England have easier run than Dutch to final of World Cup of Darts

Frankfurt plays host to the World Cup of Darts for the first time, after taking over from fellow German city Hamburg who held it for the previous three years, in what will be the fifth edition of the tournament. The 32 nations will fight it out for the £50k first place prize.

Despite being whitewashed 3-0 in the 2014 final to the Netherlands, Coral make England the 13/8 favourites to lift their third title, perhaps partly due to the fact that Stoke duo Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis will once again pair up.

Another reason may be that they have a favourable route to the final, as just Belgium and Australia are the potential teams to cause them trouble.

England (1/12 for victory) face Denmark (6/1), who have only ever won twice in four World Cups (against Gibraltar and South Africa in close 5-4 battles), and are understandably heavy odds-on favourites to beat them.

It is hard to look past the Netherlands for their third title, though, particularly as they will have in-form giants of the game Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen, who both reached the recent Premier League Darts play-offs.

You can back the Dutch (seeded third, perhaps due to Barney’s low world ranking of 14) at a more enticing 7/4 chance to defend their crown, although their path to the final is more tricky.