2022 Belgian Darts Open Preview and Tips – JP
2022 Belgian Darts Open Preview
The 2022 Belgian Darts Open is the penultimate European Tour event and the clock is ticking for those players on the cusp of qualification for the European Championships. Players who are here this weekend and who need to pick up more ranking money include Boris Krčmar, Simon Whitlock, Gabriel Clemens, Keane Barry, Merv King and Kim Huybrechts.
They all have a chance of qualification, especially Krčmar, Whitlock and Clemens, but the others would need big runs and to reach the very latter stages.
There have been three withdrawals from the event. Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith and number 1 seed, Luke Humphries have all taken the weekend off. Schindler, Clemens and Lewis are therefore promoted to seeded status. At least this weekend, it has been possible to fill the gaps with three local qualifiers who played on Thursday.
2022 Belgian Darts Open – The Seeds
1. Michael van Gerwen
Has picked up 8 titles in 2022 and he is on the short list as a result. He still isn’t the player he was, but you can’t knock his achievements in 2022. However, losing four of his last six matches is enough to leave him unbacked at 0dds of 5.00.
2. Rob Cross
Still looking for that elusive first Euro Tour title. Three times a runner up in 2022 and in great form before the summer break, Cross hasn’t impressed in his three matches since the holidays, losing two from three. Once again, Cross has ended up with a decent draw, at least to the quarter final stage, but he hasn’t been able to take advantage recently.
3. Damon Heta
Continues to be one of the very heaviest scorers in the game but is still failing to convert that into tournament wins. He has only won two of his last ten matches and remains very expensive to follow.
4. Nathan Aspinall
Another player who has gone off the boil. He has won six of his last ten matches but five have seen sub 90 averages.
5. Ryan Searle
What has happened to Ryan Searle? He has lost his last five matches in a row and failed to average over 90 in any of them.
6. Peter Wright
I expect to see Snakebite back in the winner’s enclosure again sooner rather than later. Winner of the last ET event, he is averaging just under a ton over the last three months and since coming back from surgery, Wright has played nine and won seven, averaging over 98 in all of them. Like Cross, he has got a decent draw and looks to be a live chance this weekend.
7. Dirk van Duijvenbode
Runner up to Gerwyn Price at the weekend, Dirk has won six of his last ten and he may have just lost a little bit of form despite making the final on Sunday. He has played 22 ET matches in 2022 and won 11, never getting beyond the quarter final stage. He should be getting into more finals but his game is in good shape and he is reasonable value at 17.00.
8. Joe Cullen
Rockstar has won eight of his last ten matches and reached a final and semi-final in the last two euro tour events. He hasn’t performed well in his last four matches, averaging 88 across the four. He can win ugly these days and can be considered a possible winner. However, the re-jigged draw sees him in the tricky 1st quarter.
9. Danny Noppert
Another whose form has dropped off, losing five of his last ten matches. Having made the final of two earlier ET events, he has now lost his last three opening matches in a row.
10. Jonny Clayton
Looked like his best form is coming back last weekend. He reached the semi-final but lost 8-11 to Van Duijvenbode. He isn’t quite there yet, but he is never far away from his best. He has won six of his last ten matches and still needs to find a bit more consistency and fewer stray darts. The Ferret is drawn to play Dirk van Duijvenbode in the third round and that match may decide the winner of that quarter of the draw.
11. Dimitri van den Bergh
Reached the final of the last euro tour event but he never really looked in great nick. Still looks a bit out of sorts despite that run to the final.
12. Jose de Sousa
Lost out to Van den Bergh in the last ET semi-final. His last seven matches have all been euro tour events and he has played seven and won five. Still lacking in the consistency required to win these titles.
13. Dave Chisnall
Chizzy has won 73% of his matches in 2022 but he still can’t get a tournament win under his belt. His last title was back in 2019. He can have another good run but it’s hard to see him picking up the trophy. He has got a decent draw and could well get through his quarter of the draw, but then he gets into the squeaky bum zone.
14. Martin Schindler
Martin is having a decent season but maybe his form has tailed off a bit recently. He has won six of his last ten, but on the Euro tour he has lost four of his last five. He is likely to face the banana skin that is Karel Sedlacek in the second round.
15. Gabriel Clemens
Another on the cusp of the finals, but his record in the actual tournaments has been dire. He has played 12 matches, lost 9 and his ranking money has been compiled just by qualifying for so many events. He gets lucky by getting a bye into the second round after the three withdrawals.
The rules state that even if he loses his first match, as a technically unseeded player, he will be credited with the £2k prizemoney, unlike any of the players who were originally seeded. His opening match could decide if he makes the finals or not, but he will get a final roll of the dice in Gibraltar.
