Guyana win Latin American Qualifier to confirm World Cup of Darts debut

Team Guyana (PDC)

Guyana will make their PDC World Cup of Darts debut next month, after Sudesh Fitzgerald and Norman Madhoo won through the inaugural Latin America Qualifier in Costa Rica.

The pair stormed through the 16-team Qualifier to confirm their spot at the My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts, which will take place at Frankfurt’s Eissporthalle from June 15-18.

Three-time World Championship qualifier Madhoo will lead Guyana’s charge in the popular global event alongside his compatriot Fitzgerald – a World Championship participant in 2009.

Nations from Central & South America as well as the Caribbean were eligible to compete in the Latin American Qualifier from May 12-14, and it was Fitzgerald and Madhoo who sealed their big stage return.

The Guyanese duo registered three straight victories in the round-robin phase, before easing past Jamaica’s pairing of Mark Birthwright and Shawn Noteman to progress to the semi-finals.

There, Fitzgerald and Madhoo denied Costa Rica’s Jason Calderon and Guillermo Soto in a last-leg decider, before dispatching another Costa Rican duo - Andres Montero and Diego Orozco - 10-1 to seal their qualification.

The £450,000 World Cup of Darts has been expanded from 32 to 40 teams in 2023, and this year's showpiece will feature solely Doubles matches for the first time - as opposed to the combination of Singles and Doubles ties used in previous years.

Gibraltar’s World Cup pairing is also set to be confirmed imminently, with Development Tour star Craig Galliano already assured of his place ahead of Monday’s final Qualifier, which will see the second representative confirmed.

Nations who will be represented by players from the PDC Order of Merit will see their teams confirmed on Monday May 29, with the top two ranked players invited to compete for their country.

Meanwhile, the qualification cut-off date for nations in the PDC Nordic and Baltic region will be June 5, following the PDCNB weekend in Finland.