2020 World Cup Darts Preview and Tips

Our outright selections didn’t generate a return in the European Championship Final but we got a good run for our money. Devon Peterson just missed out on the final by a single leg while Dirk Van Duijvenbode reached the last 8. This weekend the focus switches to Salzburg. You can check out James Punt’s 2020 World Cup Darts preview and outright tips below…

World Cup Of Darts 2020

This year’s World Cup of Darts will be played behind closed doors in Salzburg, Austria this weekend, and like everything else in 2020, it will have a different feel to it. The behind closed doors bit is a bit passe by now. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in Germany, and a lack of a vocal home crowd will hurt Hopp and Clemens, but will it really influence much else? I doubt it.

We have had players like Van Gerwen, Price, Wright and so on say that it is harder to get fully competitive without a crowd, but I am not really sure results back that up. Take Dimitri van den Bergh as an example. He is a much better stage player than a floor player, he likes to perform in front of a crowd.

He won his first major, the World Matchplay, behind closed doors. These players play floor tournaments as their staple diet, where there is no crowd. If anything, the recent tournaments held with a few hundred fans have been harder for the players to play in. If somebody farted the players heard it.

Lack Of Crowd Could Favour Minnows

The players from the ‘lesser nations’ will not be used to playing in front of big crowds so it may be easier for them to play their usual game but come Sunday, I expect will see a final featuring two fancied teams.

Since the tournament format was changed to a straight knockout format in 2014, we have seen just three different countries win it. The Netherlands (x3), England (x2) and Scotland. The runners up have been Scotland (x2), England, The Netherlands, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. Arguably only the R.O.I. reaching the final was a surprise.

Even the list of semi-finalists is fairly limited. Belgium (x4), The Netherlands (x2), Australia (x2), N. Ireland (x2), England and Japan.

New Look Teams

The team personnel have changed over the years. England’s glory years were when they were represented by Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Since Taylor stopped in 2017, England have made one semi-final. The Netherlands had the MVG and RVB dream team right up to 2018 and made four out of five finals.

Last year, with Wattimena replacing Barney, the Netherlands lost to R.O.I. in the semi-final. Scotland had the Gary Anderson and Peter Wright line up and made the final 2015, Thornton replaced Wright in 2016 and they only made the quarter final. With Wright back with Anderson for the last three years, Scotland were runners up in 2018 and won it last year.

The winning team has had at least one World Champion in their line up in every year in the straight knock out format. Of course, Peter Wright went on to win the World Championship after winning the World Cup, so you can argue that every winning team has had two World Champions in it.

It isn’t rocket science, the best players get the best results and having two top players gets better results.

This year it will be different. Both Anderson and Wright have withdrawn, destroying Scotland’s chances, and the only World Champions left in the field are Michael van Gerwen and Rob Cross, and neither are in great form. There might just be room for a ‘surprise’ result, but it should be with a team with two top players, preferably two world class players, but they are few and far between and those that are, have question marks over their form.

Which teams fit the bill?

2020 World Cup Darts: Top Teams

The Netherlands – 3.50

This year’s line up is the third different one in as many years for The Netherlands. Danny Noppert is now the Dutch number 2 and he is a better player than Wattimena, who partnered MVG last year. Noppert is in good form but there are some question marks over Van Gerwen’s form.

MVG has lost three of his last ten matches, which is still good form, but he is lacking confidence and has been lucky to win some of those matches. He is just very hard to call and he is not THE man right now.

Noppert has also won seven of his last ten matches and remains in good form. He did lose 0-6 in the first round of last weekend’s European Championship, which wasn’t ideal, but he is an improvement on Wattimena. His job is now to pair well with MVG. It will be interesting to see how they gel. Noppert is the junior partner and if the senior player starts missing doubles, he must get the job done under pressure.

The Netherlands have a very nice draw however and they should have plenty of time to play themselves into form. A likely quarter final vs. Germany should be their first real test.

