World Cup of Darts Betting Tips
Northern Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Republic of Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Poland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
The World Cup of Darts gets underway on Thursday evening in Frankfurt, and England are odds-on to secure their first title since 2016.
Luke Humphries is making his World Cup debut while Michael Smith – a finalist in 2020 alongside Rob Cross – is set to represent his country at the team event for the fifth time.
Fresh off a European Darts Open semi-final appearance at the weekend, Smith arrives in good nick and there can be no disputing England’s status as the strongest overall outfit. Still, their price to win is far too short for a competition of this nature.
This is the second year of the doubles-only format and players like Humphries and Smith, both of whom are reliant on rhythm, could come unstuck – particularly with the added pressure of being such overwhelming favourites.
World Cup of Darts 2024
Eissporthalle, Frankfurt
TV: Sky Sports Darts / Thursday 27th June – Sunday 30th June
There are also doubts over the other nations towards the top of the market. Michael van Gerwen has only ever won the World Cup with Raymond van Barneveld by his side, and The Green Machine isn’t playing well enough at the moment for me to consider the Dutch pairing of him and Danny Noppert.
Wales’ Gerwyn Price withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday morning, so world number 44 Jim Williams steps in for the defending champions. Jonny Clayton is not the same player he was 12 months ago when he and Price lifted the trophy for the second time, and his task is now an awful lot more difficult without The Iceman. There were signs of life from the 48-year-old at the Dutch Darts Championship in May as he beat van Gerwen en route to the final, but I’m happy to leave Wales alone.
Scotland are the final team heading straight through to the knockouts as the fourth seed. They carry plenty of pedigree but Peter Wright’s form is too much of a concern. It’s a similar situation for hosts Germany, whose price to win is shorter than Scotland’s and I’m not sure that’s justified given Gabriel Clemens’ recent struggles.
Northern Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
With question marks surrounding most of the teams towards the top of the market, it makes sense to take a chance on some outsiders. The one that appeals as a headline selection is Northern Ireland.
Brendan Dolan has played in all 13 World Cups to date and gets a new partner this time. Josh Rock is now the country’s top-ranked dartist, and his European Tour triumph in the Netherlands a month ago – which triggered tears of joy – may be the catalyst for bigger and better things.
Rock averaged over 100 in each of his matches at the European Darts Open but was beaten in a last-leg decider by Ross Smith on Sunday.
Dolan has followed up his run to the quarter-finals at the World Championship with some impressive displays – especially in Players Championship events. The History Maker’s PC10 victory at the beginning of May helped him pip Daryl Gurney to a place in the Northern Ireland team.
The World Cup experience of Dolan and the power scoring of Rock could be the ideal combination here, and the rather kind group draw with South Africa and Switzerland was the final nudge I needed to pull the trigger.
Republic of Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Both Australia and Belgium almost made the cut as the next selection. But the Aussies have a tricky group, and Belgian pair Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts can’t stand each other.
The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, look a decent shout at a huge price. Like their neighbours north of the border, one of their players has been involved in every World Cup since 2010 while the other is newer on the scene.
Keane Barry did partner up with veteran William O’Connor in 2023 but their campaign was short-lived. Defeat by Croatia in their second match condemned the Irish to a round-robin exit.
For what it’s worth, it is not unusual for the Republic of Ireland to crash out early when they line up with a new pairing. O’Connor and Steve Lennon played together for the first time in 2018 and lost in the first round to Belgium. A year later, the same duo reached the final in Hamburg.
O’Connor will be aiming for a repeat of that and in Barry, he has a partner in good spirits. The youngster claimed his third Development Tour win last Friday afternoon, averaging 104 in his semi-final success over Wessel Nijman before seeing off Angelo Balsamo in the final.
Poland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Krzysztof Ratajski has never managed to guide Poland any further than the World Cup second round, but with Radek Szaganski as his teammate this time around, they are a duo that could outrun their odds.
Szaganski regained his PDC Tour Card this year and is averaging in the 90s since the start of 2024. He has blown hot and cold in the Players Championship but does hold wins over Luke Littler and Nathan Aspinall – the latter of which came during a run to the semi-finals.
As for Ratajski, results haven’t been what he’d have hoped for on the big stage as of late but his stats make for better reading. The Polish Eagle averaged 96.92 and hit 62.5% of his doubles in the loss to van Barneveld last week, while a 97.72 average wasn’t enough against Stephen Bunting the week before.
Poland showed flashes of brilliance when Ratajski was partnered with Krzysztof Kciuk but could never convert it into a deep run. Against Lithuania last year, they broke the world record doubles match average (118.10) to advance to the knockouts, where they were beaten 8-6 by Germany.
The Poles have been drawn against Norway and Hungary in what should be a relatively easy Group G for them. Given the lack of depth in the field, they are one to keep an eye on.
Darts Betting Tips
Northern Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Republic of Ireland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
Poland to win the World Cup of Darts (each-way)
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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