Gerwyn Price withdraws from 2026 World Cup of Darts as team pairings confirmed
Gerwyn Price has withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup of Darts and will be replaced in the Wales team by Nick Kenny.
Price has opted out of the pairs event for the second time in three years, making himself ‘unavailable for selection’ ahead of next month’s event in Frankfurt.
Price, who also pulled out in 2024, claimed World Cup glory alongside Jonny Clayton in 2020 and 2023, as well as finishing runner-up in 2017, 2022 and 2025.
Price’s withdrawal means that Clayton will be partnered for the first time by world number 60 Kenny – the next highest ranked Welshman on the PDC Order of Merit.
As a result, Wales are no longer amongst the top four seeds in the draw and will enter in the group stage.
The 16th staging of the unique pairs event will take place at the Eissporthalle from June 11-14, with 40 teams competing for the coveted title and a record £500,000 prize fund.
England, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Scotland – the top four ranked nations based on lowest cumulative PDC ranking – will enter the tournament in round two.
Reigning World Champion Luke Littler and world number two Luke Humphries renew their partnership for top seeds England, who are eyeing a record-extending sixth World Cup triumph.
Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen will team up for four-time winners Netherlands, who are bidding to reclaim the crown for the first time since 2018.
Reigning World Cup champions Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney return to represent third seeds Northern Ireland, while Cameron Menzies will make his World Cup debut alongside two-time World Champion Gary Anderson for two-time winners Scotland.
Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko will fly the flag for hosts Germany, while Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh represent Belgium for a second successive year.
William O’Connor and Mickey Mansell form a new-look partnership for former finalists Republic of Ireland, as Sebastian Bialecki returns to the World Cup fold alongside Krzysztof Ratajski for Poland.
The field also includes Mongolia and Trinidad & Tobago for the first time, while Thailand and Slovenia make their returns to the World Cup this year.
World Cup of Darts 2026 Pairings
Seeds 1-4 – Exempt to Round Two
England (1) – Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
Netherlands (2) – Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen
Northern Ireland (3) – Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney
Scotland (4) – Gary Anderson, Cameron Menzies
Seeds 5-16 – Seeded for Group Stage
Germany (5) – Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko
Belgium (6) – Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh
Wales (7) – Jonny Clayton, Nick Kenny
Republic of Ireland (8) – William O’Connor, Mickey Mansell
Poland (9) – Krzysztof Ratajski, Sebastian Bialecki
Sweden (10) – Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
Australia (11) – Damon Heta, Adam Leek
Czechia (12) – Karel Sedlacek, Adam Gawlas
Austria (13) – Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
Latvia (14) – Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
Croatia (15) – Boris Krcmar, Pero Ljubic
Finland (16) – Jani Haavisto, Jonas Masalin
Unseeded Nations
Canada – Jim Long, David Cameron
China – Qingyu Zhan, Xiaochen Zong
Denmark – Andreas Toft Jorgensen, Jonas Graversen
France – Thibault Tricole, Nicolas Thuillier
Hong Kong – Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
Hungary – Patrik Kovacs, Pal Szekely
India – Nitin Kumar, Ankit Goenka
Italy – Michele Turetta, Riccardo Castelli
Japan – Motomu Sakai, Haruki Muramatsu
Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Mongolia – Altantulkhuur Myagmarsuren, Ganzorig Lkhagvasuren
New Zealand – Jonny Tata, Ben Robb
Norway – Cor Dekker, Kent Sivertsen
Philippines – Alexis Toylo, Paolo Nebrida
Portugal – Luis Camacho, Jose de Sousa
Singapore – Paul Lim, Phuay Wey Tan
Slovenia – Benjamin Pratnemer, Stefano Bozicek
South Africa – Graham Filby, Devon Petersen
Spain – Cristo Reyes, Jose Justicia
Switzerland – Stefan Bellmont, Marcel Walpen
Thailand – Sarayut Ouamumpa, Sowaris Rodman
Trinidad and Tobago – Joshua Balfour, James Walklin
Uganda – Patrick Ocheng, Juma Said
USA – Adam Sevada, Stowe Buntz
