The third European Tour event of the season takes place over the Easter Weekend when the stars of the game head to Munich for the German Darts Grand Prix, the latest event on the road for qualification to the European Championship later in the year.
Michael van Gerwen cleaned up to defend the title here last year and he will be looking to make a successful defence of it over the course of the weekend, but we’ve already seen others challenge him this season and many will be out to do so again.
Recent Winners
2018 – Michael van Gerwen
2017 – Michael van Gerwen
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
Michael van Gerwen is once again the top seed as he will be in every one of these events you would think. He is expected to come through this half of the draw but the likes of Rob Cross and Mensur Suljovic should have something to say about that. There are some other form men in this half of the draw too. Dave Chisnall is having a good year while Daryl Gurney won the previous European Tour event. Michael Smith, Danny Noppert and Jonny Clayton are the other seeded players.
There are some decent names among the qualifiers and they are headed by Stephen Bunting. Krzysztof Ratajski is another big name among the qualifiers. Ricky Evans will be a popular man for as long as he is in the tournament while Kyle Anderson and Josh Payne won’t be here to make up the numbers. Ted Evetts, Michael Rastovitzs and Arron Monk complete the top half.
Bottom Half
Ian White goes into the weekend as the second seed after his exploits last term but there are some decent names opposing him this weekend too, not least James Wade who is looking for a third weekend title in a row. Max Hopp is sure to have the crowds on side this weekend while Peter Wright and Adrian Lewis are dangerous anytime they are in a tournament. Simon Whitlock, Joe Cullen and Darren Webster at the other seeds.
The BDO world champion Glen Durrant stands tall among the qualifiers in this part of the draw while Kim Huybrechts has the chance to return to former glories. In truth though, there is a weak looking feel to the rest of the qualifiers with Nathan Derry, Karel Sedlacek, Keegan Brown, Ritchie Edhouse, Ross Smith and Cristo Reyes all lining up to stake their claim over the two days.
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Betting
With most of the qualifiers or lower seeds that I would want to take a punt on this week in the top half of the draw I’m going to restrict myself to one outright bet over the weekend although I might reassess that heading into Monday should the draw completely open up over the course of Sunday as it so often does.
There is nothing unoriginal about backing James Wade this weekend but he is playing so well at the minute that it has to be done. He won both tournaments on the floor last weekend and got a good win over Peter Wright in the Premier League on Thursday evening. If Wright is the main danger in his half of the draw this week then that result will be extremely significant. I would expect Wade to cruise into the quarter final at the very least and from there he should be tough to stop on Sunday evening.
Tips
Back J.Wade to win German Darts Grand Prix (e/w) for a 2/10 stake at 17.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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