REIGNING CHAMP IN FOR A BIG ROUND 1 BATTLE
New South Wales Champion and Premier League table topper Jonny Clayton faces a real opening First Round battle in the Boylesports World Grand Prix, after being drawn against Team Netherlands World Cup star and recent World Series of Darts finalist Dirk van Duijvenbode in Leicester.
The Ferret who is ranked number 7 for the competition has enjoyed a decent year in the PDC having been the only player to win four nights in the Premier League whilst also dropping just two legs in his Semi Final and Final victories down under, beating good mate Joe Cullen 7-1 in the Semis before an 8-1 victory over James Wade secured him the title.
The Red Dragon star is the defending champion having beat Gerwyn Price 5-1 in last year’s Final, making history with the match being the first All Welsh PDC Major televised Final.
His opponent also known as the Aubergenius is no stranger to the World Grand Prix having reached the Final himself two years ago where he lost to the World Number 1 Price during the lockdown period where no crowds entered the events.
The 2020 Grand Prix in my eyes must be seen as the catalyst in the career of the Dutchman having been a tough player to beat during many competitions, with Michael Smith struggling in the Matchplay to deal with the Titan after losing 11-7.
Peter Wright will face Kim Huybrechts who knocked Michael van Gerwen out of the recent Belgian Darts Open in Wieze in the first round.
Snakebite won his first title on the Euro Tour in September after beating Dimitri van den Bergh in the Final of the German Darts Open. The Livingston born thrower missed the three-part World Series tour of Australia due to health reasons but has returned with some quality arrows which was showcased massively in Jena.
The Red Dragon man hasn’t won anything on the television this year having missed out on a spot at Premier League Finals night because of a defeat to Joe Cullen on Night 16 in Newcastle, seeing the Rockstar hit all six darts in hand at double sixteen recording a 100% double checkout rate in what was a crucial tungsten tussle.
Masters Champion Cullen will face Damon Heta having been drawn against the Australian now based in Ilkeston, after he moved over from the DPA to compete in PDC events.
The Winmau man also won the first time on the Euro Tour this month, after beating William O’Connor 8-2 to win the event in Budapest following up wins over the likes of Dave Chisnall, Jim Williams, and Martin Lukeman.
The World Grand Prix starts on Monday live on Sky Sports with Danny Noppert in action against Gabriel Clemens whilst Daryl Gurney goes up against eighth seed Rob Cross in Leicester.
By Harry Masterson
Boylesports World Grand Prix 2022 Draw:
Gerwyn Price (1) v Martin Schindler
Joe Cullen v Damon Heta
Rob Cross (8) v Daryl Gurney
Madars Razma v Ryan Searle
Michael Smith (4) v Nathan Aspinall
Danny Noppert v Gabriel Clemens
James Wade (5) v Martin Lukeman
Ross Smith v Andrew Gilding
Peter Wright (2) v Kim Huybrechts
Callan Rydz v Krzysztof Ratajski
Jonny Clayton (7) v Dirk van Duijvenbode
Dimitri van den Bergh v Dave Chisnall
Michael van Gerwen (3) v Gary Anderson
Brendan Dolan v Stephen Bunting
Jose de Sousa (6) v Adrian Lewis
Chris Dobey v Luke Humphries