2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy Preview

This will be the last time we get to enjoy the unique delights of the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy. No more the heaving masses fighting for seats on a Friday, to be replaced with yet another tournament in Germany next year. Eight glorious years consigned to the dustbin of Euro Tour (ET) history.

In its eight years there have been six different winners and Michael van Gerwen is the only multiple winner with three titles. The last four winners have been Michael smith in 2017, MVG in 2018, Krzysztof Ratajski in 2019 and Gerwyn Price last year after a 1 year hiatus due to the Covid 19 lockdown.

Others in this year’s event with some good tournament form are two time runners up Dave Chisnall and Mensur Suljovic, along with Nathan Aspinall and Daryl Gurney, who are both two time semi-finalists.

Will Everyone Turn Up?

As ever with the ET, it remains to be seen if all the seeded players, and indeed unseeded qualifiers actually turn up. Luke Humphries became a first-time dad on Monday. He doesn’t need any more ranking points and might very well stay at home with his new family. MVG just won the Grand Prix and might want the weekend off. Gerwyn Price is a regular no show.

That’s the three top seeds and if they don’t turn up, we have a very different looking tournament. I will do the usual preview as per the entry list, but no doubt there will be a re-write on Friday morning.

As of 9.00 am this morning, there are only two no shows and neither seeded players. Karel Sedlacek and Krzysztof Kciuk have withdrawn and have been replaced with two more local qualifiers. Hopefully that remains the case.

2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy: The Seeds

1. Luke Humphries

His mind wasn’t on the job at the Grand Prix, and we went out in the first round. As a new dad, we can expect a nappy factor form boost, if he turns up, and it looks like he has.

2. Michael van Gerwen

Picked up his ninth title and second ranking major of the season when winning the Grand prix on Sunday. He is a three-time winner here and has a good chance to add one more, but can he be arsed to turn up? It seems so.

3. Gerwyn Price

Strangely flat in the Grand Prix semi-final. Price won the first ET event of the season but since then he has played in just four more ET tournaments with just three matches won from eight. How he plays depends on his motivation, but at least he is here.

4. Michael Smith

The 2017 champion, Smith had his usual early exit at the Grand Prix. He has lost five of his last ten matches and his great form of the early summer has gone.

5. Rob Cross

Cross has never made much of an impact in this event. His form has dropped off since the summer break and in the last five weeks he has played just six matches and won two. It is hard to get a read on his game as a result, but his confidence is getting a kicking after ending the first half of the season with a win in the players championship.

6. Damon Heta

I am getting like a stuck record when it comes to Heta. He is the highest scoring disappointment at the moment and has been for a while now. He has won just two of his last twelve matches and he must be hugely frustrated. He has reached two ET semi-finals, but since the summer break his ET form is played four, lost three.

7. Nathan Aspinall

Runner up to MVG at the weekend and he will have taken heart from reaching the final. He has never won on the ET but has reached three semi-finals this year, and the semi-final here in the last two years. Expect another good run.

8. Ryan Searle

Never been further than a quarter final on the ET and his recent form is poor, winning just one of his last eight matches and one of his five since the summer break. Opposable.

9. Peter Wright

Snakebite reached the semi-final last weekend but never looked on it. His changing of equipment reached new levels of madness and he made a bit of a tit of himself by talking himself up, and MVG down. He did win ET11 four weeks ago and his overall form remains good, and he cannot be dismissed, despite disappointing last week.

10. Dirk van Duijvenbode

Is not in his best form, losing five of his last ten matches. His B game is good enough to get him so far and we do see the A game quite often. A good run would be no surprise, but two quarter finals on the 2022 ET is a poor return on his talents.

11. Joe Cullen

Six wins from his last ten matches and the winner of ET10 last month means that Cullen can be considered here. His consistency isn’t rock solid, but his game is in decent shape.

12. Danny Noppert

I may be talking through my wallet, but Noppert was a bit unlucky last week. Yes, from 2-0 he should have beaten Wright, and from 0-2 in the final set, he should have won, but the drunks got to him, and Aspinall’s intervention didn’t help. He is a two-time ET runner up this year, is playing well and is never far from the shortlist.

13. Jonny Clayton

It isn’t quite happening for The Ferret in 2022. Lots of good runs, but he isn’t converting many into tournament wins with just a World Series title to his name this season.

14. Dimitri van den Bergh

Another two-time runner up on the ET in 2022. He has lost four of his last six matches and while he has enjoyed some good runs of late, he doesn’t look at his best.

15. Jose de Sousa

We are seeing more of De Sousa’s A game again and the last part of the jig saw is consistency. He has lost two semi-finals and another good run is possible, but that consistency isn’t there yet.

16. Dave Chisnall

It took three years to get the monkey off his back, but by winning the Belgian Darts Open four weeks ago, Chizzy finally got his hands on a trophy. He has been one of the best players this season and it will be very interesting to see if he can kick on from that win and pick up more trophies before the end of the season. He is a two-time runner up here and he is another for the shortlist.

Leading unseeded players

Ryan Joyce

Reached the quarter final at the World Series finals and while that isn’t a ranking event, it will have given his confidence a boost. He is a streaky player and when he’s good, he is a dangerous opponent. He has won six of his last ten and while a long run is unlikely, he could make the final days play.

William O’Connor

A surprise runner up last time out at Hungarian Darts Trophy last month. He has won six of his last ten matches and had been showing flashes of very good form in Late July and August, so it wasn’t a total shock. That run moved him to 37th on the ET OOM and he needs to reach at least the third round, or possibly the quarter final, to qualify for the European Championship.

Mensur Suljovic

Is giving Gary Anderson a run for his money in the light playing schedule department. He hasn’t played since just before the summer break when he reached the quarter final of PC24. The Gentle is a two-time runner up here, including last year when he was whitewashed by Gerwyn Price. What kind of form he is in is just pure guess work.

Keegan Brown

On the cusp on the OOM top 64 and needs to pick up more money to keep his playing rights. Did himself no harm by winning PC24 just before the summer break. A good performance with his back against the wall.

Josh Rock

Continues to set a sensational standard at Development level, winning yet another title last week and qualifying for the final of the World Youth Championship. He hasn’t won at senior level yet, but it is only a matter of time. His odds however are now shrinking as the cat is well and truly out of the bag. He has reached a couple of ET quarter finals already this season and another good run almost has to be expected. There are worse 67.00 shots around.

Chris Dobey

One of the players on the cusp of the European Championship finals. He must win his first-round match to have a chance and probably needs to make the third round. He made the quarter finals at the Grand prix last week which will have given him a confidence boost. Hollywood has now won six of his last ten matches, but his ET form is poor, having played 9 and lost 6 in 2022.

2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy Ante Post Selections

Dave Chisnall 0.5 point e/w to win the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy @ 29.00 with Betfred

Danny Noppert 0.5 point e/w to win the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy @ 26.00 with Hills

Nathan Aspinall 0.5 point e/w to win the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy @ 19.00 with Ladbrokes, Hills

Joe Cullen 0.5 point e/w to win the 2022 Gibraltar Darts Trophy @ 26.00 Betfred

Josh Rock nearly got a pick at 67.00, but he has quite a tough draw, scheduled to meet Michael Smith in the second round and he has yet to get the better of Bully Boy.

Selected first round matches to follow around 30 mins before the start of today’s play. I will be covering the second and third rounds this weekend, but due to other commitments will have to leave it at that.

-JamesPunt