England – 5.00

Rob Cross and Michael Smith pair up for the second year. They don’t have two world champions in the team, but one and a runner up is the best in the tournament. Last year they beat the Philippines 5-1 in the first round, before losing to Ireland in the second round. Having the world number 4 & 5 as teammates looks good on paper but either player is in good form. Smith has lost three of his last five matches, as has Cross.

They face the Philippines again in round one and they may find it harder than in 2019. England have a nice draw so long as they get through the tricky first round. Lithuania, Austria and Portugal are all a bit ‘one man band’ and England have a clear path to the semi-finals. That said, I would not be at all surprised to see them trip up at some stage. If both players fail to fire in the same match, then they could be in trouble.

Wales – 4.00

Many peoples favourite to win the title. Gerwyn Price is many people’s idea of the best player in the world right now, but he has lost the winning habit of late, losing four of his last six matches. The good news for the Welsh is that his number 2, Jonny Clayton, is in great form. He has been winning a lot of matches on the euro tour where he has won seven of his last nine matches.

Wales were the third seeds last year and fell at the first fence, beaten 5-3 by Singapore. Gerwyn Price was a huge let down, but he had ‘prepared’ by going away on holiday to America and practically turned up still in his flip flops. His head was still on the beach. At least this year he is match fit.

It must be said that Wales do not have the best looking draw. Russia in the first round is OK, but then they face either Japan or Scotland. The Scotland team is made up of John Henderson and Robert Thornton, a much weakened line up, but two professional players. Japan reached the semi-final last year and even with a slightly different team, they are dangerous.

The bottom half of their quarter features Ireland, last year’s runners up, Australian with a revamped line up, Poland and a South African side featuring the bang in form Devon Petersen.

Wales will have to work hard every step of the way.

Best of the rest

The Netherlands, England and Wales are the top 3 in the betting but who are the dark horses?

Northern Ireland are the fourth seeds, but Daryl Gurney is out of form and while we see some good stuff from Dolan on the floor, he needs Gurney to lead the attack. What they do have going for them is being in the top half of the draw, which looks much easier to get through than the bottom half.

In their quarter of the draw they have a first round match vs. Canada, which is tricky, but after that its New Zealand or Denmark and the others in the quarter are Belgium, Czech Republic, Hong Kong and China. Belgium look reasonably strong, but if Gurney and Dolan find their A game then they can reach the semi-final and then who knows. The problem is that Superchin needs to find some form, or they could be home before the postcards.

Can Belgians Find Chemistry?

Belgium are the fifth seed and feature Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts. We really haven’t seen much of Dimitri since he won the World Matchplay. He hadn’t qualified for any of the recent euro tour events and he was last seen in the double in format World Grand Prix where he lost in the second round. He was sporting a knee brace so he hasn’t been fully fit and is now lacking match practice. Huybrechts continues to struggle for form and it has to be said than Belgium’s very good record in this event was thanks to the Huybrechts brothers gelling as a team.

Germany fit the bill for a dark horse. Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens are both going into some decent form. Neither have had any big runs in tournaments but their games have looked sharper, particularly Gabriel Clemens whose last three matches have seen him average over 100. They have a decent draw with a likely meeting with The Netherlands at the quarter final stage being the first big test. They would be the outsiders, but not without a chance.

Tough Draw For Irish

Ireland were the surprise package last year, O’Connor and Lennon were, as Aristotle said “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” They jelled well as a pair and this will be their third World Cup together. Neither are in great form but the same could be said last year. They are, however, in the quarter of death.

Another dark horse pairing are Australia’s Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta. The Heat is a new partner for Whitlock and a welcome one. He is still learning the ropes on the pro tour but he is a good player and of course, Australians are born with a competitive streak.

Whitlock has reached two semi-finals with different partners (Paul Nicholson and Kyle Anderson) so he can cope with change. Australia have never lost a first-round match in the knockout era and while they face Ireland this year, it looks a tougher match for Ireland in my book. They are also in the quarter of death, but they must be respected.

