A month on from the World Matchplay, the PDC ranking events start up again this weekend when many of the stars of the game head to Vienna for the Austrian Darts Championship, the latest event on the European Tour.
This is the first staging of this particular event so someone will be winning the title for the first time this weekend. Michael van Gerwen will be the overwhelming favourite to walk off with the crown here.
The Format
We are using the same format as last season for these tournaments which means that the last 32 of the tournament is played over two sessions of action on Saturday, with the last 16 on Sunday afternoon and the quarter finals on Sunday night. They are all the best-of-11 legs with the semi-finals also on Sunday evening. They are the best-of-13 and then the final in the same session is the best-of-15 legs. The draw has been pre-determined and is played in a straight knockout format.
Top Half
Ian White has dominated the European Tour scene this season and he is the number two seed. The draw is lopsided this weekend so he is the main player in the top half of the bracket. A fair few big names are giving this weekend the miss which means that Gerwyn Price is the second highest seed in this half of the draw. The other seeded players are Simon Whitlock, Adrian Lewis, Michael Smith, Mensur Suljovic, Steve Beaton and Nathan Aspinall.
The qualifiers in this section aren’t as strong as a collective as some we have seen in previous European Tour events. James Wilson is probably the highest profiled one among them although Keegan Brown has been in good touch recently. Brendan Dolan and Vincent van der Voort are two more seasoned campaigners in this half of the draw. Christian Bunse, Cameron Menzies, Adam Gawlas and Rusty-Jane Rodriguez make up the rest of the section.
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Bottom Half
This is where the tournament favourite Michael van Gerwen will look to justify his number one seeding from. The Auckland Masters winner will be expected to win this tournament but some good players are up against him. The other seeds in this half of the draw are Daryl Gurney, Jonny Clayton, Peter Wright, Joe Cullen, Dave Chisnall, Ricky Evans and Darren Webster so there is enough to suggest the Dutchman won’t have this all his own way.
The seeded players are joined by some good quality qualifiers. They include Jeffrey de Zwaan and Kyle Anderson, both of whom could go deep here without too much invitation. Kirk Shepherd and Dimitri Van den Bergh have also made it through to this main draw as has the talented youngster Luke Humphries. Rowby-John Rodriguez, Mike De Decker and Dietmar Burger complete what is a competitive looking section.
Betting
I’ll take a couple of bets this weekend because I think this is the tournament to oppose the big names. It was only last weekend the likes of Michael van Gerwen, Peter Wright, Daryl Gurney et al were in New Zealand playing a World Series event so they’ve got to be knackered. In the top half of the draw I’ll side with the home man Mensur Suljovic. He looked in decent form in the Players Championship events earlier in the month and we know he is a class act. He’s also in front of his home crowd this week and that could be worth a leg or two in the closer matches. His draw looks perfectly negotiable as well so there is a lot to like about the quality Austrian star here.
Jeffrey de Zwaan nearly had a nine dart finish on Friday in his win to make it into the last 32 of the draw and while he could face Michael van Gerwen in the last 16, as I’ve mentioned I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t see the best of the Dutchman in this tournament. De Zwaan has wins over him under his belt anyway and so 35/1 offers just enough juice if this is a going weekend for the improving young star.
Tips
WON – Back M.Suljovic to win Austrian Darts Championship (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 21.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back J.de Zwaan to win Austrian Darts Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 36.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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