(Photo PDC)
The make-up of the 40 nations to compete at the 2026 World Cup of Darts has been confirmed, with a second African nation to take part this year as Slovenia makes its first appearance in the competition since 2010.
The 2026 World Cup will take place at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 11-14, as 40 two-player teams compete for the coveted title and a boosted £500,000 prize fund.
Reigning champions Northern Ireland head the 33 nations currently confirmed to be participating in the tournament, with seven more countries to be confirmed following qualifying events held in the coming months.
Slovenia will make their long-awaited return to the global festival of darts, with Benjamin Pratnemer leading the team after gaining his Tour Card at European Qualifying School at the start of the year.
Nations with players coming from the PDC’s Rankings Ladder will see their pairings confirmed following the Austrian Darts Open in May.
Certain nations will see players selected from the Challenge Tour rankings, while others will utilise their affiliate tour rankings to determine places.
Hong Kong, Japan and the Philippines will select their pairings from the PDC Asian Tour rankings, while the USA team and Jim Long’s partner for Canada will come from the CDC’s two-year rankings. The New Zealand team will come from the DPNZ rankings and two nations will come from the PDCNB rankings.
New Tour Card holder Adam Leek will partner Damon Heta for Australia, with Simon Whitlock missing out for the first time in the event’s history.
Cristo Reyes makes his World Cup return for Spain after regaining his PDC Tour Card this year, while Jose de Sousa will remain a part of the Portugal team.
South Africa will be represented by top-ranked player Graham Filby and one qualifier, while a second African nation will come from an African Darts Group Qualifier in Nairobi in March.
The popular all-Doubles matches format at the World Cup of Darts will continue in 2026, with group and knockout stages played across four days of action in Frankfurt.
The top four ranked nations, based on the lowest cumulative PDC rankings of the two competing players, will be seeded and enter at round two.
The remaining 36 teams will be split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin stage – including 12 seeded nations – from which each group winner will progress.
Competing Nations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Czechia, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong China, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, Wales
Qualifiers to confirm final competing nations
ADG African Qualifier (March 22)
PDC Asian Tour Q1 (May 3)
PDC Asian Tour Q2 (May 3)
PDC Asian Tour Q3 (May 3)
CDLC Qualifier (TBC)
PDCNB Nation 5 (April 26)
PDCNB Nation 6 (April 26)
Prize fund
Winners: £50,000
Runners-Up: £24,000 each
Semi-Finalists: £15,000 each
Quarter-Finalists: £10,000 each
Last 16 losers: £5,000 each
Second in Group: £3,000 each
Third in Group: £2,500 each
Total: £500,000
