Four days of coverage gets underway on Sky Sports from Frankfurt on Wednesday
Monday 2 November 2020 12:12, UK
It's an all-new England at this year's World Cup of Darts, as neither Adrian Lewis or Phil Taylor will feature in the tournament for the first time since its inception in 2010.
World champion and world no 3 Rob Cross will make his debut and lead England's charge for a fifth World Cup crown, and after a battle between three men, it is Dave Chisnall who will partner Voltage in Frankfurt.
Michael Smith and James Wade were in contention and Bully Boy is certainly the man in form after his impressive showing in the Premier League but Chizzy's consistency on the two-year Order of Merit mean he will make a second appearance in the event.
It's another step on the ladder for world champion Cross who seems to encounter a new challenge every week on the circuit but he has already said how much he is looking forward to playing in the event.
Lewis and Taylor have been England's go-to guys as they have dominated the event and teamed up for all four of the Roses titles, but with a changing of the guard we run the rule over the new look line-up and look back at the best of years gone by........
He may be the world champion but Rob Cross will be a debutant in Frankfurt and carry less experience than the team-mate he will captain.
But that is unlikely to pose too much of a problem for a man who has been making strides ever since he burst onto the scene in 2016 with a succession of Pro Tour titles.
Voltage took that form into the World Championship and memorably beat Michael van Gerwen and Phil Taylor on his way to winning an astonishing world title.
Cross followed up with a place in the Play-Offs in his debut Premier League campaign, recovering from a slow start to seal a place in the final where he was beaten by Van Gerwen.
Life on the Pro and European Tour hasn't been as successful as his brilliant debut year, by his own admission the increased demands on his time as well as playing in more high profile events mean the structure is totally different.
First the Premier League, still to come the World Series and now the World Cup - Cross will be out to underline his position at the top of the game and teaming up with Chisnall to challenge for the title in a new-look England looks like the sort of challenge he will rise to.
Dave Chisnall made his World Cup of Darts debut alongside Adrian Lewis last year, and 'Chizzy' just about held off Michael Smith to feature as the second highest-ranked Englishman this time.
Chisnall and Lewis reached the semi-finals of last year's competition but were comprehensively beaten by eventual champions Netherlands - who were represented by Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld.
'Chizzy' currently sits seventh on the PDC Order of Merit, despite failing to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking televised event since the 2017 PDC World Championship almost 18 months ago.
This saw him miss out on the Premier League for the first time since 2014, but he's enjoyed a strong start to the Pro Tour season - reaching one Players Championship Final and two semi-finals - and being back in the big time should get the juices flowing for the man from St Helens.
The World Cup of Darts is back for four fun-filled days in Frankfurt from Thursday when coverage gets underway on Sky Sports Action and Main Event.
