2022 German Darts Open Preview and Tips – JP
2022 German Darts Open Preview and Tips
It was another semi-final loser for us last week, when Nathan Aspinall became tournament favourite, but completely blew it against William O’Connor, averaging just 79.5 and losing 5-7. He may not get a better chance to win his first Euro Tour title. Let’s hope we can go one better at the 2022 German Darts Open.
The whole tournament was strange last week. Gerwyn Price didn’t show up and by the end of the second round there were only five seeds left standing. By the end of the third, three, but in the end, it was the 11th seed Joe Cullen who won.
Perhaps it was the first day back at school syndrome, players rusty after a month off, or knackered after touring Australia and New Zealand, but then again, Cullen was on the tour down under.
Back In Germany
This weekend we head back to Germany and the German Darts Open, last played in 2019. It has only been played three times and we have had a different winner on each occasion. Peter Wright beat Benito van de Pas in 2017, Max Hopp won his home Open in 2018 and MVG won it in 2019.
Rob Cross is a two-time semi-finalist, but the tournament specialist is Ian White who has always reached the semi-finals and was runner up to MVG. I can’t see him keeping that fine record going this weekend as he has lost eight of his last ten matches.
As usual we have had several withdrawals. Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith, Adrian Lewis and Darren Webster have all withdrawn. Dave Chisnall and Martin Schindler are elevated to seeded status and four qualifiers get a bye into the second round. They are Steve Beaton, Joe Murnan, Ross Smith and Lewy Williams. It also means the paying customers get four less matches to watch on Friday.
The Seeds
1. Luke Humphries
Was runner up in the last tournament before the Summer break and lost his comeback match last weekend. He has won 75% of his matches in 2022 and remains a leading contender.
2. Gerwyn Price
Hopefully he will turn up this weekend. He has had an extra week to recover from his jet lag and should be fresh and ready to go for the rest of the season. He has won eight of his last ten matches, but has a win rate of only 63%, well shy of the likes of Humphries, Aspinall, Chisnall, Rock and Noppert.
3. Rob Cross
Finally got his first tournament win of the season just before the break, but went out early last weekend, losing 4-6 to Jeffery de Zwann. He is a three time runner up on the ET in 2002 and yet to ever win an ET title, despite being a two time European Championship winner.
4. Peter Wright
Played well on his return after surgery, but still lost his opening match 5-6 to Jim Williams. He did average 100 and he was happy with how he played. A former champion and still a very popular figure in Germany. He has only won the one title since winning the World Championship, but I expect a decent run this weekend.
5. Damon Heta
On a run of six straight defeats and despite playing well, his confidence will be getting hurt. Expensive to follow.
6. Ryan Searle
Not a good traveller. He too is on a losing run, failing to win any of his last four matches.
7. Nathan Aspinall
Continues to win a lot of matches, but he is failing at the business end of events. He has picked up two players championships in 2022, so he can do it, but on the Euro Tour he has now lost three semi-finals in 2022 and has never won an ET title. His performance against O’Connor in last weekend’s semi-final has dampened my enthusiasm for his chances.
8. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Bottled it against Josh Rock last weekend, missing 6 match darts before losing 5-6. He was less than happy and so was I. Remains a contender, but his confidence will have taken a knock.
9. Joe Cullen
I certainly didn’t see a Cullen win coming last week and to be fair, he took advantage of a field devoid of any big names. He was very ordinary until the semi-final and final when he upped his game and was the worthy winner in the end.
10. Jose De Sousa
Made it to the quarter final last week but went down to William O’Connor. He is showing better form, but does he look like a winner in waiting? Not really. He has lost three quarter finals and three semi-finals this season, and while he is giving himself chances to go all the way, he isn’t taking them.
11. Dimitri van den Bergh
Not in good form having lost five of his last ten matches. He barely averaged 80 when losing 3-6 to William O’Connor. He had been playing very well in the summer, winning two World Series titles and making the semi-final of the World Matchplay, so last weekend’s flop was a bit of a surprise. Dimitri may have just been feeling tired after playing in Australia and New Zealand, where he played some good stuff but was also inconsistent.
12. Danny Noppert
Another of our selections last week who went out early, losing 1-6 to Rusty-Jake Rodriguez. He has stepped up in 2022, winning the UK Open and players championship 19. He was runner up in ET 8 and ET4 and lost three players championship semi-finals and the World Matchplay semi-final. Noppert is having plenty of good runs and hopefully last weekend was just a bit of rust in his game after the break.
