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Leicester is renowned for its famous crisps factory but seven days of double-start darting crackers will be served up this week as the World Grand Prix returns to its temporary home away from Dublin, with Jonny Clayton beginning the defence of his accolade.
Clayton will be bidding to add his name to illustrious company as only the legendary Phil Taylor and Michael van Gerwen have managed to defend their double-start crown, with the Welshman without a ranking title of any significance to his name so far this season.
World number one Gerwyn Price, reigning world champion Peter Wright and World Matchplay winner Van Gerwen, the other members of the quartet often alluded to as the ‘fabulous four’, are all in equally tremendous form heading into the season’s third ranking major.
Price will be eyeing a third consecutive final in the unique tournament, something again only Taylor and Van Gerwen have achieved, while a number of outsiders will be vying to stop them in their tracks, including UK Open champion Danny Noppert.
QUARTER ONE
Gerwyn Price used to dislike the double-start format and it’s not difficult to understand why that was given he endured three first round exits in his first five appearances, although fast forward a few years and he’s now the tournament favourite bidding to reach a third successive final.
Price’s 43 percent from 1,026 attempts at his favoured double tops this season makes for good reading ahead of his clash with Martin Schindler in a repeat of July’s World Matchplay. Germany’s Schindler is yet to make a mark in the major tournaments, and debutants rarely enjoy too much success in the unique format.
It will immediately get tougher for Price in the second round as he faces either Joe Cullen or Damon Heta, who similarly meet in a Blackpool rematch. The Masters champion has endured four first round exits in six appearances and faces an Australian whose 45 percent makes him the most efficient double-hitter on the circuit. Cullen’s 47 percent from 554 attempts at double 16 is superior to that of Heta’s nonetheless.
Rob Cross and 2017 champion Daryl Gurney have both struggled with the double-start format in recent years. Cross’ 41 percent on the doubles ranks him 12th in the event and the former world champion has enjoyed the most prosperous season of the two, reaching three European Tour finals.
Him locking horns with former PDC Challenge Tour rival Ryan Searle would be quite the occasion in the second round. Searle, whose impressive 48 percent on double tops this season makes him the most efficient in the field on that segment, meets debutant Madars Razma. The Latvian’s approach could benefit him in a new format, however Searle should prevail and potentially reach the quarter-finals for a second successive year.
Prediction: Price beats Searle in the quarter-finals
QUARTER TWO
You’d have thought that the double-start format would heavily benefit James Wade, although the two-time champion has suffered four first round exits since reaching the 2014 final. Him and opening opponent Martin Lukeman are both inside the tournament’s top five double-hitters this season, but Wade’s form is relatively unknown as he was not in action throughout September.
Whoever prevails encounters either Andrew Gilding or Ross Smith and you’d have to favour Wade’s experience in the second round. Gilding reached his maiden European Tour final last weekend and has enjoyed a sensational season, while it was a last gasp qualification for Smith who has found some form in recent weeks.
The opposite half of this quarter is more difficult to call with two major champions and a two-time World Championship finalist involved. UK Open runner-up Danny Noppert backed that up with a semi-final at the World Matchplay in July but remains firmly under the radar, while Michael Smith and Nathan Aspinall lock horns in a potential blockbuster.
Both Smith and Aspinall have experienced satisfactory seasons with six titles between them. Smith will want to renew rivalries with Noppert in a repeat of the UK Open and Dutch Darts Championship finals, while Aspinall can’t be ignored as when he’s doubted he tends to exceed expectations.
Noppert’s doubling efficiency is within the world’s top eight, and the Dutchman meets Gabriel Clemens in the first round so certainly could have been handed a tougher tie. Having beaten Michael van Gerwen 12 months ago, he has more double-start pedigree than both of his more experienced rivals.
Prediction: Noppert beats Wade in the quarter-finals
QUARTER THREE
It’s nigh on impossible to successfully predict the exact outcome of this quarter. There’s the defending champion involved, three former runner-ups and a rising star who has won two televised titles this season.
Aside from reaching the final four years ago, Peter Wright’s double-start record is a horrendous one as the two-time world champion has endured five first round loses in his nine appearances. His route is an advantageous one nonetheless, as his opening opponent Kim Huybrechts as well as Callan Rydz and Krzysztof Ratajski have shown little signs of form in recent times.
It would be a significant surprise if the reigning world champion wasn’t to reach the quarter-finals, although any of the four players in the opposite section have an equal chance of doing similarly, despite defending champion Jonny Clayton being the obvious leading contender to do just that.
Clayton faces 2020 runner-up Dirk van Duijvenbode in a repeat of their thrilling affair at the recent Belgian Darts Open, where both averaged in excess of the 105 mark. Double 16 worked a treat for Clayton last year and his 49 percent from 636 attempts at that segment this season is unbelievable, but his Dutch opponent is dangerous.
Dave Chisnall’s double-start pedigree is impressive for someone not necessarily known for his doubling expertise and meets Dimitri Van den Bergh. Both are amongst the best double 18 hitters on the circuit with 49 and 45 percent for the season, and it’s a real coin flip affair based on recent form.
Prediction: Clayton beats Wright in the quarter-finals
QUARTER FOUR
World Matchplay and Premier League winner Michael van Gerwen will be heavily fancied to add another televised title to his 2022 haul. However, the world number three has suffered five defeats in his last seven matches since being crowned the champion in Blackpool and during the World Series of Darts in Australia.
His doubling during last weekend’s defeat to Kim Huybrechts in Belgium was shambolic to say the least. It may be fine turning a blind eye to those blips and expecting him to perform when the majors come around, although it proves that his frailties of the past few years remain, especially in the doubling department.
Van Gerwen’s first round tussle with Gary Anderson will receive plenty of attention, and Anderson has only lost in the first round once in eight editions. The Dutchman is a heavy favourite against someone expected to fall outside of the top 16 by the end of the season, before a favourable second round contest against former finalist Brendan Dolan or last year’s semi-finalist Stephen Bunting.
Luke Humphries, meanwhile, has whitewashed Van Gerwen in a European Tour event this season and could face the three-time world champion in the quarter-finals. A remarkable year has witnessed him secure three European Tour titles, and his 42 percent doubling efficiency ranks him sixth in the tournament.
Chris Dobey has experienced a relatively quiet campaign but will pose a threat to Humphries in round one, having reached the semi-finals three years ago. Jose de Sousa or Adrian Lewis await the winner, with both finding some form in recent weeks despite their consistency lacking and doubling sometimes erratic.
Prediction: Humphries beats Van Gerwen in the quarter-finals
Overall: Price beats Clayton in the final
Data courtesy of Darts Orakel system and correct at time of writing
