Scroll down for Paul Nicholson's Group-By-Group Guide

World Cup of Darts group-by-group guide: Are Luke Humphries and Luke Littler unbeatable for England?

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Wed June 11, 2025 · 3d ago

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are hot favourites to win the World Cup of Darts for England but can they be stopped? Paul Nicholson reveals his thoughts in his group-by-group preview.

Are England unbeatable?

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries are obviously a formidable pairing but in this format, nobody is unbeatable.

We saw that with Phil Taylor and James Wade back in 2010 when they were the best two players in the world coming up against Spain, while it's far from the only upset we've ever seen in this tournament.

We all know about their talents in singles competition and obviously seem to have a good friendship on the oche in the heat of battle but now we're going to see if that chemistry works in pairs.

It is a different discipline and the intricacies of the format can't be ignored such as faster players - like Littler - having to get used to waiting significantly longer than usual between visits.

Obviously Humphries and Littler have different preferred doubles and finishing routes so they've got to be mindful of that when attempting to set up shots for one another. All these little things can affect your rhythm and some players, who prefer doing their own things and have unique methods, struggle to adapt to pairs.

However, Humphries knows how to do it having lifted this trophy 12 months ago with Michael Smith, so the amount of knowledge he can give Littler on debut is invaluable.

No challenge fazes either player and I'm sure they'll relish this one and be working hard behind the scenes to come up with a game plan that they're both happy with.

All things considered I would be surprised if they don't reach the final of this competition and their opponents will probably be Wales.

What about the rest of the 'big four'?

What's not to like about Wales?

Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton have won it twice so they've clearly got an abundance of chemistry while they are both in very decent form this season.

I'm not sure how much more they could have realistically done in the lead up to this, and while neither have picked up major titles so far this year, they've come close in the PDC World Masters and the Premier League.

Clayton has won on the European Tour and enjoyed a really good event in Leverkusen as well whereas Price has picked up three titles away from the major scene in 2025.

If England don't win the World Cup, then it's probably going to be Wales.
That said, nobody can rule out the dream team Scotland pairing of Gary Anderson and Peter Wright.

Although Wright isn't playing at his peak levels and has endured some difficult times, I'm sure he'll switch on that extra one or two percent with the Scotland shirt on, and the fact he won't want to let Gary down.

Don't question their hunger in this. They will want another world cup to add to their own legacies before focusing their longer term individual objectives of winning a third world title.

As for Northern Ireland, they are the fourth seeds and therefore in the same half of the knockout stage draw with England.

Josh Rock has played really well this year and Daryl Gurney is very much on an upward curve when it comes to his form but this isn't the kind of pairing we can liken to Wales or Scotland because they lack the experience.

It's hard to imagine them beating England if their paths cross in the semi-finals but pairs is a funny old spectacle. If they can get an early lead and protect it, then frustration could feasibly build for Littler and Humphries.

Paul Nicholson's Group-by-group verdict

Only the top team in each group will go through to the knockout stages

Group A

(5) Netherlands (Danny Noppert & Gian van Veen)
Italy (Michele Turetta & Massimo Dalla Rosa)
Hungary (György Jehirszki & Gergely Lakatos)

The Netherlands are going to breeze this group, even without Michael van Gerwen.

I think the combination of Van Veen and Noppert is a very good one and they can work really, really well together, so a run to the quarter-finals or better isn't beyond them at all.

It might be beneficial to them that they've missed out on automatic qualification to the knockout stages because it'll give them time to develop as a pairing.

Hungary aren't strong enough and will get absolutely blown away by the Dutch and while Italy will provide a little bit of resistance, I can only see one group winner here.

Group B

(6) Belgium (Mike De Decker & Dimitri Van den Bergh)
Latvia (Madars Razma & Valters Melderis)
Philippines (Lourence Ilagan & Paolo Nebrida)

The Philippines are fantastic with Lourence Ilagan and Paulo Nebrida, who had a very impressive World Championship, so I think they'll feel like this is a tremendous opportunity.

Latvia are essentially a one-man team with the highly talented Madars Razma pairing up with an unknown quantity in Valtas Milderis, while Belgium have more question marks than a riddler outfit.

I'm really happy to see Mike De Decker finally get his World Cup spot because he's worked so so hard for it but we just don't know what frame of mind Dimitri Van den Bergh is in.