13. Jonny Clayton
The Ferret has only a solitary World Series title to his name in 2022. He went out to a ton plus checkout by Dave Chisnall in the second-round last weekend, but he didn’t play well. He was a bit flat in the World Series down under, but still won a title. Needs to get back to his heavy scoring, but he is never far away from his A game.
14. Krzysztof Ratajski
Continues to struggle. He has lost five of his last ten matches and was very poor when averaging 80 and losing 4-6 to Ryan Meikle last weekend. He was runner up to Aspinall in PC22 before the summer break, beating Noppert, Van den Bergh and Price enroute, so a good run would not be a surprise. However, his win rate is just 57% and his seasonal average has dropped a couple of points.
This will be his last chance to qualify for the European Championship. He is £2k short of the provisional top 32 who qualify, and he has not qualified for the final two events. Ratajski needs to at least to make the third round, and in reality, the quarters or better.
15. Martin Schindler
Has been playing well in 2022, winning 64% of his matches. He reached the semi-final of PC24 just before the summer break. He also reached the semi-final of PC20 in July, the final of PC8 in March and the semi-final of PC6. Plenty of good runs on the floor.
On the Euro Tour he reached the quarter finals of ET3 and ET7. He has played 15 and won 8. His last four ET defeats have all ended 5-6. He will be looking to emulate Max Hopp’s win in 2018 and while that might be asking too much, he is one to keep onside in the early rounds.
16. Dave Chisnall
Dave Chisnall is one of the winning most players around with a win rate of 73%. He missed his chances in the semi-final against Cullen last weekend, and his habit of losing near the finish line continues. He was a beaten semi-finalist here in 2019 and repeat of that would not be a surprise. Winning it would.
Notable Unseeded Players
It was a good weekend for the unseeded players last week, with one, William O’Connor, making the final. He was the fifth non-seed to reach an ET final in 2022 and the third in a row, after Rusty Jake Rodriguez and Danny Noppert. Noppert has reached two ET finals as a non-seed this year, but he is now a seeded player with one less match to win. There could be some each way value amongst the 32 players entering at the first-round stage.
Jamie Hughes had hit some good form before the summer break, winning seven of his last ten. Consistency still needs to improve but we are seeing a lot more of his A-game and a decent run for Yozza, the 2019 Czech Open winner, would not be a surprise.
Rock Needs More Time
Josh Rock made his second ET quarter final last week. He has lost both those matches 1-6 which suggests he still has to gain more experience before he starts winning at senior level. He is one of the unseeded players that nobody wants to draw.
Lewis Williams has lost just one of his last fourteen matches, but that was at Development Tour level. There are a few other players playing at the first-round stage who have been winning plenty of matches at Development and Challenge Tour level, including Keane Barry, Scott Williams (who has won a senior level having picked up PC17 in June), Lucas Wenig and Dragutin Horvat. Williams is one of the lucky ones to get a bye into round two and a guaranteed £2k in prizemoney.
The Draw
The late withdrawals have meant the draw has been changed and a re-write required. I hate late withdrawals.
The top quarter is now headed by Luke Humphries. He will be the top seed for the rest of the season on the Euro Tour. He is joined by Dave Chisnall, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Joe Cullen as the seeds. They are joined by Joe Murnan who gets a bye into round two and plays Joe Cullen.
This quarter also features the in-form Jamie Hughes, Daryl Gurney, the interesting Scott Williams and tournament specialist Ian White. That is a tough quarter but perhaps Dirk can make amends for his early exit last weekend. He is the heaviest scorer in the field on recent form and he deserves respect for that.
Second Quarter
The second quarter looks good for Peter Wright. He has a good record against the other players and he will be hungry to get back to work, but it is a tough group and he will have to bring his A game. Wright played well last week, averaging a ton in defeat, but I will stick with Noppert. His draw is decent and hopefully last weeks early exit was just a blip.
The third quarter looks to be between Price and Aspinall. On form, Aspinall is the better player, winning more matches and is a better price. I am concerned by his record at the sharp end of tournaments, but he can do it. Hopefully he learned something from his very poor semi-final performance last weekend. Did he get ahead of himself up against O’Connor?
Weakest Quarter
The fourth quarter looks to be the weakest and I fancy Rob Cross to make it to the semi-final. He flopped last week, but like the others, I will give him another chance as it was the first event after the break and some players were just not firing on all cylinders. Josh Rock is a danger to anyone in the quarter, although he has an interesting first round match against another hot young player, Geert Nentjes.
Betfair have not taken MVG or Smith out of the betting, but that is their fault. It has been known since yesterday. However they are unlikely to take more than a few quid, so the more realistic alternative is listed.
