The 2026 PDC World Cup of Darts (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 BetVictor World Cup of Darts) was a professional darts tournament that took place from 11 to 14 June 2026 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, Germany. It was the 16th edition of the PDC World Cup of Darts to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). The total prize fund was £500,000, of which the winning team shared £100,000.
The tournament featured 40 pairs of national teams. The top four nations based on lowest cumulative placement in the PDC World Rankings entered the tournament in the second round, with the remaining 36 teams starting in the group stage. Trinidad and Tobago and Mongolia made their World Cup debuts, while Slovenia participated in the event for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2010. Uganda were also set to make their debut, but the team withdrew due to visa issues and were replaced by Gibraltar. Simon Whitlock, who won the 2022 edition alongside Damon Heta, missed the event for the first time after representing Australia at each previous edition.
Northern Ireland's Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney were the defending champions, having defeated Wales 10–9 in the 2025 final. However, they lost 8–2 to the Netherlands in the semi-finals. England, represented by Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, won a record-extending sixth World Cup title by defeating the Netherlands 10–5 in the final.
Overview Background
The 2026 PDC World Cup of Darts was the 16th edition of the tournament to be staged by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) since the inaugural edition in 2010. It was introduced as part of PDC chairman Barry Hearn's plans to expand professional darts, which he initiated after his offer to acquire the British Darts Organisation was rejected. The first edition was held at the Rainton Meadows Arena in Houghton-le-Spring, England, and was won by Raymond van Barneveld and Co Stompé of the Netherlands. The tournament has since been held in Germany, with the exception of the 2020 edition held in Austria.
The 2026 edition was held from 11 to 14 June 2026 at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt. Gibraltar-based online gambling company BetVictor continued its sponsorship of the event after becoming title sponsor in 2024. Northern Ireland entered the tournament as defending champions after Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney defeated Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price of Wales 10–9 in the 2025 final to claim the nation's first World Cup. Top seeds England, represented by world number one Luke Littler and world number two Luke Humphries, were seen as the favourites to win the title, despite suffering an upset loss to Germany in their opening match the previous year.
Format The 40-team format that was introduced in 2023 remained. The top four seeded teams received a bye to the second round, while the remaining 36 teams competed in the group stage. The group stage consisted of twelve groups of three teams, with one qualifying from each group.
In this format, all rounds featured doubles matches where teams alternated between players for each turn. All matches were in leg play format, with the number of legs required to win increasing as the tournament progressed:
Group stage: Best of seven legs Second round, quarter and semi-finals: Best of fifteen legs Final: Best of nineteen legs
Prize money The total prize fund for the event increased from £450,000 in 2025 to £500,000 in 2026. The winning team shared the top prize of £100,000. The prize money per team was:
Position (no. of teams) Prize money(Total: £500,000)Winners(1)£100,000Runners-up(1)£48,000Semi-finalists(2)£30,000Quarter-finalists(4)£20,000Last 16 (Second round)(8)£10,000Second in group(12)£6,000Third in group(12)£5,000
Broadcasts The tournament was broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Other broadcasters included DAZN in Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Fox Sports in Australia; Sky Sport in New Zealand; Viaplay in the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Iceland; VTM in Belgium; FanDuel TV and Peacock in the United States; Nova in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; AMC Network in Hungary; Arena Sport in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Kosovo; Zonasport in Croatia; TV3 in the Baltic states; Setanta in Ukraine; beIN Sports in the Middle East and North Africa; Canal+ in Poland; and Canal+ in South Africa. It was also available for subscribers outside of the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland on the PDC's streaming service, PDCTV.
Teams and seedings
The tournament consisted of 40 pairs of national teams. The first 33 nations were confirmed on 6 February 2026, with a further seven teams being determined through various qualifiers: three from a PDC Asian Tour qualifier, two from the PDC Nordic and Baltic rankings, one from a Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour qualifier, and one from an African Darts Group qualifier.
Two nations made their World Cup of Darts debuts. Trinidad and Tobago, represented by Joshua Balfour and James Walklin, made their first appearance after winning the Championship Darts Latin America and Caribbean Tour qualifier. The second new nation, Mongolia, represented by Ganzorig Lkhagvasüren and Altantülkhüür Myagmarsüren, achieved their place at the tournament alongside Singapore and Thailand through the PDC Asian Tour qualifier. Uganda, represented by Patrick Ocheng and Juma Said, originally secured their debut by winning the newly-introduced North African qualifier. However, on 10 June 2026, the PDC announced that the Ugandan team, as well as runners-up Malawi, were unable to enter Germany due to visa issues. The remaining place in the tournament was awarded to Gibraltar, represented by Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt.
Nick Kenny made his first appearance for Wales as a replacement for Gerwyn Price, who made himself unavailable for selection. Mickey Mansell became the first player to play for two different nations at the World Cup of Darts, switching to the Republic of Ireland after previously representing Northern Ireland on four occasions from 2012 to 2015. As a result of Benjamin Pratnemer earning a PDC Tour Card at 2026 Q-School, Slovenia participated in the event for the first time since the inaugural edition in 2010. Fellow tour newcomer Adam Leek partnered Damon Heta for Australia, marking the first time 2022 champion Simon Whitlock had missed the event since its inception. William O'Connor and Mensur Suljović remained as the only ever-present players in the tournament's history.
