THE schedule of play for the 2018 Betway World Cup of Darts has been confirmed, ahead of the 32-nation event from May 31-June 3 in Frankfurt.
Top seeds Scotland, represented by Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, will headline the opening night on Thursday May 31 for their tie with American duo Larry Butler and Darin Young.
2017 finalists Wales take on Thailand in another big tie on the opening night, while 2012 runners-up Australia face Hong Kong.
Italy and Canada will face off in the opening game of the tournament, with Russia playing Spain, Switzerland up against China, Denmark meeting Brazil and Austria competing with Japan.
The remaining eight first round ties will be played on Friday June 1, headlined by reigning champions Netherlands - represented by Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld - playing Gibraltar's Dyson Parody and Justin Broton.
Four-time champions England, for whom Rob Cross is partnered by Dave Chisnall, play the Czech Republic and host nation Germany clash with Sweden.
Former finalists Belgium take on the Republic of Ireland, while Northern Ireland play Poland, New Zealand take on Singapore, Greece play Finland and Hungary meet South Africa.
Saturday June 2 sees the second round split across two sessions, with a combination of Singles and Doubles ties from the last 16 onwards.
The final day of action sees the quarter-finals in Sunday's afternoon session ahead of the semi-finals and final in the evening session.
The Betway World Cup of Darts will be broadcast live on Sky Sports from May 31-June 3. For tickets, visit www.pdc-europe.tv/tickets.
Please note start times below, updated on May 22 2018
2018 Betway World Cup of Darts
Schedule of Play
Thursday May 31 (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
First Round
Italy v Canada
Russia v Spain
Switzerland v China
Denmark v Brazil
Wales v Thailand
Australia v Hong Kong
Scotland v United States of America
Austria v Japan
Friday June 1 (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
First Round
New Zealand v Singapore
Greece v Finland
Northern Ireland v Poland
Hungary v South Africa
Belgium v Republic of Ireland
England v Czech Republic
Sweden v Germany
Netherlands v Gibraltar
Saturday June 2
Afternoon Session (1.30pm local time, 12.30pm BST)
Second Round
Wales/Thailand v Switzerland/China
Australia/Hong Kong v Russia/Spain
Austria/Japan v Italy/Canada
Scotland/USA v Denmark/Brazil
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
Second Round
Belgium/Republic of Ireland v Greece/Finland
England/Czech Republic v New Zealand/Singapore
Northern Ireland/Poland v Sweden/Germany
Netherlands/Gibraltar v Hungary/South Africa
Sunday June 3
Afternoon Session (1pm local time, 12pm BST)
Quarter-Finals
Evening Session (7pm local time, 6pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Final
Draw Bracket
(1) Scotland v United States of America
Denmark v Brazil
(8) Austria v Japan
Italy v Canada
(5) Wales v Thailand
Switzerland v China
(4) Australia v Hong Kong
Russia v Spain
(2) England v Czech Republic
New Zealand v Singapore
(7) Belgium v Republic of Ireland
Greece v Finland
(6) Northern Ireland v Poland
Sweden v Germany
(3) Netherlands v Gibraltar
Hungary v South Africa
The draw was broadcast on Facebook Live through the OfficialPDC Facebook page.
Competing Nations
Seeded Nations
1 Scotland - Peter Wright & Gary Anderson
2 England - Rob Cross & Dave Chisnall
3 Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen & Raymond van Barneveld
4 Australia - Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson
5 Wales - Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
6 Northern Ireland - Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
7 Belgium - Kim Huybrechts & Dimitri Van den Bergh
8 Austria - Mensur Suljovic & Zoran Lerchbacher
Other Nations
Brazil - Diogo Portela & Bruno Rangel
Canada - John Part & Dawson Murschell
China - Momo Zhou & Xiaochen Zong
Czech Republic - Roman Benecky & Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Per Laursen & Henrik Primdal
Finland - Kim Viljanen & Marko Kantele
Germany - Max Hopp & Martin Schindler
Gibraltar - Dyson Parody & Justin Broton
Greece - John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
Hong Kong - Royden Lam & Ho Yin Shek
Hungary - Tamas Alexits & Nandor Bezzeg
Italy - Michel Furlani & Alessio Medaina
Japan - Seigo Asada & Haruki Muramatsu
New Zealand - Cody Harris & Warren Parry
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski & Tytus Kanik
Republic of Ireland - Steve Lennon & William O'Connor
Russia - Boris Koltsov & Aleksandr Oreshkin
Singapore - Paul Lim & Harith Lim
South Africa - Devon Petersen & Liam O'Brien
Spain - Cristo Reyes & Toni Alcinas
Sweden - Daniel Larsson & Dennis Nilsson
Switzerland – Alexander Fehlmann & Andreas Bless
Thailand - Thanawat Gaweenuntavong & Attapol Eupakaree
United States of America - Larry Butler & Darin Young
Prize Fund
Winners (Per Player) £30,000
Runner-Up (Per Player) £16,000
Semi-Finalists (Per Player) £10,000
Quarter-Finalists (Per Player) £7,000
Second Round Losers (Per Player) £4,000
First Round Losers (Per Player) £1,500
Total £300,000
Format
First Round
Best of nine legs Doubles
Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals
The Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play. In the event of both nations winning one Singles match apiece, a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.
Final
The Final will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play the first two matches, followed by a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match and then Reverse Singles matches. The first team to win three games is declared the winner.