World Cup of Darts Prediction and Tips

England's star pairing of Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are hot favourites to sample World Cup of Darts glory in Frankfurt this week but they face 39 other pairs all eager to upstage the world's top two performers.

The two Lukes are fresh off a mesmerising Premier League final in London last month – where Littler prevailed in a deciding leg.

Now they must harness their talents together in this unique pairs format if the Nuke is to taste World Cup of Darts glory for the first time.

Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney are defending champions for Northern Ireland, while Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen form a tasty partnership for the Netherlands for the first time.

World Cup of Darts Tips Summary

Best Bet - Netherlands to win @ 6/1
Alternative Bet - Republic of Ireland each-way @ 40/1
Alternative Bet - Austria, Germany, Ireland & Latvia Group winners @ 10/3

World Cup of Darts Prediction

Best Bet: Netherlands to win @ 6/1

England's claims on the title are stronger than ever with Littler and Humphries starting as odds-on favourites, as they did 12 months ago.

They were humbled in their opening tie by Germany and while on paper they are hard to knock, the unique format poses a question for the power duo.

Michael van Gerwen has won this event three times along with Raymond van Barneveld and now he teams up with Gian van Veen for the first time.

The Dutch duo are right behind their English rivals in the PDC rankings and MVG is fresh off winning the Nordic Darts Masters in Copenhagen, where he outlasted Humphries in the final.

The Englishman had pipped van Veen in a last leg quarter-final before averaging 105.82 in the last four in defeating Littler.

"At the moment I'm losing a lot of finals and that isn't good enough," Humphries conceded afterwards.

If the seedings go to form, it could be a Netherlands against England showdown with the world's top four players in the final on Sunday and, in that scenario, 6/1 on the Dutch dartists is appealing.

Alternative Bet: Republic of Ireland each-way @ 40/1

With Australian veteran Simon Whitlock absent this year, Ireland's William O'Connor and Mensur Suljovic of Austria will become the only two players to have featured at every World Cup of Darts.

O'Connor reached the 2019 final with Steve Lennon, losing to Scotland in the previous format of singles and doubles matches.

The Magpie is a dependable performer and now has Mickey Mansell alongside for the first time in this event.

The veteran was a Grand Slam semi-finalist in 2024 and his deliberate style at the oche has the potential to irk some of his opponents in this format – where players will throw once in every four turns.

Singapore and Uganda should hold no fears in the opening group stage and this Irish side could outrun their odds in the knockouts if they avoid the big guns early on.

Alternative Bet: Austria, Germany, Republic of Ireland & Latvia Group winners @ 10/3

For a final bet, consider Austria, Germany, Republic of Ireland and Latvia as group winners.

The case for Irish duo O'Connor and Mansell is clear in Group D where Singapore are led by 72-year-old icon Paul Lim and Uganda are debutants.

The German duo of Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko lit up this tournament last year, ousting Littler and Humphries, and will have a vociferous backing again as they take on Philippines and New Zealand in Group A.

Madars Razma should be able to ensure Latvia negotiate Italy and debutants Trinidad and Tobago as he teams up with Valters Melderis for a second year.

Two-time runners-up Austria have Suljovic and Rusty-Jake Rodriguez in line to face China and France in Group I and they have the class to prevail with Suljovic showing some good Pro Tour form in recent weeks.

World Cup of Darts Stats

• The top four ranked nations – England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland - are seeded and will enter at the last-16 stage

• The remaining 36 nations are split into 12 round robin groups of three, headed by a seeded team, with the group winner going through to the knockouts

• Northern Ireland are defending champions after beating Wales 10-9 in the 2025 final

• Luke Littler and Luke Humphries teamed up for the first time last year, losing their first match against Germany 8-4

• England have won a record five World Cups, followed by the Netherlands (four), with Wales and Scotland both two-time winners

• Ireland's William O'Connor and Austria's Mensur Suljovic will become the only players to have featured at all 16 World Cups

Read more darts betting tips and predictions on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.