We don't know the full circumstances of Dimitri's absence, but we can't expect him to be sharp coming into this and De Decker will probably need to do most of the heavy lifting if they're to work as a team.

If the Philippines get through this group and progress as far as the quarter-finals, I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Group C

(7) (Martin Schindler & Ricardo Pietreczko)
Portugal (Jose de Sousa & Bruno Nascimento)
Singapore (Paul Lim & Phuay Wei Tan)

I wouldn't be surprised if stroll through this group. Martin Schindler is really strong and experienced at this format and while we're not sure what Ricardo Pietreczko is like at pairs, they still look stronger than the rest.

Jose de Sousa is the mainstay of the Portugal team but isn't in great form so 's biggest threat could come from Singapore, who are represented by fan favourite Paul Lim.

At 71 years of age he's still winning on the Asian Tour but for the first time in his career, he won't be roared on by the majority of the crowd when they face home nation .

As for 's hopes of winning this tournament in front of their own fans, it all depends on the chemistry between Martin and Ricardo, because the latter is a bit of a lone wolf on tour. We just don't know how he'll cope with this format.

But if they can form a partnership, then they can cause a lot of problems, especially with the crowd behind them.

Group D

(8) Republic of Ireland (William O'Connor & Keane Barry)
Gibraltar (Craig Galliano & Justin Hewitt)
China (Xiaochen Zong & Lihao Wen)

Well, China have Zong, who's very good. Lihao Wen is useful but how can they perform under this pressure?

Ireland are the favourites but neither William O'Connor nor Keane Barry have been ripping up trees this season. Willie has at least been moving in the right direction lately and has been working really hard to try and qualify for the World Matchplay.

They're under pressure in this group because Xiaochen Zong is a dangerous player and Lihao Wen will give him solid , so if Ireland get off to a slow start, they could easily get pulled into a bit of a slugfest.

Group E

(9) Poland (Krzysztof Ratajski & Radek Szaganski)
South Africa (Cameron Carolissen & Devon Petersen)
Norway (Cor Dekker & Kent Joran Sivertsen)

It's great to see Krzysztof Ratajski back in winning form after his health problems because he was very, very sick but Radek Szaganski is very erratic on tour at the minute.

South Africa will bring the party as always with Devon Petersen in the team although gone are the days when he's the leading figure in a 'one-man team'.

Cameron Carolissen is the captain and we all know he can play after his exploits at the World Championship so I expect good chemistry from these guys to give Poland a real run for their money.

As for Norway, Cor Dekker will have to do all the heavy lifting and I can't see them challenging for a spot in the knockout stages.

It's South Africa for me.

Group F

(10) Canada (Matt Campbell & Jim Long)
Malaysia (Tengku Shah & Tan Jenn Ming)
Denmark (Benjamin Reus & Andreas Hyllgaardhus)

Canada are worthy favourites with Matt Campbell and Jim Long teaming up while Denmark aren't as strong as they have been in previous years.

Don't underestimate Malaysia because my friend Tengku Shah is a very good player who will love the opportunity to play some big stage darts, but ultimately I'd expect Canada to progress and potentially get as far as the quarter-finals.

Group G

(11) Sweden (Jeffrey de Graaf & Oskar Lukasiak)
Lithuania (Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas)
(Thibault Tricole & Jacques Labre)

I can't really see past Sweden in this group.

I think Jeffrey de Graaf and Oskar Lukasiak will both work well as a pairing and they've spent plenty of time together on the Nordic and Baltic tour in the past, even though their mother languages are different.

They have the capability of getting as far as the quarter-finals and showing the world that Swedish darts is very much on the up.

have upset the odds to reach the quarter-finals before but I can never figure out their form. Jacques Labre has played so awfully at times over the last couple of years but stick those shirts on in this arena and they've turned into different animals.

Darius Labanauskas is a superb player but Mindaugas Barauskas isn't the backup he deserves without wanting to sound disrespectful.

Group H

(12) Austria (Mensur Suljovic & Rusty-Jake Rodriguez)
Spain (Daniel Zapata & Ricardo Fernandez)
Australia (Damon Heta & Simon Whitlock)

This is a nightmare group for Australia, who lifted this trophy back in 2022.

Austria is probably one of the teams they really didn't want to get because Mensur Suljovic always comes alive in the World Cup regardless of how he's performing on tour.

