Joe Cullen tops the seedings this weekend in the first of 13 events staged across the continent throughout 2022 which will determine the line-up for the prestigious European Championship finals, to be held in Dortmund in October.
There will be 48 players toeing the oche at the Sachsen Arena in Riese this weekend, all with eyes on the £25,000 first prize and crucial ranking points to help in their quests to make it all the way to Dortmund in the autumn.
Price Looks Right After Belfast Nine-Dart Heroics
Gerwyn Price might not be seeded No.1 – the seedings were based on how they looked last June – but he’s very much the top dog based on his Premier League heroics in Belfast last Thursday.
The Iceman was absolutely on fire in Northern Ireland, banging in a 170 checkout to win his first-round tie against Michael Smith and that was merely a warm-up for a pair of nine-darters to see off Michael van Gerwen in the semis and James Wade in the final.
9⃣9⃣
9⃣@Gezzyprice is the 1st player in history to hit three TV 9 darters in the same calendar year.
1 Jan ‘22 – World Championship, Alexandra Palace
QF v Smith: 180, 180, 141.
17 Feb ‘22 – Premier League, Belfast
SF v MvG: 177, 180, 144.
Final v Wade: 180, 180, 141. pic.twitter.com/TejAwAgAgr
— DartsCymru (@DartsCymru) February 18, 2022
His form had been patchy over the first few weeks of the season but the Welshman reckons he’s right back to his best – and that’s a major headache for all his rivals. He’s now 11/4 for the Premier League, which resumes in Exeter next week.
Classy Cross a Danger
For now, however, it’s all about the International Open with Cullen seeded one – the top 16 seeds all enter at the second-round stage on Saturday, awaiting the winners from 16 first-round ties.
Cullen, who has enjoyed a decent start to his debut Premier League campaign having won The Masters a month ago, won’t be unhappy with the seeds in his quarter, Nathan Aspinall, James Wade and Devon Petersen.
But it’s anyone’s guess who emerges from round one where there will be some real dangers.
Dimitri van den Bergh is unseeded so begins in round one on Friday, so too is World Championship quarter-finalist Mervyn King and one of the players of 2021, Ryan Searle.
And so too is Rob Cross, a player who was seen as a real outsider for the worlds before he was pipped by Gary Anderson in round four, and who is also the reigning European champion, lifting the trophy in Salzburg in October.
De Sousa Can Deliver in Riese
The only Premier League player not taking part in Riese is Anderson, who has long since turned his back on traipsing around Europe for ranking points.
The other seven make up the top eight in the seedings, the odd one out being Jose de Sousa.
The Portuguese is the second seed this weekend and has a point to prove as he’s still smarting over being denied a Premier League invite despite reaching last year’s final.
He reached the Masters semis, a Pro Tour quarter-final last week and is now a proven winner so has to be confident of a good run.
*All odds correct at time of writing.