The World Cup of Darts will always sell itself through the biggest names first. This year that means Luke Littler and Luke Humphries for England, Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen for the Netherlands, Northern Ireland’s defending champions Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, and a Scotland pairing of Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies.
But the reason the group stage is worth more than a casual glance is not only the seeded nations waiting in round two. It is the chance for the sport’s cult names, global standard-bearers and awkward early opponents to turn a pairs tournament into something far less predictable.
That is where Paul Lim comes in. The Singapore great is back on a PDC World Cup stage alongside Phuay Wei Tan, and even in a field full of elite modern firepower, his presence still carries a little bit of magic.
Paul Lim remains the World Cup’s great romantic subplot
Sky Sports’ latest World Cup build-up placed Lim among the players to watch outside the four seeded teams, and it is not hard to see why. Lim hit the first nine-darter in World Championship history in 1990 and, decades later, returned to Alexandra Palace in 2025 after a two-year absence.
That return was not just a ceremonial lap of honour. At 71, Lim became the oldest player ever to take part in the World Darts Championship and then beat Jeffrey de Graaf in the first round. Sky commentator Rod Studd summed up the moment with the line: “The oldest slinger in town wins again on the Ally Pally stage.”
Singapore have been drawn in Group D with eighth seeds Ireland and Uganda. Ireland will rightly expect to progress, but the World Cup’s all-doubles format gives underdogs oxygen.
The group stage has more than one fan favourite
Lim is not the only name giving the early sessions their colour. Japan’s Motomu Sakai, partnered by Haruki Muramatsu, lands in Group K with Croatia and Spain. Sakai became a fan favourite at Ally Pally with his walk-on energy, but there is substance behind the showmanship too after his whitewash win over Thibault Tricole at the World Championship.
India’s Nitin Kumar, paired with Ankit Goenka in Group H against Czechia and Denmark, brings another strong story. Kumar became the first Indian winner at the World Championship when he beat Richard Veenstra, and spoke afterwards about what that could mean for the sport’s reach. “I have opened the floodgates to a billion of them,” he said, before joking that if future World Championship fields include more Bollywood walk-ons, “don’t blame me, it’s happening!”
Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung is another dangerous name, teaming with Lok Yin Lee in Group B alongside Belgium and Slovenia. Leung’s best-known Ally Pally moment came when he beat Gian van Veen in 2023, a reminder that the World Cup’s supposedly smaller nations often include players who have already shown they can handle the biggest stage.
Why the early sessions matter
The PDC has confirmed a 40-team field, a £500,000 prize fund and the familiar all-doubles format at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 11-14. The top four seeds enter in round two, while the remaining nations fight through 12 groups of three.
That structure gives fans two tournaments in one: the heavyweight knockout event everyone expects, and the group-stage scramble where rhythm, chemistry and a bit of nerve can flatten the rankings. The winners will share £100,000, according to DartsNews.com’s tournament guide, but for players such as Lim, Kumar, Sakai and Leung, the prize is also the chance to own a session and drag new audiences into the story.
England’s Littler-Humphries pairing will dominate the conversation, and understandably so. Yet the World Cup is at its best when it feels properly global. This week, the cult heroes might be just as important to that feeling as the favourites.
Suggested internal links: 2026 World Cup of Darts draw and schedule; Luke Littler and Luke Humphries England World Cup preview.
Sources: Sky Sports players to watch; PDC World Cup of Darts; DartsNews.com draw and schedule guide.