The pairings have been confirmed for the 2026 World Cup of Darts, which was won last year by Northern Ireland pairing Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries will return aiming to seal glory for England. Last year saw them struggle to make their 'dream combo' click, as Littler and Humphries hope to make it click this year. They are eyeing a sixth record-extending World Cup crown.
Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen will return to team together for the Netherlands, aiming to gain the crown for the first time since 2018. Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, who are defending champions, return to represent third seeds Northern Ireland. Cameron Menzies replaces Peter Wright, who has undergone a ranking slide in Scotland's side; he will play alongside Scottish icon Gary Anderson for two-time champions Scotland.
Perhaps a pairing with a question mark over it is Germany. On paper, for the hosts, it is a good team, but perhaps the wrong pairing with Ricardo Pietreczko mooted to be suffering with dartitis issues, which were seen on the European Tour over the weekend. Max Hopp recently reached a ProTour final, and also of course Niko Springer is also hot on the heels when it comes to being the top player in Germany, alongside Schindler, who himself hasn't been at his best this season either.
But the big news comes from the Welsh camp as Gerwyn Price will in fact not play this year and he has been replaced by Nick Kenny who is World No.60. He was next in line then Robert Owen so like 2024, Price who pulled out then with illness and was replaced by Jim Williams won't play leaving Jonny Clayton as their leading light and their dream pairing broken up. William O'Connor also will form a new pairing with Mickey Mansell who defected from Northern Ireland and now is playing for Republic of Ireland so instead of Keane Barry or Steve Lennon, it is in fact the Clonoe Cyclone. Mansell finds his way in after nationality switch.
Others include Australia's pair of Damon Heta and now Adam Leek with Simon Whitlock absent, Mensur Suljovic teams with Rusty-Jake Rodriguez as the former finalists return while behind those aforementioned seeds is the perhaps danger pairing of Ratajski and Bialecki for Poland. Canada, USA, Japan, Spain are among those in the unseeded pairings with Mongolia and Trinidad & Tobago making their debut. Thailand and Slovenia make their returns to the World Cup this year.
