The 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts begins on Thursday, as Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney look to defend their World Cup crown in Frankfurt.
This year’s World Cup of Darts will see 40 nations compete at the Eissporthalle from June 11-14 through group and knockout stages in the unique pairs event.
England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland – the top four ranked nations based on the lowest cumulative PDC ranking of the two competing players – will enter the tournament in Saturday’s second round.
The other 36 nations have been split into 12 groups of three for the group stage, with each group containing a seeded team, and the group winner will advance to the last 16.
Rock and Gurney return to Frankfurt after their historic triumph 12 months ago, where the pair propelled Northern Ireland to their maiden World Cup of Darts title.
The victory contributed to Rock’s Premier League call-up, after he also reached the World Matchplay semi-final and Gram Slam of Darts quarter-final last year, and he enters his third World Cup in good spirits.
“I’m looking forward to defending the title,” declared the 25-year-old, who reunites with Gurney in Frankfurt for the second time.
“Going up with a star on the shirt as defending champions is going to be a nice feeling. It’d be nice to retain it too!
“It’s the only sport Northern Ireland have ever won a World Cup in. There were tears at the end – I was crying for about an hour after it.
“It was a perfect partnership between me and Daryl. I did the scoring and he did the finishing. Hopefully that happens again this year.”
Only Team England and The Netherlands have successfully defended the World Cup title since its inception and none has done so since the all pairs format was introduced.
Images: Kelly Deckers / PDC Europe
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