THE teams for the 2019 BetVictor World Cup of Darts have been confirmed, with Jermaine Wattimena and Michael Smith set to make their debuts in the 32-nation tournament next month.
The ninth PDC World Cup of Darts will see 32 countries competing from June 6-9 at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, featuring a combination of Doubles and Singles matches throughout the event.
With £350,000 in prize money on offer, including £70,000 for the winning pair, the tournament will be bigger than ever this year as both the Netherlands and England aim to win a fifth title.
Reigning champions Netherlands will see World Champion Michael van Gerwen partnered by Wattimena, who has moved above four-time World Cup winner Raymond van Barneveld on the PDC Order of Merit since last year's staging of the event.
With nations represented by two-player teams, competitors are initially selected based on the PDC Order of Merit, where two or more players are ranked, and England's team will see Rob Cross partnered by Smith.
World Championship finalist Smith will be making his debut in the World Cup, while 2018 World Champion Cross is representing his country for a second time.
Scotland will see Gary Anderson and Peter Wright team up for a fifth time, having reached the final in 2015 and 2018, while 2018 semi-finalists Australia see Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson compete together for a fourth successive year.
Wales see Grand Slam of Darts champion Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton pair up for a second time, while Players Championship Finals winner Daryl Gurney links up for a fourth year running with Brendan Dolan for Northern Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland will be represented by Steve Lennon and recent Players Championship event winner William O'Connor, while the Belgian team sees 2013 runner-up Kim Huybrechts joined again by World Youth Champion Dimitri Van den Bergh.
Host Nation Germany see Max Hopp and Martin Schindler continue the partnership which has seen them reach the quarter-finals for the past two years, and Mensur Suljovic is joined in the Austrian team by Zoran Lerchbacher.
Spain's Cristo Reyes and Toni Alcinas and Finland's Marko Kantele and Kim Viljanen maintain their partnerships from 2018, while Karel Sedlacek is joined in the Czech Republic team by Pavel Jirkal.
Sweden's Magnus Caris is set to bow out of professional darts after making his eighth World Cup of Darts appearance, and he is partnered by Dennis Nilsson for his farewell on the big stage.
Denmark's Per Laursen maintains his ever-present record in the World Cup as he partners debutant Niels Heinsøe, while America's Darin Young is also making a ninth World Cup appearance and will team up with debutant Chuck Puleo.
Canada's Dawson Murschell is joined by Jim Long, who sits third on the CDC rankings in North America and also competed in the 2019 World Championship.
New Zealand's Cody Harris is joined by DPNZ number one Haupai Puha, while Russia's Boris Koltsov is partnered by Aleksey Kadochnikov from the EADC rankings.
Lithuania, who replace Switzerland in this year's event, make their debut in the event as emerging star Darius Labanauskas links up with Mindaugas Barauskas.
South Africa's Devon Petersen will link up with qualifier Vernon Bouwers, Diogo Portela is joined in the Brazil team by Artur Valle and Hungary's Pal Szekely is partnered by Janos Vegso.
China's qualifiers were youngsters Xiaochen Zong and Qingyu Zhan, with Dyson Parody extending his ever-present record for Gibraltar alongside debutant Anthony Lopez.
Italian pair Andrea Micheletti and Stefano Tomassetti won through a qualifier to represent their country, while Greek ace John Michael partners Veniamin Symeonidis for a second successive year.
Legendary star Paul Lim is partnered for Singapore by Harith Lim for a sixth successive year, while 2018 quarter-finalists Japan are again represented by Seigo Asada and World Cup ever-present Haruki Muramatsu.
PDC Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Royden Lam is partnered for Hong Kong by Kai Fan Leung, while the Philippines' return to the World Cup sees them represented by Lourence Ilagan and Noel Malicdem.
With seedings based on the cumulative PDC ranking of the two players, England will be the top seeds going into this year's event.
Scotland will be seeded second, with Wales third and the Netherlands fourth, with Australia, Northern Ireland, Belgium and Austria completing the seeded players.
The draw for the BetVictor World Cup of Darts will be made on Thursday May 16.
The 2019 BetVictor World Cup of Darts will be held at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany from June 6-9. Tickets are available now through PDC Europe.
2019 BetVictor World Cup of Darts
Nations & Competing Players
(Seed 1) England - Rob Cross & Michael Smith
(Seed 2) Scotland - Gary Anderson & Peter Wright
(Seed 3) Wales - Gerwyn Price & Jonny Clayton
(Seed 4) Netherlands - Michael van Gerwen & Jermaine Wattimena
(Seed 5) Australia - Simon Whitlock & Kyle Anderson
(Seed 6) Northern Ireland - Daryl Gurney & Brendan Dolan
(Seed 7) Belgium - Kim Huybrechts & Dimitri Van den Bergh
(Seed 8) Austria - Mensur Suljovic & Zoran Lerchbacher
Brazil - Diogo Portela & Artur Valle
Canada - Dawson Murschell & Jim Long
China - Xiaochen Zong & Qingyu Zhan
Czech Republic - Pavel Jirkal & Karel Sedlacek
Denmark - Per Laursen & Niels Heinsøe
Finland - Marko Kantele & Kim Viljanen
Germany - Max Hopp & Martin Schindler
Gibraltar - Dyson Parody & Antony Lopez
Greece - John Michael & Veniamin Symeonidis
Hong Kong - Royden Lam & Kai Fan Leung
Hungary - Pal Szekely & Janos Vegso
Italy - Andrea Micheletti & Stefano Tomassetti
Japan - Seigo Asada & Haruki Muramatsu
Lithuania - Darius Labanauskas & Mindaugas Barauskas
New Zealand - Cody Harris & Haupai Puha
Philippines - Lourence Ilagan & Noel Malicdem
Poland - Krzysztof Ratajski & Tytus Kanik
Republic of Ireland - Steve Lennon & William O'Connor
Russia - Boris Koltsov & Aleksey Kadochnikov
Singapore - Paul Lim & Harith Lim
South Africa - Devon Petersen & Vernon Bouwers
Spain - Cristo Reyes & Toni Alcinas
Sweden - Dennis Nilsson & Magnus Caris
United States of America - Darin Young & Chuck Puleo