Despite the Covid-19 pandemic restricting the World Series roadshow to just a single event out in Copenhagen, the World Series of Darts Finals remains on the schedule and it takes place in Amsterdam this weekend.
Gerwyn Price became the third man to win this tournament last year and he has made it into the final stages to defend the title this time around. A decent, select field has been assembled for what should be a good weekend of action.
Recent Winners
2020 – Gerwyn Price
2019 – Michael van Gerwen
2018 – James Wade
2017 – Michael van Gerwen
2016 – Michael van Gerwen
2015 – Michael van Gerwen
The Format
We have a bit of a different format this week. We’ve only had one qualifying competition this year so the field is made up of the best players from that and then the rest of the great and good in the best attempt to grow the game across the world that has been possible in Covid-19 times. The 16 unseeded players meet over the best of 11 on Friday evening with the winners going through to face a seed in the second round over the same format on Saturday evening. The tournament concludes on Sunday with the best of 19 quarter finals before the semi-finals and final over the best of 21 legs.
Seeds
Michael van Gerwen won that event in Copenhagen last month and so he is the number one seed and in the top half of the draw this week. He beat Fallon Sherrock in the final which makes her the number two seed. The two beaten semi-finalists were Dimitri Van den Bergh and Jonny Clayton so they also have seeded spots in this draw. They are the third and the fourth seeds respectively with their positions determined by their world ranking.
The four quarter finalists from the competition in Copenhagen also get into the event as seeded players. They were again sorted into position by their world ranking which means that world number one, world champion and defending champion here Gerwyn Price is the number five seed, Peter Wright begins the weekend as the number six seed, Gary Anderson is seeded seven and the surprise package of Madars Razma is the eighth seed.
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Unseeded Players
These are the players who were invited into the draw. It is a strange quirk of the event that the Premier League finalist Jose de Sousa is unseeded but that is where we are at. Also unseeded is the former champion James Wade. Also among the unseeded stars this weekend are Nathan Aspinall, Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall, who will all be looking for a TV title to get their career back on track or in the case of the latter two take it to the next level.
There are plenty of European players who will be looking to have big weekends here with the leader of those probably the man from Poland in the form of Krzysztof Ratajski but the World Grand Prix semi-finalist Danny Noppert might have a bit to say about that as well. Vincent van der Voort, Kim Huybrechts, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Gabriel Clemens are just some of the other European players looking to come to prominence this weekend.
Betting
I’ll go with a couple of players over the course of the weekend with both of them in the bottom half of the draw which looks the safest part given that Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price both sit in the top half of it. I think Krzysztof Ratajski has to be backed here. I say that because with no disrespect but if he overcomes Gabriel Clemens in the first round, and he has beaten the German in all of their seven matches to date, then he will face Fallon Sherrock for a quarter final place. I’m not disrespecting Fallon as she is a class act but along with Madars Razma she is the seed you’d like in the second round. Should the Pole still be in at the quarter final stage the worst draw would be Gary Anderson who is in no form at all right now. Ratajski is getting better on the big stage but keeps on running into monster performances. I don’t really see where one of them is coming until the latter stages here so the 20/1 on him looks a sensible investment.
I’ll also pay to see how well Danny Noppert goes here too. In the last two TV events he has made the semi-finals of the World Grand Prix and the quarter finals of the European Championship where he was edged out in a classic battle by Nathan Aspinall. There is no doubt in my mind that Noppert is capable of taking a TV title of this kind down. He has mentioned in a few interviews how he is happy with life at the minute and while Jose de Sousa isn’t exactly a plum first round draw, if he can come through that he goes up against Dimitri Van den Bergh who hasn’t played on TV since bombing out of the World Grand Prix in the first round. That would be over the best of 11 so while Noppert would be an outsider in that, with the crowd behind him it wouldn’t be a total shock if he comes through. At 50/1, with the form he’s in, he’s worth a smaller investment.
Tips
Back K.Ratajski to win World Series of Darts (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
Back D.Noppert to win World Series of Darts (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 with Betfair (1/2 1-2)
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