William O’Connor has put a sharp edge on the opening week of the World Cup of Darts by questioning whether the event’s current format gives the biggest nations too soft a landing.
The Republic of Ireland player made the comments after he and Mickey Mansell opened their Frankfurt campaign with a 4-1 win over Singapore, a result that left Ireland in control of Group D. But the bigger talking point was not the scoreline. It was O’Connor’s view that the top four seeds should not be entering directly at the last-16 stage while the rest of the field has to navigate short-format group matches.
According to DartsNews.com, O’Connor called the system “absolute rubbish” and argued that every nation should begin in the same draw. It is exactly the sort of line that will split opinion across darts: some fans will see it as a fair complaint about sporting jeopardy, while others will point out that seed protection is hardly unusual in elite tournaments.
Why O’Connor’s Complaint Lands
The World Cup is not a standard individual event. It is a pairs tournament, played in pure doubles, and that alone makes rhythm, chemistry and pressure feel different. The PDC Europe tournament page confirms that the group stage is best of seven legs, before the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals move to best of 15. That is the heart of O’Connor’s argument: the nations outside the protected top four have to survive the most volatile format before the event settles into longer matches.
Ireland felt a little of that danger straight away. Singapore took the opening leg through Phuay Wei Tan’s 170 checkout before O’Connor and Mansell steadied themselves and won 4-1. The final score looks comfortable, but first-to-four legs can make one explosive visit feel enormous.
O’Connor’s wider point is that England, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland are spared that first stage. Those four seeded nations wait for round two, while sides such as Ireland, Wales, Germany, Belgium and Australia have to earn their way through the groups. For a tournament selling itself on national pride and team pressure, it is not hard to see why that rankles.
The Counter-Argument Is Obvious Too
There is another side to it. The World Cup has 40 nations, and the format has to balance global representation with a workable TV schedule. Seeded byes protect the highest-ranked teams, create a cleaner route through a crowded field, and give the latter stages a better chance of featuring the names casual viewers tune in to see.
That does not make O’Connor wrong. It does mean the argument is more complicated than simply asking whether everyone should start in round one. The PDC has built the event into one of the sport’s most distinctive weeks, precisely because it does not feel like another floor tournament or standard ranking event. The tension is part of the product.
A Debate The World Cup Can Probably Handle
For Ireland, the immediate job remains qualification. O’Connor and Mansell did what they had to do against Singapore, and the new pairing already has a story that stretches beyond the oche, with Mansell now representing the Republic after previously playing for Northern Ireland.
For the wider event, O’Connor’s comments give fans a proper format debate at a time when the World Cup is trying to showcase both elite names and emerging nations. That is useful news for the tournament, even if the organisers would rather the conversation stayed on the board.
The format may survive the criticism, but O’Connor has made sure the protected path for the biggest seeds is under the microscope. In a week built around national pride, that argument is not going away quietly.