The top four nations based on lowest cumulative placement in the PDC World Rankings entered the tournament in the second round as seeds, while the next twelve nations were seeded in the group stage. The full list of pairings was confirmed on 11 May following the culmination of the Austrian Darts Open.
Seeded nations (Top 4 into second round) Rank Country Entered players Start in 1 Luke Littler and Luke Humphries Round 2 2 Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen 3 Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney 4 Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies 5 Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko Round 1 6 Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh 7 Jonny Clayton and Nick Kenny 8 William O'Connor and Mickey Mansell 9 Krzysztof Ratajski and Sebastian Białecki 10 Jeffrey de Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak 11 Damon Heta and Adam Leek 12 Karel Sedláček and Adam Gawlas 13 Mensur Suljović and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez 14 Madars Razma and Valters Melderis 15 Boris Krčmar and Pero Ljubić 16 Jani Haavisto and Jonas Masalin
Unseeded nations Country Entered players Jim Long and David Cameron Qingyu Zhan and Xiaochen Zong Andreas Toft Jørgensen and Jonas Graversen Thibault Tricole and Nicolas Thuillier Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee Patrik Kovács and Pál Székely Nitin Kumar and Ankit Goenka Michele Turetta and Riccardo Castelli Motomu Sakai and Haruki Muramatsu Darius Labanauskas and Mindaugas Barauskas Altantülkhüür Myagmarsüren and Ganzorig Lkhagvasüren Jonny Tata and Ben Robb Cor Dekker and Kent Jøran Sivertsen Alexis Toylo and Paolo Nebrida Luis Camacho and José de Sousa Paul Lim and Phuay Wei Tan Benjamin Pratnemer and Stefano Božiček Graham Filby and Devon Petersen Cristo Reyes and José Justicia Stefan Bellmont and Marcel Walpen Sarayut Ouamuapa and Sorawis Rodman Joshua Balfour and James Walklin Adam Sevada and Stowe Buntz
Summary Groups The group stage was held over three sessions, the first taking place on 11 June with the second and third taking place on 12 June. In each of the three sessions, one match was played from each group. The loser of the first match played the remaining team in the second match, while the winner of the first match played the remaining team in the third match, ensuring there were no dead rubbers. In each session, the matches were played in the following group order: H, K, L, D, E, F, J, B, A, C, I, G.
Groups A–F
Group A featured host nation and fifth seeds Germany, the Philippines, and New Zealand. In the group's opening match, Germany achieved a three-dart average of 101.90, the highest for a German team in the tournament's history, as they whitewashed the Philippines 4–0. Germany's Martin Schindler recorded an individual average of 120.69. The Philippines required a 4–0 victory against New Zealand to avoid elimination, but were only able to win 4–1 despite averaging over 98. Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko claimed the single leg they needed against New Zealand to ensure qualification, eventually securing a 4–2 win.
Group B featured 2013 finalists and sixth seeds Belgium, Hong Kong, and Slovenia. Hong Kong established a 3–0 lead against Belgium and although the Belgians threatened a comeback, Hong Kong later sealed a 4–2 win to upset the seeded team. Belgium's performance against Hong Kong saw a discrepancy in individual averages, as Mike De Decker averaged 106 compared to his teammate Dimitri Van den Bergh's 65. Belgium rebounded from their opening defeat, winning four consecutive legs to beat Slovenia 4–1. Hong Kong needed to win three legs against Slovenia to progress to the knockout stage, but the pair missed a total of six qualification darts as they lost 4–2, resulting in Belgium advancing based on leg difference.
Group C featured two-time champions and seventh seeds Wales, Lithuania, and Thailand. The new Welsh pair of Jonny Clayton and debutant Nick Kenny were 4–1 victors over Lithuania in the group's opener, winning four consecutive legs after going 1–0 behind. Clayton followed a 146 checkout with a 100 checkout using two double 20s to secure the win. "It was mint, and to do it with Jonny [Clayton] was even better," said Kenny about his debut. Thailand were beaten twice the following day, losing to Lithuania before a 4–1 defeat to Wales saw Clayton and Kenny qualify for the knockout stage.
Group D featured 2019 finalists and eighth seeds Ireland, Singapore, and Gibraltar. Singapore's Phuay Wei Tan opened their match with Ireland by winning the first leg with a 170 checkout, but Ireland claimed the next four legs to win 4–1. In a post-match interview, Ireland's William O'Connor criticised the seeding system of the tournament, joking that "two guys out of the pub" could win due to the group stage's short format, before stating that teams entering at the second-round stage was "absolutely rubbish" and that he wished they entered at the same time as everyone else. Gibraltar, who arrived in Frankfurt the evening before the tournament started as a replacement for Uganda, were beaten 4–2 by Singapore. Ireland secured qualification by taking a 2–1 lead against Gibraltar, and although Gibraltar's Craig Galliano landed a 158 checkout to level the match, O'Connor and Mickey Mansell won the next two legs to prevail 4–2.