Despite being the Dutch #1 in the past few years, Michael van Gerwen has only participated in one of the last four World Cups of Darts.
The recent Dutch pairs at the event have played well, but we could see van Gerwen return to the World Cup this year, after Gian van Veen made interesting comments in an interview, regarding his recent conversations with van Gerwen.
Will Michael van Gerwen play with Gian van Veen at the 2026 World Cup of Darts?
The rankings have changed quite a bit in the last 12 months, with van Veen recently becoming the new Dutch #1, and van Gerwen moving down to #2.
With van Gerwen not participating on several occasions recently, we have seen names like Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode step in to represent their country at the event.
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As good as Noppert is (currently #10 in the world), he might not get a spot at the World Cup this year, as van Veen has made huge strides and is up to #3 in the world.
Van Veen said in a recent interview, "I talked to Michael as well last year, as he said he would most likely play because he wants to see what it's like to play with me" (via @Tungsten_Tales).
Even though van Gerwen's form has noticeably dropped, he's still a world-class player, and it would be exciting to see him play with van Veen, who continues to improve at such a rapid rate.
England was considered unbeatable last year, yet Germany upset them in their first match of the event.
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The Netherlands made it all the way to the semifinals at the 2025 World Cup and is in good shape to be in a position for a deep tournament run once again.
MVG already picked up his first title in 2026 and seems to be trending back in the right direction.
Having a dangerous Dutch pair at the event only makes the tournament more competitive, which is better for the fans.
Here are some of the potential World Cup duos for the top countries:
- England: Luke Littler and Luke Humphries
- Netherlands: Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen
- Wales: Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton
- Scotland: Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies
- Northern Ireland: Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney
- Germany: Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko
- Belgium: Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh
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