Scots face Japan in opener

Scotland will begin the defence of their BetVictor World Cup of Darts title against Japan in Salzburg next month. A new- look Scottish team, made up of Huntly’s John Henderson and Robert Thornton, are not among the eight seeded nations and face a tricky opening tie against Japan’s Seigo Asada and Yuki Yamada as the nations meet for a third successive year.

Henderson is set to make his World Cup debut in the event following the decision of both Peter Wright and Gary Anderson not to compete in Austria.

The 32- nation tournament sees two-player teams representing their countries, with selection based initially on the top-ranked players on the PDC order of merit, and will take place at the Salzburgarena from November 6-8.

To p seeds England, represented by Michael Smith and Rob Cross, face the Philippines in a repeat of last year’s first round, while Wales’ number two seeds Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton will play Russia.

Michael van Gerwen will be joined by debutant Danny Noppert in representing the Netherlands, with the Dutch pair set to take on Brazil in their opener.

Daryl Gurney and Brendan Dolan’s Northern Ireland will face a strong Canadian side, while Dimitri Van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts’ Belgium will take on the Czech Republic.

Host nation Austria, represented by Mensur Suljovic and Rowby- John Rodriguez, will play USA, while Germany’s Max Hopp and Gabriel Clemens will come up against Finland.

One of the pick of the first round ties will see last year’s runners-up Republic of Ireland, who again feature the pairing of William O’Connor and Steve Lennon, face Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta’s Australia.

TEAM: Robert Thornton and Huntly’s John Henderson represent Scotland. Picture, right, by Kath Flannery.