Poland, Portugal and South Africa all have one top class player in their teams, but all look very lopsided. Poland at least have two tour card players and on paper Krzysztof Kciuk will make a stronger team than having a non professional as the number two. Kciuk won his tour card in January but he has struggled. He lost every one of his seven players championship matches before the lock down, won just three matches in the Summer Series and lost all five of his matches in the Autumn Series. Ironically, his best match was a 100 average against Ratajski, but losing the match 2-6.

2020 World Cup Darts: Outright selections

It is hard to see past The Netherlands. They have two top players. MVG may be having a crisis of confidence but he is still scoring heavily in most matches. To help him he has an in-form Danny Noppert and they should make a formidable pairing. They have a good draw with only one serious looking opponent in their quarter.

Likewise, England have a good draw. The Philippines are a potential banana skin in the first round but only Austria in that quarter would look to be a problem. Mensur Suljovic has never carried Austria beyond the third round but he is re-joined by the mercurial Rowby-John Rodriguez with whom they lost 1-2 to England in 2017. With Smith and Cross far from their best, England are not a team to be feared. If they both click than they could go all the way, but they could crash and burn just as easily.

Wales have a very potent line up and are easy to fancy. Their draw however means they will have to be on their A games from the word go. That is not necessarily a bad thing. They won’t be able to underestimate their opponents but there is no denying that face a tough path to the semi-final never mind the final.

Top Half Favoured

The draw makes things tricky. The top half looks the place to be as the bottom half of the draw has both the Netherlands and Wales. It also contains the dangerous looking outsiders such as Australia, Germany and last year’s runners up, Ireland.

The cream has always risen to the top and that suggests that we look no further than the Netherlands and England. However, their odds are not great and the form of MVG, Cross and Smith does put something of a question mark over them.

The other option is to spread a bit of money on some outsiders who may prosper if the big guns do flatter. The real problem is that there isn’t a team that stands out as having two players, bang in form. There are some with potential, but then you are hopeful rather than confident.

On form, the Netherlands look the best call. MVG isn’t at his best but he has a very good number two who can hold his own and Van Gerwen isn’t playing poorly all the time. They are in the more difficult half of the draw but you have to beat the best to win it.

2020 World Cup Darts: 2 points the Netherlands to win the World Cup @ 3.50 with Hills, Skybet, Betfred, Betvictor

In the top half the obvious call is England but they fell at the second fence last year against an unfancied Ireland team. Austria look to have some potential. Mensur Suljovic is slowing better form recently but Rowby-John Rodriguez isn’t more than a modest player. On his day he can be really good and score heavily so he is not a waste of space. Northern Ireland have a decent draw, so long as they can get past Canada in the first round. Daryl Gurneys form is their biggest problem but if he finds it then they have a chance to have a good run. Belgium always punch above their weight but Huybrechts isn’t the player he was, and Van den Bergh’s fitness is a worry.

2020 World Cup Darts: 0.5 point Northern Ireland to win the World Cup @ 17.00 generally available

2020 World Cup Darts: 0.5 point Austria to win the World Cup @ 29.00 generally available

Wales are an obvious choice in the third quarter. Gerwyn Price’s form has dipped a little, but he and Clayton are top class players, and they have a good draw for their first round match. Odds of 4.00 are a bit slim however now that Price has lost the winning habit.

Two teams I have a notion might gel well and could ‘do an Ireland’ are Germany and Australia. Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens have great potential and they have been showing some signs that they are coming into form. They look to have a comfortable path to the quarter finals, where they should meet out main selection, the Netherlands. If so, at least one reaches the semi.

2020 World Cup Darts: 0.5 point Germany to win the World Cup @ 15.00 generally available

Australia have the experience of Simon Whitlock and he showed some very good form in the World Grand Prix. Damon Heta is still learning the ropes but on his day, he can score very heavily and the Aussies combative spirit is worth a few points on their averages.

2020 World Cup Darts: 0.5 point Australia to win the World Cup @ 29.00 with Betfair, Paddy Power

Of course, all these teams can be backed on the exchanges and that may be the better way to back them with the option to lay off should they indeed make good progress.

The match betting will be covered on the TXODDS app.

-JamesPunt