He's reached two World Cup finals alongside Rowby-John Rodriguez in recent times, including 12 months ago, and this year he'll be looking to make it a hat-trick with Rusty-Jake by his side.

When he puts on that Austrian shirt he finds that extra one or two percent and shows how very proud he is to play for them after making that country his home after the Balkan War.

Spain will get thrashed in both of their matches so it'll all boil down to Austria v Australia and I'm very much on the fence.

Group I

(13) USA (Danny Lauby & Jules van Dongen)
Hong Kong (Man Lok Leung & Lok Yin Lee)
Bahrain (Sadeq Mohamed & Hasan Bucheeri)

This is the weakest group of the lot and the USA look to be one of the most vulnerable seeds in the competition because Danny Lauby and Jules van Dongen are both out of form.

Man Lok Leung and Lok Yin Lee are both good players and I'm not surprised to see plenty of people backing Hong Kong to win this group rather than the American duo.

Group J

(14) Czechia (Karel Sedlacek & Petr Krivka)
Chinese Taipei (Pupo Teng-Lieh & An-Sheng Lu)
India (Nitin Kumar & Mohan Goel)

Karel Sedlacek is the most familiar name in this group and he's backed up by Petr Krivka, who's qualified for a couple of European Tour events this season and shown a little bit more than I thought he had.

This guy can play and is very useful so if Karel can teach him about the intricacies of this format then they will be dangerous.

There's always been question marks over India because it boils down to who Nitin Kumar gets paired with and this year it's the largely unknown Mohan Goel.

As for Chinese Taipei I can honestly say I know nothing about An-Sheng Lu, but but Pupo Teng-Lieh can play.

I've seen him at soft tip and I've seen him at steel tip because he's been around for ages and that guy has got some talent.
But ultimately I'm going with the Czechs.

Group K

(15) Croatia (Pero Ljubic & Boris Krcmar)
Japan (Ryusei Azemoto & Tomoya Goto)
Switzerland (Stefan Bellmont & Alex Fehlmann)

Croatia are the seeded team due to being made up of Pero Ljubic, who made the tour this year, and the highly rated Boris Krcmar but I think Japan are dangerous too.

I think Ryusei Azemoto is a great player and Tomoya Goto has also impressed me in his World Championship appearances.

Japan have had some really good pairs in the past but this one just might be the strongest and it could be their time to get through to the knockout stages.

Group L

(16) Finland (Teemu Harju & Marko Kantele)
New Zealand (Haupai Puha & Mark Cleaver)
Argentina (Jesus Salate & Victor Guillin)

New Zealand have promised plenty over the years so what can they do this time?

Mark Cleaver is a good player and has been winning titles down in New Zealand and we all know Haupai Puha is a very, very solid operator so they can upset the seeds in this group.

Finland have got Teemu Harju and Marko Kantele who are decent players too so it should all boil down to the fixture between these two nations.

The Argentina pairing have produced some good numbers in their South American stuff but they're unknown quantities on the big stage and I think they'll feel like ducks out of water.

World Cup of Darts: Knockout stage draw bracket

Top four seeded nations went straight to the knockout stages

(1) England v Group Winner
Group Winner v Group Winner
(4) Northern Ireland v Group Winner
Group Winner v Group Winner
(2) Wales v Group Winner
Group Winner v Group Winner
(3) Scotland v Group Winner
Group Winner v Group Winner

World Cup of Darts: Daily Schedule & Results

Thursday June 12 (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – First Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Sweden v Lithuania (G)
Czechia v Chinese Taipei (J)
Croatia v Japan (K)
Republic of Ireland v Gibraltar (D)
Canada v Malaysia (F)
USA v Hong Kong (I)
Poland v South Africa (E)
Belgium v Latvia (B)
Netherlands v Italy (A)
v Portugal (C)
Austria v Spain (H)
Finland v New Zealand (L)

Friday June 13
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Group Stage – Second Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Thursday's Losing Team v Nation 3

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches (Best of seven legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Thursday's Winning Team v Nation 3

Saturday June 14
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Second Round (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four Matches

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Second Round (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four Matches

Sunday June 30
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 BST)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sports

Four Matches

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 15 legs)
TV Coverage: Sky Sport

Two Matches

Final (Best of 19 legs)

Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2