World Cup: Michael van Gerwen may be on the decline but Wessel Nijman is a big threat for the title | Arrow News

Michael van Gerwen can allay concerns with his inconsistent form at the World Matchplay, while Wessel Nijman has emerged as Blackpool’s biggest title threat.

The 2026 World Cup kicks off on Saturday at the Winter Gardens, live on Sky Sports, Here are five talking points ahead of the first round…

MVG under world class pressure

Van Gerwen, a three-time World Matchplay champion, heads to Blackpool under huge pressure for the first time in his career as he defends his £100,000 world title, which he earned from his final defeat to Luke Humphries in 2024.

UMVG could face a drop to seventh in the world rankings if they lose to Andrew Gilding in the first round on Sunday.

The Green Machine has shown some signs of what once made him the world No. 1, winning titles at the World Series and the Players Championship event in Leicester this year, but he has also shown vulnerability when he often averages in the mid-80s on the ProTour and EuroTour.

If MVG is to limit the damage to his world ranking, he will need to recapture the form he showed at the Players Championship 15, when he dispatched Martin Schindler 7-0 in the semi-finals, with an impressive score of 122.34, en route to victory.

Gilding represents a tricky foe in the first round. Goldfinger beat Van Gerwen 6-4 last month in Bratislava on the European Tour, missing the double by just one shot. Gilding also has his memorable UK Open win at MVG in the 2023 final.

Skip to the bottom of Blackpool

PDC may be saving the best for last with a matchup between Danny Noppert and Rob Cross that concludes the first round on Monday night, live. Sky Sports.

After Noppert’s impressive 2025 campaign, the Dutchman was unlucky to miss out on the 2026 Premier League. Freeze reached the last eight of the Winmau World Masters and the UK Open and reached the semifinals of the Grand Slam, World Grand Prix and European Championships.

However, since the start of the new year, the former UK Open champion has struggled to find form and on the Euro Tour has progressed to the quarterfinals just twice.

Rob Cross on the other hand is on a different path. 2025 was a difficult year where he won only one event (Players Championship 1 back in February) and failed to get any night win in the Premier League in 2025, missing the playoffs.

In recent months, he has done something and earned himself a place in Blackpool this weekend by using the ProTour order of merit. Coming off the back of the Players Championship 22 title, Voltage will be confident in his game against the out-of-form Noppert.

The Holland star recently revealed that he was the one who received hateful messages on social media about his mother’s death from cancer. Noppert, will look to put the nagging words off his mind and focus on his clash with the 2018 world champion.

If Cross gets past Noppert, he could face Gerwyn Price next ahead of Luke Humphries. A tough race but he will appreciate the current form and the chance to go deep at the Winter Gardens taking down some big names along the way.

In-form Nijman man to be beaten?

Wessel Nijman won the most money on the ProTour in 2026, qualifying for the tournament as one of the top 16 in the world rankings.

The Dutchman won an impressive six Players Championship titles in 2026 and claimed two European Tour titles in Gottingen and Bratislava.

The 26-year-old – the only player in the field who doesn’t have a nickname (because, he says, they’re stupid), has yet to have some impressive deep runs at major tournaments, his best so far reaching the finals of the Players Championship Finals and the Grand Slam of Darts, but this should be the tournament that changes this.

In the six ProTour events he has won, Nijman’s driving average has never dropped below 95 and peaked at 102.78 in his Players Championship 2 win.

He will no doubt be looking to build on this form as well as his first Matchplay success last year when he knocked out Nathan Aspinall in the first round, winning 10-6.

Nijman’s first-round opponent this year is Dave Chisnall, who hit the final prize in the field following a good run in the semi-finals at the Players Championship 23.

Despite his second appearance at Blackpool, the Dutchman is third favorite to take the title behind world number one and two, Luke Littler and Luke Humphries, but many will back him to go all the way.

Zonneveld can beat Bullet

Niels Zonneveld heads to Blackpool to make his World Cup debut. ‘Triple Z’ has found his place in the ProTour pecking order and since regaining his tour card for the third time in 2023, he has finally been able to show his true potential.

This year on the European tour, the 27-year-old has reached the semi-finals twice, on the ground, he has reached the last eight four times.

His biggest moment this year came at the Belgian Darts Open when he became the first player to beat Littler in that tournament. He went 6-5 with 147 strikeouts and averaged over a ton. In doing so, he also became the first player to beat Littler in a level event this year.

Zonneveld will face Stephen Bunting in his first round matchup, and the Bullet hasn’t had the strongest year so far. After the controversial 2026 Premier League election, he failed to reach the playoffs and did not win a single EuroTour or ProTour event this year. His only two wins came as late night wins in the Premier League at Belfast and Sheffield.

Zonneveld will be looking to pull off an upset and thereby win the first match of the World Cup against an out-of-form Bunting.

Heading back to Blackpool for The Nuke?

Reigning world champion Littler is looking to join Phil Taylor and Van Gerwen as the only players to successfully defend their title at the Winter Gardens.

This will be Nuke’s third World Championship. His first in 2024 ended with a 10-6 defeat at the hands of MVG in the first round.

However, in 2025 the youngster had an incredible success against Jermaine Wattimena and Josh Rock, a thrilling encounter with Gilding, and a professional final performance against James Wade.

Littler, fresh off a classic final loss to ‘Cool Hand’ Humphries at Madison Square Garden in New York in the World Series, heads to Blackpool brimming with confidence having won a number of major titles this year including the World Championship, UK Open and Premier League.

Nuke is arguably the favorite going into his first tie with Niko Springer. The German, known for his form on the EuroTour, has only played Littler once in his professional career, with Nuke winning 6-5, at the Players Championship 5 last year, with both averaging over 102.

They may play another classic in the first round but Littler is the favorite ahead of this weekend and the longer formats will allow him to settle in and allow his goal-scoring ability to fully come into play, making this a very difficult task for ‘The Meenzer Bub’.

When is World Matchplay live on Sky Sports?

The World Matchplay starts on Saturday July 18 and ends on Sunday July 26.

All nine days of the event will be featured live on Sky Sportsand opening day coverage starting on Sky Sports+ at 7pm Not got Sky? Get instant access with NOW