The Netherlands' Michael van Gerwen is out of 2023 World Cup of Darts, after failing to recover in time after pre-planned dental operation on Monday; MVG replaced by Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Netherlands team; Watch the World Cup of Darts live on Sky Sports from June 15-18 in Frankfurt
Wednesday 14 June 2023 15:52, UK
Michael van Gerwen has withdrawn from the 2023 World Cup of Darts, due to his failure to recover in time after a dental operation.
Van Gerwen had a pre-planned dental operation on Monday, but has not recovered sufficiently to be able to compete in Frankfurt this weekend, and will be replaced by Dirk van Duijvenbode in the Netherlands team.
As Dirk van Duijvenbode is the next highest ranked Dutch player in the PDC Order of Merit, he will now partner Danny Noppert for the second successive year.
The change means that the Netherlands will become third seeds for the second round draw, with Wales' Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton moving up to second seeds.
With the top four ranked nations entering at the second round stage, the remaining 36 teams have been split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin first round - including 12 seeded nations - from which each group winner will progress.
Following the completion of the round-robin phase, the draw for the last 16 will take place on Friday evening, as England, Netherlands, Wales and Scotland prepare to enter the fray in Frankfurt on Saturday.
The top four seeded nations will be pre-allocated into the draw bracket, with the 12 group winners to be drawn at random.
The second round will take place across a double session on Saturday, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final on a bumper Finals Day in Frankfurt.
The World Cup of Darts takes place at the Eissporthalle from June 15-18 - live on Sky Sports.
