The World Cup of Darts 2025 is About to Get Mental - Here's Every Team That'll Be Throwing

By Lewis Barnett 11 June, 2025 5 mins read 21 Views

Forty countries. FORTY! I'm still trying to wrap my head around how massive this tournament has become since I started covering it back in 2019.

Last year was absolutely bonkers - Luke Humphries and Michael Smith basically demolished Austria's Rowby-John Rodriguez and Menseur Suljovic 10-6 in teh final, and honestly? The emotion on their faces when they won was something else. Seven years England had been waiting for that moment. Seven bloody years.

My mate Dave (who runs the local pub league) texted me right after: "Finally! Thought we'd forgotten how to win the thing." Poor guy had been supporting England through some proper heartbreak in previous years.

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Plot Twist: Cool Hand's Got a New Partner

Here's where it gets interesting. Humphries is back to defend the title - no surprise there, he's World No1 for a reason. But Smith? Nah. This time around, Luke's partnering with... wait for it... Luke Littler.

Yeah, that Luke Littler. The millionaire teenager who's been absolutely tearing up the Premier League. I mean, what could possibly go wrong pairing the world's best player with a kid who throws darts like he's playing a video game? (Actually, knowing Littler, that might be exactly why it works.)

The Seeded Four: No Surprises Here

The top seeds get to skip the first round because... well, they're good enough to earn it:

(1) England - Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
(2) Wales - Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price
(3) Scotland - Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
(4) Northern Ireland - Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney

Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton for Wales is going to be pure theater. Price alone generates enough drama for three players.

Everyone Else Fighting for Glory

The unseeded nations list reads like a geography lesson gone wild. We've got teams from Argentina to Hong Kong, and honestly some of these pairings are fascinating:

Argentina - Jesus Salata, Victor Guillin
Australia - Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
Austria - Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Bahrain - Sadiq Dasmal, Hassan Bucheeri
Belgium - Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh
Canada - Matt Campbell, Jim Long
China - Xiaochen Zong, Lihao Wen
Chinese Taipei - Pupo Teng-Lieh, An-Sheng Lu
Croatia - Pero Ljubic, Boris Krcmar
Czechia - Karel Sedlacek, Petr Krivka
Denmark - Benjamin Reus, Andreas Hyllgaardshus
Finland - Teemu Harju, Marko Kantele
France - Thibault Tricole, Jacques Labre
Germany - Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko
Gibraltar - Craig Galliano, Justin Hewitt
Hong Kong - Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
Hungary - György Jehirszki, Gergely Lakatos
India - Nitin Kumar, Mohan Goel
Italy - Michele Turetta, Massimo Dalla Rosa
Japan - Ryusei Azemoto, Tomoya Goto
Latvia - Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Malaysia - Tengku Shah, Jenn Ming Tan
Netherlands - Danny Noppert, Gian van Veen
New Zealand - Haupai Puha, Mark Cleaver
Norway - Cor Dekker, Kent Joran Sivertsen
Philippines - Lourence Ilagan, Paolo Nebrida
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski, Radek Szaganski
Portugal - Jose de Sousa, Bruno Nascimento
Republic of Ireland - William O'Connor, Keane Barry
Singapore - Paul Lim, Puay Wei Tan
South Africa - Cameron Carolissen, Devon Petersen
Spain - Daniel Zapata Castillo, Ricardo Fernandez Carballo
Sweden - Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
Switzerland - Stefan Bellmont, Alex Fehlmann
USA - Danny Lauby, Jules van Dongen

Paul Lim representing Singapore at 70 years old is just... God, what a legend. That man's been throwing darts since before half these players were born.

Don't Miss a Single 180

Sky Sports has the whole thing covered live, which means you know exactly where I'll be parked for four straight days. Group stage kicks off at 6pm BST, then the serious business splits into afternoon sessions (11am/12pm) adn evening sessions (6pm).

No Sky? NOW TV subscription will sort you out for streaming.

Frankfurt's going to be absolutely electric. Forty nations, countless 180s, and probably more drama than a soap opera. Can't wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the standard height for hanging a dartboard?

The standard height for a dartboard is 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm) from the floor to the bullseye. This measurement is official across professional darts organizations worldwide, including the PDC and BDO. It's designed to create a fair playing field for players of different heights.

What weight darts should beginners use?

For beginners, I generally recommend starting with medium-weight darts between 21-24 grams. This range offers enough heft to fly straight without requiring too much force, but isn't so heavy that it becomes tiring during longer practice sessions.

My darts keep bouncing out of the board. What am I doing wrong?

Bounce-outs are incredibly frustrating, but they're usually caused by one of a few common issues. First, check your dartboard—if it's old and dried out, even the best throws will struggle to stick. Quality sisal boards should last years, but cheaper paper-wound boards harden quickly. If you can press your thumbnail into the board and it doesn't leave a small indent, it's too hard.

What are "flights" and "stems" and do they really matter?

Flights and stems (also called shafts) are the components that stabilize your dart during flight, and yes, they absolutely matter—though perhaps not in the way beginners often think.

How do I improve my dart throwing technique?

Improving your dart technique comes down to consistency and deliberate practice. First, establish a comfortable stance—feet shoulder-width apart, with your dominant foot slightly forward. Your weight should be balanced and stable, not leaning forward or back.

What's the difference between steel tip and soft tip darts?

Steel tip and soft tip darts represent two distinct branches of the sport, each with their own equipment, venues, and sometimes even scoring systems. The most obvious difference is in the point: steel tips have metal points for traditional bristle boards, while soft tips use flexible plastic points for electronic boards.

Statistics

A perfect leg of 501 can be completed in nine darts, known in the sport as a "nine-darter."
The Women's World Darts Championship was established in 2001, with Trina Gulliver winning 10 titles.
The first televised nine-dart finish was thrown by John Lowe in 1984, earning him £102,000.
The standard height from the floor to the bullseye on a dartboard is 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 meters).
The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship has been held since 1994, with Phil Taylor winning a record 14 titles.
The dartboard wire system known as "razor wire" reduced bounce-outs by approximately 60% when introduced.
In 2016, Michael van Gerwen set a world record for the highest three-dart average in a major tournament at 123.40.
Phil Taylor has hit a record 22 televised nine-dart finishes throughout his professional career.

External Links

How To

The Dart Player's Journey: From Rookie to Robin Hood

I've been throwing darts since my college days back in 2008, but it wasn't until February 2022 that I really got serious about improving my game. That winter was brutal in Minneapolis—we had snow piled up to our windowsills, and I needed an indoor hobby that wouldn't drive my roommates crazy. Darts seemed perfect! Well, until I put a few holes in our wall... which led to my first lesson: always invest in a proper dartboard surround. My landlord wasn't thrilled about teh repair costs, but it taught me a valuable lesson about proper setup.