netherlands responded with Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld, who led their country to four titles. Since 2019, six editions have produced six different winners. The tournament has clearly opened up. Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney’s 10-9 victory in 2025 against Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton perfectly illustrates this unpredictability: Northern Ireland had never won the title, and the match went down to the wire.
Luke Humphries and Michael Smith, the 2024 defending champions, will naturally be among the favourites in 2026. But after six years without any one nation clearly dominating, no nation can be certain of a podium finish before taking to the stage.
Ticketing: prices and access
As the tournament is taking place in Germany, ticketing is managed by PDC Europe. PDC TV members benefit from priority access via a pre-sale, before general sales open, usually 24 to 48 hours later.
Price list
| Category | Price range |
|---|---|
| Upper tier seats | €35 to €90 depending on the day and session |
| Table seating | €60 to €180 |
| Premium / Platinum seats (stage side) | €120 to €250 |
| Hospitality packages (VIP, meals, best tables) | €250 to €700 |
Table seats remain the most sought-after at this type of PDC event. The atmosphere at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle is comparable to that of major Premier League Darts nights: noisy, festive, and fully engaged from the very first legs. For the final on Sunday 14 June, be prepared to spend accordingly if you want a good view of the stage.
TV broadcast and streaming: where to watch the World Cup
The most accessible option remains PDCTV, the PDC’s official streaming service, which offers full coverage of all major tournaments.
Broadcasters by region
| Region | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom & Ireland | Sky Sports |
| Germany, Austria & Switzerland | Sport1 & DAZN |
| United States & Canada | Peacock |
| Australia | Fox Sports |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
Rest of the world | PDCTV |
On Sky Sports in the UK, the commentary is provided by Emma Paton, supported by pundits such as Wayne Mardle, Glen Durrant, Mark Webster and John Part. The quality of Sky’s production remains the benchmark for darts coverage, with real-time statistics and analysis between each session.
Prize money: what the World Cup offers
The Darts World Cup is not a qualifying event for the PDC Order of Merit. Despite this, the prize money remains substantial. Here is the full breakdown of winnings per player:
Winners: £50,000 per player
Runners-up: £24,000 per player
Semi-finalists: £15,000 per player
Quarter-finalists: £10,000 per player
Round of 16: £5,000 per player
Group runners-up: £3,000 per player
Third-placed in group (last): £2,500 per player
£50,000 per player for the winners is a respectable prize fund for a four-day tournament with no impact on the rankings. For players like Josh Rock, still on the rise on the PDC circuit, this kind of victory brings as much international exposure as it does revenue. The World Cup also remains, for many nations less well represented on the circuit, the most high-profile event of the year.
Which country will succeed Northern Ireland in the 2026 edition? England, with Luke Humphries and Michael Smith, will be looking to defend their status as the most successful nation in the tournament’s history. The Netherlands, without a title since 2018, will be looking to return to the top of the competition. And several outsiders Australia, Scotland, Wales have shown in recent years that they can deliver at key moments. The answer will be revealed on 14 June 2026, in Frankfurt.
