The World Cup of Darts gets underway tonight at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, with Northern Ireland entering as defending champion after edging Wales 10-9 in last year's final. While Northern Ireland is again among the top favorites, alongside the Netherlands, Wales, Belgium, Germany, England, and Scotland, there are several dark horses ready to strike. Here are five outsiders to watch.
Poland is represented by Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Bialecki. Ratajski makes his thirteenth appearance at the World Cup, while Bialecki, 22, returns after featuring in 2022. Poland has never progressed beyond the second round, but Bialecki has improved significantly, recently winning multiple titles on the Development Tour, and Ratajski has been throwing well. Drawn with Portugal and Switzerland, Poland should reach the last 16, and no other nation will be keen to face them then.
Spain sees the return of Cristo Reyes for the first time since 2019. Reyes regained his PDC Tour Card at Q-School earlier this year and has climbed to 77th in the world rankings. He partners experienced José Justicia, who makes his fifth World Cup appearance. Spain faces Croatia and Japan in their group; if they advance, they will have built rhythm and become a dangerous opponent for the top nations.
Australia is in transition: for the first time since the World Cup began in 2010, Simon Whitlock will not feature. Damon Heta remains, but Whitlock's spot is taken by newly minted PDC Tour Card holder Adam Leek, who has struggled on the Pro Tour. Australia is drawn with USA and Canada and should be capable of getting out of their group, but anything beyond is a bonus.
Singapore returns with 72-year-old Paul Lim, who has appeared every year since 2014. His teammate for the second year running is Phuay Wei Tan. Singapore has previously reached the quarterfinals and could spring another surprise. In the group stage, they face Ireland and Gibraltar, the latter a last-minute replacement for Uganda.
Hong Kong reached the quarterfinals last year in a major shock, where Wales proved too strong. Lok-Yin Lee and Man Lok Leung are best known for soft-tip darts but are ambitious in steel-tip. Drawn with Belgium and Slovenia, Hong Kong's clash with Belgium could be decisive, especially in the short group-stage format where matches are played to just four winning legs. Belgium boasts two former major winners in Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh, but they are not brimming with confidence at the moment.