With the 2015 World Cup of Darts upon us, we take a look at some of the favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday night.
Netherlands – Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld
The defending champions are heavily fancied to retain their crown in Frankfurt.
There is no question in the sheer natural ability possessed by Van Gerwen and, if he is at the peak of his performance, then it will take something extraordinary to knock him off his stride.
Van Barneveld is looking to complete a hat-trick of World Cup wins, having also lifted the trophy alongside Co Stompe in the inaugural event in 2010.
Both world class players, if one is not quite up to scratch then the other will be more than capable of dragging him along.
Their route to the semi-finals is favourable, though they will be wary of a potential second round clash with Finland after a shock defeat two years ago.
England – Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis
The top seeds, two-time winners of the event and with 18 world titles between them, the English duo of Taylor and Lewis are always up there mounting a worthy challenge.
Lewis has grown up learning from ‘the Power’ and their games compliment each other so well as a result.
The only downfall is that neither player is in particularly sparkling form as of late, having both finished outside the Premier League play-offs.
They have a fairly tough half of the draw too, with Belgium’s Huybrechts brothers and the Australian duo of Simon Whitlock and Paul Nicholson posing realistic threats.
Scotland – Gary Anderson and Peter Wright
World champion Anderson is playing the darts of his life, having recently added the Premier League to his world crown.
He is joined by the fans’ favourite Wright, who has become one of the more consistent performers on the circuit in recent years.
With both players in good form, Scotland could become just the third nation to lift this trophy.
Their run to the semi-finals will be to their liking, though their main focus should be to keep Wright’s concentration switched on at all times as his crowd-pleasing antics can often affect his performance.
Dark Horses
Germany – Jyhan Artut and Max Hopp
While the likes of Australia and Belgium will be looking to stun a few people in Frankfurt, buoyed on by the home crowd, the Germans may be the ones who do the surprising act.
In 38-year-old Artut and 18-year-old Hopp, there is a perfect blend of experience and youth which could provide the dream ticket for them.
Artut has regularly featured in the world championship, while Hopp announced himself to the world by knocking out Mervyn King in this year’s event.
He showed how clinical he was hitting 180s in that game and, should he do the same here, then who knows?.
