FRANKFURT — Canada's Jeff (The Silencer) Smith and Matt (Ginja Ninja) Campbell open against India on Thursday at the 450,000-pound ($754,370) My Diesel Claim World Cup of Darts.
The 40-team tournament runs through Sunday at Frankfurt's Eissporthalle. Canada has made the quarterfinals of the World Cup three times in the past.
Smith arrives on a high after winning the bet365 North American Championship darts title earlier this month in New York. The 47-year-old from Hampton, N.B., also finished runner-up at the companion bet365 U.S. Darts Masters, losing to world No. 3 Michael van Gerwen in the final.
Campbell, a 33-year-old from Hamilton, is ranked 60th in the world compared to No. 69 for Smith.
Four-time winners England and the Netherlands, alongside 2020 winners Wales and two-time champion Scotland, get a first-round bye and will open play in the round of 16.
The remaining 36 teams have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin first round, with the group winners moving on.
Canada will also play Hungary in Group H play.
Defending champion Australia plays Guyana before facing Gibraltar on Friday in Group C play. Host Germany faces Hong Kong and Japan in Group B.
World champion Michael Smith and Rob Cross represent top-seeded England, with van Gerwen, a three-time World Cup winner, and Danny Noppert competing for the second-seeded Netherlands.
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton represent third-seeded Wales for the sixth straight year. Gary Anderson and Peter Wright compete for No. 4 Scotland.
The winning team will collect 80,000 pounds ($134,145).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 13, 2023
The Canadian Press
