By Ryan James Mingay
The PDC World Cup of Darts has seen many shocks and upsets over its history. England and
Holland have dominated the event with Scotland, Wales and Australia also claiming the title
before. The Spanish team caused a shock at the inaugural World Cup when they beat
England and reached the Semi-Finals. Finland also caused a stir by reaching the Semifinals
in 2013. The Republic of Ireland and Austria went one better as they reached the finals in
2019 and 2021 respectively before both were defeated by Scotland. The 2023 edition has
seen an expansion to 40 teams and many of these could replicate the feats of Austria and
Ireland. So which teams are the dark horses of this year's edition?
Canada
The partnership of Matt Campbell and Jeff Smith are about to pair up for their 4th world cup
for the team Canada. Both were seen in action at the US Darts Masters and the North
American Championship at MSG. Jeff 'The Silencer' Smith put on a fantastic display as he beat Peter Wright, Nathan Aspinall and Luke Humphries to reach the final of the US darts
masters where he was whitewashed as he lost 8-0 to legendary Michael Van Gerwen.
Campbell went out to Aspinall in round one. The pair faced each other in the final of the
North American Championship where Smith prevailed by 6 legs to 5 to claim his second
North American title but he was denied a spot at ally pally due to a rule change. He vowed to reach the worlds via the pro tour and has looked dangerous recently.
The pair's previous best was in the quarter-finals in the debut year of 2020 where they lost to
Belgium. They exited at the first time of asking in 2021 and 2022 to Germany and The
Republic of Ireland respectively.
They should be the clear favourites in their group as they face off against India and Hungary. Should they win their group they easily have the potential to upset a major favourite and high-seeded team and improve their best record in the quarter-finals.
Denmark
Led by tour card holder Vladimir Andersen and talented young prospect Benjamin Drue
Reus, the Danes look to cause a shock in their group. Their group is arguably the most
stacked as they have to face off against The USA and Austria. Andersen hasn't entered
many pro tour events and mainly plies his trade in the Nordic and Baltic tour as he seeks
qualification for the World Championship. Drue Reus has impressed on the N&B tour but he
hasn't yet claimed a title. His only major appearance so far came at the 2022 WDF World
Masters where he won all 4 group games before he lost in the L128 in a last-leg decider to
flow Dane Simon Bak.
Andersen is a historic figure in Scandinavian darts as he became the first Dane to win a tour
card at Q school. He has only played in 3 Majors, the World Masters in 2009 where he made
the L24 and the UK Open in 2022 and 2023 where he lost in the first round in both years. He
picked up one N&B title last year and one title this year. Both are capable of great things and
could cause a shock against the USA and Austria in a close and potentially thrilling group.
The Danes hope to go further than their previous best of the second round.
Gibraltar
The young pairing of Justin Hewitt and Craig Galliano nearly caused a huge shock last year
as they were engaged in a tough match with Northern Irelands Daryl Gurney and Brendan
Dolan before Gurney bailed them out with some big checkouts. Galliano and Hewitt have
impressed on the development tour recently and Galliano impressed on the Euro tour last
year before he was downed by Peter Wright. The pair are capable of good things and they
could easily stun defending champions Australia and should be favourites against
newcomers Guyana. Their nation only has one previous win which came against Italy in
2015.
France
The inclusion of France feels like a long-awaited one as fans have been clamouring for their
participation for years. Many fans thought the WDF world championship runner-up Thibault
Tricole would spearhead the French Team and gain a card at Q school. To the shock of
many it was his compatriot Jacques Labre who gained a tour card and now captains the team. The pair made the 15th of October 2022 a day to remember for French darts as
Tricole won the first challenge tour becoming the first Frenchmen to do so and then Labre
sealed the second event of the day. Labre is a WDF Europe Cup singles champion and
together with Tricole, he forms a dangerous team. They should beat Ukraine and might even
be favoured over the seeded Northern Ireland. Labre partnered with Lionel Maranhoa in
2015 as they lost in round one. The French team has been absent since then until their justly
return this year. They are definitely ones to watch and the seeded teams should be on high
alert.
The Philippines
The Filipino team might be familiar to some fans although their captain Christian Perez
hasn't been seen in the Pro Tour until this weekend. Perez picked up a card at Q school but
Visa issues prevented the Inaugural PDC Asian Champion from entering the pro tour events
this year. He was seen in the Grand Slam last year where he went 0-3 and the Worlds
where he went down against Simon Whitlock after spurning multiple match darts. Perez is a
great player and has thrown numerous high averages. His partner is Lourence Ilagan who is
a former World Masters Semi-Finalist. Ilagan has won a title on the Asian tour this year as
he seeks to reach ally pally again. The pair played together in 2021 when they were
eliminated by Austria.
They face stiff opposition as they are in a group with the Czech Republic and Singapore
where they face familiar opponents in Paul and Harith Lim (no relation).
Honourable mentions
The Swiss team of Bellmont and Walpen have demonstrated their skill on the pro and euro
tour this year and this is rewarded by their status as the 16th seed. The pair look to justify
this by reaching the L16 or further.
Singaporean Legend Paul Lim is a fan favourite who looks to lead his nation to the knockout
stages with his regular partner Harith Lim.
Latvia faces a tough night against New Zealand but should beat Bahrain comfortably. The
team will hope Madars Razma can lead them to victory against the NZ team and move
them to the L16 as they aim to improve on last years close loss to England.
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