Darts commentator and pundit Paul Nicholson has selected five dark horse favourites for the 2024 BetVictor World Cup of Darts ahead of this year’s tournament in Frankfurt.
Croatia
Looking at Croatia’s group, they will face Malaysia and Canada, which features new pairing David Cameron and Matt Campbell.
I know Cameron is in good form and Campbell recently made it to the Pro Tour finals, but I’m not sure how they’ll work together.
The fact is that the two players who have been in good form recently, Grbac and Krcmar, seem to have gelled quite well after playing together last year.
Obviously Romeo has qualified multiple times for the European Tour through the Eastern European Qualifiers and Boris has performed well in various tournaments in recent months.
I expect them to win Group I and win both their matches against Malaysia and Canada.
I also think they could be the dark horse and go one or two rounds further, just like France did last year.
Sweden
Let’s take a look at the developments in Group K, which features Sweden, Spain and Gibraltar.
Gibraltar have experience in that group, but do they have the talent to beat Sweden on current form? I don’t think so.
Spain was the dominant force at the start of the Darts World Cup 14 years ago but since then players such as Carlos Rodriguez, Toni Alcinas and Cristo Reyes have failed to live up to expectations.
I have a feeling Spain might need a bit more time to find their next flagship team, with Sweden being their biggest threat in that regard at the moment.
Jeffrey de Graaff has been outstanding over the past six weeks and Oskar Lukasiak is coming off a win on this year’s Challenge Tour.
I think they’re coming together well and if the Swedes can garner the passion and support in Germany I think they could do some real damage and people should be very wary of them.
new zealand
To understand just how dangerous these guys are, we need to dig a little deeper.
As for New Zealand, they are in Group C with Finland and, with all due respect to Haruju and Kantele, I don’t think Finland can compete in this group.
Germany, with Martin Schindler and Gabriel Clemens, are expected to perform well but will again be under pressure at home and it is New Zealand who will be best placed to take advantage of that pressure.
Haupai Puha earned his PDC Tour Card in January and has gained valuable experience over the past six months, and he has a familiar partner in Ben Robb, who is always a confident swimmer.
He’s doing just that now after winning the New Zealand Open last weekend and taking the No. 1 spot in the WDF, and his confidence is probably higher than it’s ever been.
Looking at how they’ve performed, it couldn’t be better and I think New Zealand have a realistic chance of achieving the feat that Austria recently achieved at Euro 2024, by defying the odds and finishing top of their group.
Philippines
This team may not be a dark horse to many, but when you look closely at the group dynamics, I think there is one group that really stands out.
In recent months, there has been a lot of discussion about Belgium as to whether Mike De Dekker would play in place of Kim Huybrechts due to the latter’s injury.
Looking at the other two teams in Group A, Singapore and the Philippines, it would be easy to pick Paul Lim and Haris Lim, but I would go with the Philippines.
Christian Perez has been very consistent on the professional tour this year and now next to him is Alexis Toilo who is having a fantastic year on the Asian Tour.
With Toylo, we might just unearth one of Asia’s next big players.
I see these two teams as having the potential to be big threats in the tournament, but their groups are so strong that it wouldn’t be a surprise if they don’t make it to the knockout stages.
This will probably be a story in the group stages and I think if the Philippines can get some good momentum they will be a big threat to Singapore, Belgium and beyond.
Hong Kong
In Group D with Australia and Japan, Hong Kong could pose a bit of a shock.
Man Lok Leong returns to the big stage for the first time since his much-hyped World Championship win over Jan van Veen.
This may be the right vehicle for him to move forward again and for his partner too, I have a hunch that the focus will be on Japan and Australia, although Hong Kong may be a surprise.
With captains Leung and Lok Yin Lee together, they feel like a promising storyline going forward.
The PDC Asian Tour has done a fantastic job over the last two or three years. [Hong Kong] As Japan begins to get stronger, other countries will start saying, “What will happen to us?”
The Asia Tour is not just about Japan and the Philippines.
There are other countries on the rise, including Hong Kong, which has performed well in past World Cups, and two players are expected to fly the flag boldly this time around, so keep an eye on them.