World Cup of Darts: Portugal replace Singapore for tournament in Salzburg, Austria

Jose De Sousa will head to the World Cup of Darts having beaten Michael van Gerwen to win the European Darts Grand Prix

Portugal will compete in the World Cup of Darts for the first time this weekend after replacing Singapore, while the first round schedule of play is also now available.

Due to regulations in Singapore, Harith Lim is now unable to travel to Austria and as such the former quarter-finalists - who would also have featured Hong Kong-based Paul Lim - have withdrawn.

Portugal will now step into the event and be represented by Jose De Sousa - who won a European Tour title recently and landed a nine-darter at the European Championship - and Jose Marques, who competed at the 2020 Qualifying School.

De Sousa will be partnered by Jose Marques for Portugal

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Cristo Reyes will be replaced by Jesus Noguera in the Spain team, and Zizhao Zheng has replaced Xicheng Han for China.

Due to a change in regulations in Austria, the World Cup will now be held behind closed doors at the Salzburgarena, with the action starting on Friday with a double session of first round action.

Michael van Gerwen will once again represent the Netherlands at the World Cup of Darts

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Four-time winners England will be in action in the afternoon session against the Philippines, alongside former finalists Belgium and host nation Austria.

Scotland's title defence will commence in the evening session as they play Japan, while four-time champions Netherlands are in action, while two former finalists face off as Republic of Ireland play Australia.

Schedule of Play

Friday November 6
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
8x First Round

Lithuania v Gibraltar
Hong Kong v China
Portugal v Hungary
New Zealand v Denmark
Northern Ireland v Canada
Belgium v Czech Republic
Austria v USA
England v Philippines

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
8x First Round

Italy v Spain
Sweden v Greece
Japan v Scotland
Poland v South Africa
Republic of Ireland v Australia
Wales v Russia
Germany v Finland
Netherlands v Brazil

Saturday November 7
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
4x Second Round

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
4x Second Round

Sunday November 8
Afternoon Session (1300 local time, 1200 GMT)
Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (1900 local time, 1800 GMT)
Semi-Finals & Final

Format

First Round
Best of nine legs 501 Doubles

Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals
The Second Round, Quarter-Finals & Semi-Finals will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play. In the event of both nations winning one Singles match apiece, a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match will be played to decide the tie.

Final
The Final will be played as two best of seven leg 501 Singles matches, with both nations nominating the order in which their players play the first two matches, followed by a best of seven leg 501 Doubles match and then Reverse Singles matches. The first team to win three games is declared the winner.

Non-stop darts as truncated season comes to a close

Over the next four weeks, a relentless schedule will close the PDC and finalise the field for this year's World Championships which remain scheduled for Alexandra Palace in mid-December.

On Friday the World Cup of Darts gets underway in Salzburg, while next Monday is the Grand Slam of Darts qualifier ahead of the final five days of Pro Tour action with the five-day Winter Series representing a last chance for many to secure their Tour card for next season.

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You can follow the action on Sky Sports with all six sessions across three days of the World Cup live, followed by nine days of Grand Slam of Darts action from Coventry, which begins on Monday November 16.

Following the Grand Slam, the action remains in Coventry with three days of Plays Championship Finals action and then the final qualifier for the World Championship.

Sky Sports Darts will keep you across all the action as the season reaches its climax. As well as all the action, The Darts Show podcast will catch up with all the players, discuss the talking points and get expert opinion from former world no 1 Colin Lloyd.

Don't miss a dart at this weekend's World Cup of Darts - the action gets underway from 12pm on Friday on Sky Sports Arena and we will have all six sessions as the new champions are crowned.