There have been instances where Hungarian players have won matches at the PDC World Darts Championship, but they haven’t yet achieved a truly outstanding result. This time, however, Pál Székely and Patrik Kovács form a truly strong team representing our country. It’s worth keeping an eye on the other pairs in the field as well, as we’re seeing one of the strongest lineups in recent years.
The best teams face off in Frankfurt
The PDC launched this international series in 2010. During the World Darts Championship, teams consisting of pairs compete against each other, and although darts is fundamentally an individual sport, the world’s best players generally take this challenge very seriously. Since the first edition, the English have been the most successful, with five world titles, four of which were won by legendary players such as Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis. Their most recent title was also won by a strong pair—Luke Humphries and Michael Smith, both of whom also hold individual world titles—in 2024.
The Dutch have also been extremely successful over the past 16 years, taking home the trophy four times, with three-time individual world champion Michael van Gerwen playing a key role in three of those victories. If he were to win again representing his country, he would join the ranks of legends in terms of victories, such as the aforementioned Taylor and Lewis, as well as his compatriot, Raymond van Barneveld. In addition to these two countries, however, four other nations have also celebrated victories. Wales and Scotland have each won twice, but Australia has also claimed the title once, as has Northern Ireland, which triumphed last year.
In the Shadow of Another World Cup
Undoubtedly, many will be following the event taking place in Germany, but unfortunately, it coincides with the start of the FIFA World Cup. The tournament will be held from 11–14 June, so in just a few days, we’ll find out which country takes home the team world championship title. Under the tournament format, 40 countries will compete, with the four strongest nations entering as seeded teams. As a result, England, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, and Scotland will not have to play in the group stage.
The remaining 36 teams, however, are divided into groups of three, and only the group winners advance to the second round. Hungary will be represented by the duo of Pál Székely and Patrik Kovács, who will face Finland and Norway in Group L. The Finns will be represented by Jani Haavisto and Jonas Massalin, while Norway will field Cor Dekker and Kent Jøran Sivertsen against our team.
Although we have assembled a team with significant experience, putting the lineup together did not go entirely smoothly. In January of this year, the PDC announced a change to the Darts World Cup rules, stating that for countries unable to field two players from the Order of Merit rankings, the Challenge Tour rankings would be taken into account.
Székely, who last represented Hungary at the World Team Championship in 2019, qualified this time via the Challenge Tour rankings as the top Hungarian player, while Patrik Kovács has already made it onto the Order of Merit world rankings, where he currently holds the 141st spot. He already attracted significant attention last year, as he was the first Hungarian in a long time to compete in the individual World Championship. He topped all this off with his remarkable performance on the European Tour, and now he is participating in the Darts World Cup for the fifth time in his career, but for the first time as a team member, alongside Pál Székely.
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The Littler–Humphries duo reunites
It promised to be one of the biggest stories of the year when it was revealed that the still very young—but now two-time world champion—Luke Littler would represent England alongside Luke Humphries, who is ranked second in the world. The situation was not unfamiliar to Humphries, but the 2024 world champion had never before played on a team with his current biggest rival.
The odds were clearly in their favour, yet their run ended with a quick exit in the round of 16 against the Germans, who later advanced to the semifinals. There, the eventual champions ended their run, as Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney’s team easily sent them home, then defeated Wales in a very close final that ended 10-9.
For Littler and Humphries, however, last year’s disappointment likely served as even greater motivation, so they’re giving it another shot together. For Littler in particular, it may be an added incentive that, although he has already triumphed in numerous major tournaments at the age of 19, he has yet to win this title. They will, however, have to face several serious opponents. While England is represented by the top two players in the world rankings, the Netherlands is fielding the duo of Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen, who are ranked third and fourth.
Northern Ireland is sending the defending champions, while Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies will represent Scotland as a team. Alongside them, several other big names are on the list, such as Johnny Clayton, who played brilliantly in this year’s Premier League season, and Nick Kenny, who represents Wales. There has been a change here, as Gerwyn Price withdrew shortly before the tournament began. However, many fan favourites will be there. Singapore is represented by Phuay Wei Tan and one of the sport’s greatest legends, Paul Lim, while Australia is fielding Adam Leek and Damon Heta, who was a member of the 2022 winning team. Belgium is fielding the duo of Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh, and Germany is hoping to take home the trophy with Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko, just to name a few standout names.
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