THE teams for the PDC World Cup have now been confirmed, as 24 countries prepare to do battle at the Rainton Meadows Arena from December 3-5.
The inaugural tournament will be played across three days in December as the sport's top nations compete for a £40,000 first prize and the PDC World Cup title.
Each of the top 24 nations in the PDC Order of Merit will compete in the tournament, headed by the English pair of Phil Taylor - the 15-time World Champion - and recent Bodog.com World Grand Prix champion James Wade - ranked first and second in the world.
World number three Raymond van Barneveld will be joined in representing Holland by Co Stompe, while Simon Whitlock - who moved up to fourth in the world with a Players Championship win last weekend - will play alongside Newcastle-born Paul Nicholson for Australia.
Scotland will be represented by UK Open finalist Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton, while former World Champion Mark Webster will compete alongside Barrie Bates for Wales.
Three-time World Champion John Part will lead Canada's challenge alongside Ken MacNeil, while the USA - represented by Darin Young and Bill Davis - and Northern Irish duo Brendan Dolan and John MaGowan will complete the top eight seeds.
The top eight nations come in at the second round stage on Friday night, where they will face the winners from the 16-team knockout first round.
Emerging youngster William O'Connor will play alongside Mick McGowan for Ireland, while Jyhan Artut - who knocked Wayne Mardle out of this year's Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship - and Andree Welge, a Players Championship semi-finalist last Saturday, represent Germany.
Former Women's World Champion Anastasia Dobromyslova will line up alongside Roman Konchikov for Russia, while Carlos Rodriguez and Antonio Alcinas will compete for Spain and a host of other players with World Championship experience will line up for their country.
Further teams in the field include Finland, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, Gibraltar, Slovenia, Denmark, Poland, Belgium, Japan, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Each nation is seeded according to the cumulative world ranking of their two competitors, with the lowest total being the highest seed.
Confirmation of the draw & format will be announced in due course.
Tickets for the PDC World Cup cost £20 and £25 and are available from SeeTickets on 0871 220 0260 or by visiting www.seetickets.com/worldcupofdarts.
PDC World Cup - Competing Nations
England (1) - Phil Taylor & James Wade
Netherlands (2) - Raymond van Barneveld & Co Stompe
Australia (3) - Simon Whitlock & Paul Nicholson
Scotland (4) - Gary Anderson & Robert Thornton
Wales (5) - Mark Webster & Barrie Bates
Northern Ireland (6) - Brendan Dolan & John MaGowan
Canada (7) - John Part & Ken MacNeil
USA (8) - Darin Young & Bill Davis
Ireland (9) - Mick McGowan & William O'Connor
Germany (10) - Jyhan Artut & Andree Welge
Spain (11) - Carlos Rodriguez & Antonio Alcinas
Finland (12) - Jarkko Komula & Marko Kantele
New Zealand (13) - Phillip Hazel & Warren Parry
Austria (14) - Mensur Suljovic & Maik Langendorf
Sweden (15) - Magnus Caris & Par Riihonen
Russia (16) - Anastasia Dobromyslova & Roman Konchikov
Gibraltar (17) - Dylan Duo & Dyson Parody
Slovenia (18) - Osmann Kijamet & Sebastijan Pecjak
Denmark (19) - Per Laursen & Vladimiar Andersen
Poland (20) - Krzystof Kciuk & Krzsystof Ratajski
Belgium (21) - Patrick Bulen & Rocco Maes
Japan (22) - Haruki Muramatsu & Taro Yachi
Czech Republic (23) - Martin Kapucian & Pavel Drtil
Slovakia (24) - Peter Martin & Oto Zmelik
Tickets for the PDC World Cup cost £20 and £25 and are available from SeeTickets on 0871 220 0260 or by visiting www.seetickets.com/worldcupofdarts.