The darts calendar catches fire for the next couple of months with a big tournament nearly every weekend between now and the end of January and it all begins in Belgium when the European Championship takes place in Hasselt.
Michael van Gerwen goes in search of a fourth title in a row, something only Phil Taylor has done in the same event so he will be looking for a piece of history here but there are many challengers looking to nail a major title and the rewards the come with it.
Recent Winners
2016 – Michael van Gerwen
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 32 men in the field have already been drawn into the tournament bracket. The first round of the event takes place on Thursday night and Friday afternoon over the best of 11 legs before the second round and quarter finals are over the best of 19 legs on Friday evening, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. The tournament concludes with the semi-finals and the final over the best of 21 legs on Sunday evening.
Top Half
Defending champion and number one seed Michael van Gerwen is in the top half of the draw this week. Given that there are only eight seeds in this tournament the three opposing him in this part of the draw are Simon Whitlock, Mensur Suljovic and Jelle Klaasen.
There are some standout names among the non-seeds here too. Alan Norris, Ian White, Mervyn King, Kyle Anderson and the home hero Kim Huybrechts will all be looking to prove they should be ranked higher.
Bottom Half
German Masters winner Peter Wright is the leading seed in the bottom half for this tournament. Joe Cullen, Michael Smith and Rob Cross were the other three players who performed well enough on the European Tour to be seeded in this section as well.
As with the top half, the bottom half has some dangerous unseeded players. Jonny Clayton won a tour event earlier in the month while Stephen Bunting, World Grand Prix winner Daryl Gurney, Dave Chisnall and Benito van de Pas are capable of winning any tournament they enter. The Winmau World Masters winner Krzysztof Ratajski could be a live danger in here too.
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Betting
We saw Michael van Gerwen pull out injured in the German event last week so maybe this is the week to take him on in both halves. He is adamant that he is fit to defend the title but given that he faces playing three lengthy matches on Sunday should he get that far he’ll have to be. I have my doubts.
In that top half it could be worth persevering with the World Grand Prix finalist Simon Whitlock. He often plays well in Europe. He is a former winner and finalist in this tournament and has made the latter stages of a number of the European Tour events this season. He has lost to MVG on the big stage a fair bit this year but if the Dutchman is injured this could be the weekend Whitlock gets his own back on the way to a second European Championship title.
Dave Chisnall needs a big weekend to get himself going ahead of this busy period that is coming up. In fairness he hasn’t been playing badly but he either runs into a terrific performance or he misses doubles at the wrong time and it has been costing him. He has a draw which he can exploit this weekend and if he can find some confidence on the doubles these sorts of formats are perfect for him.
Tips
Back S.Whitlock to win European Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Ladbrokes (1/3 1-2)
Back him here:
Back D.Chisnall to win European Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with Bet365 (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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