16. Adrian Lewis
With a seasonal win rate of 68%, Lewis had been flying under the radar until he won PC20 in mid-July. Since then, he has played five and won three but failed to average over 90 in any of those five. His wife’s illness continues to mean he cannot devote as much time to darts as he would like, so it’s likely that dip in scoring was a result of more problems off the oche for Lewis. It is hard to say how well he can go this weekend.
Notable un-seeded players
Boris Krčmar is eying up qualification for the finals. He is £1.5k off the current final place, and he has won six of his last ten matches overall, and six of his nine ET matches in 2022. This will be only his fourth ET event of the season, so he has done well to get within touching distance of the final. He is too inconsistent to win titles, but he is a tricky opponent, and his A game is very good. He has not qualified for the final ET of the season, so this is his last chance to make the finals.
Ross Smith has made the most of his chances on the ET this season, reaching two quarter finals from his four events and he is currently 25th in the Euro Tour OOM. A dangerous opponent and more so when he is feeling confident. He has just become a new first time dad, so will we see a bit of Nappy Factor inspiration?
The Wizard
Simon Whitlock has won seven of his ten ET matches in 2022. He has only played in three events and is very much in with a chance to make the finals. He lacks the consistency to win titles these days, but he is a great competitor and I fancy his chances of making the money he needs to make the finals. However, this is his last chance and he faces Andrew Gilding in the first round, with both players in the same boat.
Andrew Gilding is under pressure this weekend. He is 32nd and last on the provisional list for the finals. A win or two might well be enough but his mind will be on it and his first round match vs. Whitlock will be crucial. He will not be playing in the final event, so he can only make the finals by winning a match or two here. He was in great form in the summer, but he hasn’t played competitively for 6 weeks now, and he lost his last three matches before the break.
Scoring Power Lacking
Ryan Meikle lacks a bit of scoring power overall, but he has generally upped his game when playing on the euro tour. He has played ten matches and won six, reaching the quarter finals last time out. We don’t get to see enough of his A game, but he has the potential to cause the odd upset. He is provisionally in the finals, but only by a whisker and the pressure is on to get another win or two. If he can get past Gian van Veen, he faces the under pressure Clemens in the second round, so he has chances to make the finals.
Chris Dobey is in the same boat as Damon Heta. He scores very well but doesn’t convert that into tournament wins. His seasonal average has dropped nearly 3.5 points in 2022. He has won seven of his last ten matches but on the euro tour he has played eight and won just three. He is 31st on the ET O.O.M. and he will want to get some more prize money to cement his place in the finals. Remains hard to fancy.
Improving
Jamie Hughes is one of those players who didn’t need the summer break when it came. He was playing nicely and looked set for some good runs. After a year blighted by injury, he has improved his seasonal average by 2.6 points in 2022, but he is still shy of his 2019 form. Yozza is getting there and is a player to keep an eye on. Since the summer break he has played two and lost two. His euro tour record in 2022 is played four and lost four, and just getting a win would be a result.
Madars Razma is having a good season, despite his seasonal average dropping below 90. He isn’t usually the heaviest scorer, but he makes the most of his game and is win rate in 2022 is 64%. He has played well on the euro tour, playing 18 matches and winning 11. Madars has only lost one of his opening matches and has made one semi-final. Worth siding with early on.
Progress
Cameron Menzies was a bit of a figure of fun in years gone by, but he has made real progress in 2022, improving his seasonal average by 4.3 points. He has qualified for three previous ET events in 2022 and won all three opening matches, but then lost all three second rounds.
Karel Sedlacek has been racking up wins on the Challenge Tour at a rate of 70% in 202. He has made a habit of qualifying for these Euro Tour events and is already safely through to the finals. He has played 14 ET matches and won 6, reaching a quarter final. A good underdog in the early matches.
2022 Belgian Darts Open – Ante Post Selections
MVG is the favourite to win the tournament but his propensity to miss too many of the big shots these days makes odds of 5.00 look a little thin on value. The first quarter is not the toughest but I can’t see a value selection form the top section of the draw.
The second quarter is another quandary. Dave Chisnall would be my bet to make the semi-finals, but I can’t back him to win titles. I will take a flyer and have a go with new dad, Ross Smith to make the final. He has made two ET quarter finals already this year and played very well to beat Danny Noppert and Damon Heta in the last euro tour event, before folding like cheap suit against Peter Wright in the quarter final. Maybe the Nappy Factor can lift his game that bit more and he could be a surprise package this weekend.
Third Quarter
The third quarter contains two potential tournament winners, Jonny Clayton and Dirk van Duijvenbode. Both players have the game to win and are playing well, with a little room for improvement. Dirk got the better of The Ferret last weekend and I’ll take him to have another good run.
Peter Wright is the final selection. Nobody has been scoring better than Snakebite in the last few months and I can see him going back-to-back with euro tour titles this weekend.
