The opening night of the European Championship takes place in Gottingen on Thursday evening with the top half of the draw playing their first round matches and looking to progress to the longer formats over the weekend.
That means we get to see the number one seed Michael van Gerwen on the stage for the first time this weekend, while James Wade begins his title defence on what should be a wonderful night of darts out in Germany.
First Four Matches
We get underway in the tournament with a potentially close looking match between Joe Cullen and Mervyn King before the World Grand Prix finalist Dave Chisnall looks to overcome the significant sized challenge of Dimitri Van den Bergh to make his way into the heart of the competition. BDO world champion Glen Durrant is up third on the night when he faces the rapid throwing Ricky Evans before Adrian Lewis will look to attempt to get his career back on track against Simon Whitlock in a match where both men are probably past their best.
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Last Four Matches
The World Matchplay champion Rob Cross gets the second half of the evening underway when he takes on Darren Webster who will be looking to make up for a quiet campaign. James Wade then begin his title defence when he goes up against Jonny Clayton in a match where there could be a lot of missed doubles! Michael van Gerwen will then look to make it into the second round when he goes up against Ross Smith before the two Irishmen battle it out to end the evening when Daryl Gurney takes on William O’Connor.
Betting
I’ve already given Simon Whitlock a plug in the outright preview but I’ll take him at odds against to beat Adrian Lewis too. Whitlock is actually the higher ranked player of the two which could be significant. It certainly shows the decline that Lewis has undergone in recent seasons. The two have only met once in 2019 but it was on a European Tour stage in Denmark where Whitlock won 6-3. That could also be significant. The long-term prospects of both of these are indifferent but with Whitlock loving playing overseas he can be the call at 11/10 here.
Daryl Gurney hasn’t convinced in recent TV tournaments, bombing out in the first round of the World Grand Prix and not coming out of a group he could easily have qualified from in the Champions League. Missed doubles hampered him in both tournaments and if they come into play here William O’Connor is capable of taking him out. O’Connor is much improved these days and has won a tournament on the floor. He is a former finalist in one of the European Tour events and alongside Steve Lennon he made the final of the World Cup earlier in the year. If there is a big shock on Thursday night it could come here.
Tips
WON – Back S.Whitlock to beat A.Lewis for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with 888sport
Back him here:
Back W.O’Connor to beat D.Gurney for a 3/10 stake at 3.00 with Coral
Back him here:
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