Here’s a quick preview to the European Championships which starts today, in this piece I will be looking at the First Round games and how those could pan out. The event takes place in Oberhausen and could we see a new name on the trophy or will a previous name get their hands on it again.
First game of the day will be Jamie Hughes v Dave Chisnall which promises to be a close game. Both haven’t had the best of seasons and will be looking to kick-start their season with a win here, both are heavy scorers especially Chisnall but their doubles can let them down at times and for me this match will come down to who can hit those doubles.
Next it will be the in-form Krzysztof Ratajski against Steve West, Ratajski will be expecting to win this one but West on his day can be a very dangerous player. During his PDC tenure Ratajski has gone from strength to strength but hasn’t quite reached the heights on TV tournaments, could this be the tournament for him to make a mark on TV?
Two veterans of the stage will be next as Mervyn King takes on Ian White, both have enjoyed good runs on the European Tour in previous events and this promises to be a good game, some say that White is the best player in the PDC never to make a televised final but we all know if Mervyn King turns up…
The Maverick Jose de Sousa takes to the stage next as he takes on Dutch youngster Jeffrey de Zwaan. Jose de Sousa has been in great form this season and picked up his first Euro Tour title at ET3 defeating Michael van Gerwen in the final. Jeffrey de Zwaan has had an indifferent season but did show flashes of his brilliance at the World Grand Prix, de Sousa hasn’t done as well on TV as Jeffrey therefore this one could be a close one.
James Wade takes on Steve Lennon in the next game, Wade reached the quarter finals of ET4 and has been in decent form throughout the year while Lennon hasn’t really kicked on from reaching the World Cup Final in 2019 alongside Willie O’Connor, Wade will be expecting victory however Lennon can be a threat and can hit those high averages.
The in-form and much improved Devon Petersen is up next as he takes on Andy Hamilton, Devon won his first PDC title at ET2 and has grown from strength to strength in 2020 while Hamilton has done a great job over the four events to make the European Championships. Devon is one of the best 180 hitters in the game however his doubles could improve. Andy pushed MVG all the way last week and will be looking to go that one step further against Devon.
It’s the battle of the Smiths next as Michael takes on Ross, both made the latter stages of ET4 with both losing out to the eventual champions Joe Cullen. Ross made the quarters of ET4 which enabled him to qualify for this event while Michael will be looking to finally get over the line in a major TV event. Both can hit ridiculously high averages and hopefully we’ll get the same in this game between the both.
It’s an all Dutch affair next as Danny Noppert takes on Dirk van Duijvenbode, both have had great seasons, Noppert more often than not wins his board at the Pro Tour events and has deep runs in the Euro Tour events. van Duijvenbode made the final at the World Grand Prix after a great run which saw him beat Gary Anderson and Simon Whitlock. It promises to be a great game between two players who have much different styles.
Up next it will be Nathan Aspinall as he takes on Maik Kuivenhoven, Aspinall reached the final of the Premier League and will be looking to have another deep run at a televised event, Kuivenhoven is making his European Championships debut and has performed well on the European Tour this year but faces an uphill task against the in-form Aspinall.
The top seed is next as Joe Cullen takes on Willie O’Connor. Cullen takes his position as first seed after a great victory at ET4 while O’Connor comes in after Glen Durrant had to pull out due to health reasons. Cullen will be looking to kick-on after his victory last week at Riesa while O’Connor will be looking to channel his inner Simon Whitlock who reached the semi-finals at the World Grand Prix after coming in to replace a player who had to pull out through health reasons.
The defending champion is up next as Rob Cross faces a tough game against PDC newcomer Martijn Kleermaker who’s had a decent first season after switching over while Cross has struggled for form this year. Cross has shown glimpses but hasn’t been able to put performances together while Kleermaker has made an impact and will be considering this a winnable game.
Home Favourite Max Hopp is next as he takes on Welshman Jonny Clayton. Hopp has been displaced as German no.1 recently by Gabriel Clemens and is facing a tough game against ‘The Ferret’, who’s as steady as they come and reached the final of ET2, Hopp will have to be on his best if he’s to take out the Welshman.
Michael van Gerwen takes to the stage next as he takes on Lithuanian Darius Labanauskas, they faced off in the World Championships quarter-final where MVG came out on top but he has struggled for form this year and Labanauskas as a consistent standard nower days and will pose a problem for the world no.1. If MVG is on his best he’ll win but often enough this year he’s been nowhere near his best and Labanauskas will fancy his chances of causing an upset.
After the world no.1 takes to the stage, it will be the world no.2 as Gerwyn Price takes on Kim Huybrechts. Price has been in brilliant form this year winning the World Series and World Grand Prix but has lost 3 out of the last 4 on the Euro Tour so Huybrechts might fancy his chances, it will be an uphill task for the Belgian but he’s more than capable. Price will expect victory but will need a good performance to get through.
The World Champion is up next as he takes on another home favourite in Gabriel Clemens. Peter Wright will be in for a tought test against the German no.1 and will have to put in a performance to get the better of Clemens, Wright usually does come up with his A-game on the TV and will fancy a victory agains Clemens however the crowd will be behind him and could spur him on to victory.
The marathon sessiond comes to it’s culmination as Mensur Suljovic takes on Daryl Gurney, Suljovic has improved in the last few weeks and reached the semi-finals of ET4 and made the final of this event a few years ago but was hammered by evenutal champion Michael van Gerwen. Daryl Gurney hasn’t quite put in the performances he would expect this year but did well in the Premier League to avoid relegation, this could be a close game and both will fancy their chances of progressing to the second round.
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