Ratajski Is a Player in Form – And That’s All-Important in Darts
Darts is a funny old game. Pro players hit a rich vein of form and are simply invincible for weeks and months on end. Then boom, suddenly their form goes to proverbial pot, and they cannot beat players they were once whitewashing.
Step forward Michael van Gerwen. World number one for seven consecutive seasons and then dismantled 5-0 by Dave Chisnall in the 2021 World Darts Championship.
The Dutch player has since been soundly beaten in every darting major he has played in the proceeding 11 months. Despite this outrageous loss in form, the 32-year-old still goes into this year’s World Championship ranked number three. He enjoys that status as dart’s rankings are based on prize-money won in ranking tournaments over two years. Suffice to say 2020 was a far better year for ‘Mighty Mike’.
The moral of the story is not to take the seedings too seriously. Jonny Clayton has been a winning machine in 2021 but many of his televised victories were not in ranking tournaments which means he is just seventh in the PDC’s Order of Merit.
A Quarter Draw At 7/1
So, based on form and not rankings, where is the best place to invest your money in the forthcoming William Hill World Championship?
An up-and-coming player in fine form that is probably ranked below his current seeding is Krzysztof Ratajski. The Polish arrowsmith is currently seeded a respectable 12. Last year he was 14, in 2019 he was 20, in 2018 he was 55.
An improving profile is a positive. But the fact he has yet to win a darting major is a negative. Fear not, we are not proposing you back the 44-year-old to win the tournament. Our suggestion is betting on him to simply win the second section of the World Championship draw.
This will involve Ratajski winning four consecutive matches and it really should not be that difficult for him to do it. Either Steve Lennon or Latvian Madars Razma will be his first opponent. If this tournament bracket goes to form (the highest ranked players winning) his next rival could be 21 seed Mervyn King. As that player is regressive it should not be a massive task.
Next up, a potential clash with Devon Petersen or Dimitri Van den Burgh. This could be a bigger test than who would wait Ratajski in the quarter finals. That will probably be either James Wade, Vincent van der Vort, Joe Cullen or Simon Whitlock.
Given Ratajski has made the quarter-final and semi-final stages of half of the eight darting majors played in 2021, accounting for these players would be no surprise.
All-in-all Ratajski is a classy improving player that has managed to avoid a clash with the big-three in the darts betting – Price, Wright or van Gerwen – and that makes the 7/1 on offer about him being a semi-finalist a sound proposition.
Darts 2022 Picks:
Krzysztof Ratajski to win the 2nd quarter at 7/1 with Betfair Sportsbook
* World Darts odds 2022 correct at the time of publication are are subject to changes.
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