A couple of weeks back, I would have thought this would be a wide-open tournament. The unique aspect of this tournament, is that the seeding is based on performance at the PDC Tour 'floor events'. Due to players having the free will to play as many or few of these tournaments per year, coupled with the lack of a crowd or big TV exposure, the floor events can throw up a few surprises and the seedings can be very much different to the other ranking events.
Chris Dobey comes into the event as the number one seed. He has had multiple wins on the PDC Tour this year, and deserves his place at the top. However, he is in a tough quarter of the draw, with Michael van Gerwen, Luke Littler and the recent European Championship winner, Richie Edhouse.
As for Luke Littler, he looks at his brilliant best. Playing incredible darts at the Grand Slam and destroying his opponents along the way. He will be a hot favourite, but I suppose it depends on him recreating his recent form.
The second quarter has the exciting young Dutch prospects Wessel Nijman and Gian Van Veen. Both have been playing at a very high standard and is clear they are hungry for a televised win. These two will be very tough opponents to beat. Another Dutch player in this section is Wesley Plasier, who has hit a purple patch in his career, including a first Pro Tour win this year. He could be an outsider that creeps through the rounds.
The third quarter could be the most open section of the draw. Martin Lukeman, runner-up at the Grand Slam has been playing the darts of his life, so could have the momentum to progress, although he plays the heavy scoring Connor Scutt, in what promises to be a high quality first round match. Jermaine Wattimena is having a revival in his career and could cause some surprises. Then there are the Pro Tour stalwarts Johnny Clayton, Stephen Bunting, Peter Wright and Daryl Gurney. Ok, they are not at their best, but you bet against them at your peril. Oh and Josh Rock is in there too, so is impossible to pick a quarter winner from this list.
The final quarter depends on whether Luke Humphries can gain back his brilliant early season form, If he does, then I expect him to make the semi-finals, However the two in-form Scottish players, Gary Anderson and Cameron Menzies lie in wait and will pounce on any vulnerability Humphries shows. Damon Heta, who is somewhat under the radar, could sneak all the way through, if the draw opens up kindly.
So, in summary I expect Luke Littler to be in the final , From the other half of the draw I would not be surprised if we see Gary Anderson joining him. Anderson is in top form and being played just down the road from his home ,so support will be very much in his favour. If I had to pick and 'outsider', then I'd say Nijman or Van Veen could go far in this exciting
Players Championship Draw:
(1) Chris Dobey v (64) Nathan Aspinall
(32) William O'Connor v (33) Niels Zonneveld
(16) Mike De Decker v (49) Richard Veenstra
(17) Michael van Gerwen v (48) Ian White
(8) Luke Littler v (57) Rob Cross
(25) Ritchie Edhouse v (40) Luke Woodhouse
(9) Danny Noppert v (56) James Hurrell
(24) James Wade v (41) Stephen Burton
(4) Ryan Searle v (61) Jeffrey de Graaf
(29) Gerwyn Price v (36) Thibault Tricole
(13) Wessel Nijman v (52) Kim Huybrechts
(20) Gian van Veen v (45) Scott Williams
(5) Dave Chisnall v (60) Joe Cullen
(28) Andrew Gilding v (37) Kevin Doets
(12) Ross Smith v (53) Dimitri Van den Bergh
(21) Wesley Plaisier v (44) Mensur Suljovic
(2) Stephen Bunting v (63) Mario Vandenbogaerde
(31) Martin Lukeman v (34) Connor Scutt
(15) Daryl Gurney v (50) Peter Wright
(18) Michael Smith v (47) Dom Taylor
(7) Josh Rock v (58) Ricky Evans
(26) Alan Soutar v (39) Jermaine Wattimena
(10) Jonny Clayton v (55) Florian Hempel
(23) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (42) Callan Rydz
(3) Damon Heta v (62) Mervyn King
(30) Krzysztof Ratajski v (35) Madars Razma
(14) Raymond van Barneveld v (51) Chris Landman
(19) Luke Humphries v (46) Gabriel Clemens
(6) Gary Anderson v (59) Ryan Meikle
(27) Brendan Dolan v (38) Martin Schindler
(11) Cameron Menzies v (54) Jim Williams
(22) Ryan Joyce v (43) Karel Sedlacek
