The European Championship darts tournament takes place in Hasselt in Belgium this weekend as the 32 most successful players from the 2016 European Tour go in search of a major title and the handy £100,000 first prize.
Unlike some of the other events the qualifiers for this tournament have been taken from the Order of Merit made up from the 10 European Tour events which has meant that some big names including Adrian Lewis and Raymond Barneveld have failed to make it here.
Recent Winners
2015 – Michael van Gerwen
2014 – Michael van Gerwen
2013 – Adrian Lewis
2012 – Simon Whitlock
2011 – Phil Taylor
2010 – Phil Taylor
2009 – Phil Taylor
2008 – Phil Taylor
The Format
The draw for the tournament has already been made and will be played out in a knockout format right from the start. The last 32 is played on Friday over the best of 11 legs before the last 16 is played on Friday in best of 19 leg matches.
Sunday afternoon sees the quarter finals played out, again over the best of 19 legs before the semi-final and the final complete the tournament on Sunday evening. Those matches are both the best of 21 legs.
Top Quarter
Michael van Gerwen aims for a third title in a row from this quarter but he will have to be on guard if he is to come through because there are some stern challenges in his way. The other seed in the quarter is Jelle Klaasen which could make for a decent quarter final.
The qualifiers in this area of the tournament are pretty strong too with the likes of Daryl Gurney, Simon Whitlock and Steve West all here not to mention proven quality in the form of Stephen Bunting and Michael Smith. Gerwyn Price is the other man in the section.
Second Quarter
James Wade is the main seed in this quarter of the draw but he’s landed a dog of a first round draw against the world champion Gary Anderson who amazingly isn’t seeded for this tournament. Kim Huybrechts is the other seed here.
Anderson is the biggest name of the qualifiers with the other five being James Wilson, Mervyn King, Devon Petersen, Max Hopp and Benito van de Pas. They will all be aiming to come through to the semi-final at least.
Third Quarter
Mensur Suljovic is probably a surprise top seed in this quarter but he has had an excellent run in Europe this season. Alan Norris is another surprising seed in the tournament and he is in this quarter too.
If you think that means the section is weak then think again because the qualifiers are of a top level. Phil Taylor is a non-seed in this quarter with Ian White, Terry Jenkins, Jermaine Wattimena, Chris Dobey and Joe Cullen the others.
Bottom Quarter
Peter Wright tops the seeding list in this quarter with the other one being Dave Chisnall. They are two men who will be glad to have been drawn away from Michael van Gerwen and will hope to capitalise on that.
In terms of the world rankings Robert Thornton heads the non-seeded players in this quarter. The other five are Kyle Anderson, Jamie Caven, James Richardson, Justin Pipe and the underrated Spaniard Cristo Reyes.
Betting
I think this could be a big weekend for Dave Chisnall. He currently occupies sixth place in the world rankings and he will want to stay there because a drop to seven or eight means he faces Michael van Gerwen or Gary Anderson in the quarter final of the World Championship should they all make it that far and that isn’t what Chizzy is after.
Chisnall had a European Tour event earlier in the season where he was drawn in the opposite half to van Gerwen and he made the final that weekend and that doesn’t surprise me because he can hold his own against anyone other than MVG who seems to save his best for Chisnall. If Chisnall plays MVG in this tournament he would already have landed the place money so at 16/1 he’s my outright punt here.
The second quarter is very tough on paper but one of Gary Anderson and James Wade will be leaving the tournament on the opening night and the winner might have overcome an emotional battle and could be vulnerable in the next round.
The man who could be in a position to take advantage of that is the home hopeful Kim Huybrechts. He wouldn’t face Wade or Anderson until the quarter final and even if it is one of them he can hold his own against either. If both exit before the quarter final then the 13/2 on the Belgian winning the section would look massive so I’m going to chance that.
Tips
Back D.Chisnall to win European Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 17.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back K.Huybrechts to win 2nd Quarter for a 2/10 stake at 7.50 with Coral
Back him here:
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