Alongside the Winmau ADC Tour, was the ADC Global Tour. A competition that culminates with the top players in Europe playing in a Modus Super Series format, at the venue in Portsmouth. The line-up as you can imagine is a tough one. All of these players have good Modus experience and beyond, so should be very competitive.
The favourite, and rightly so in my mind, is Daryl Pilgrim. A real force in the game, across all the tours he has played on, he narrowly missed out on a World Championship spot ,and has been super consistent. He recently faltered in his recent Modus Super Series appearance, but was playing strong enough to suggest he has more to come. He will be the one to beat, but does have tough opposition.
Seasoned campaigners Andy Boulton and James Richardson represent experience and tenacity. These two have been around long enough to not let the pressure get to them. Both play particularly in ADC events and have more than earned their places in the Global finals. It depends on consistency whether they can forge their way to the finals, but they will certainly cause problems for their opponents.
Belgian player Brian Raman and the German Sebastian Bialecki are Europe's big hopes in bringing the title out of the UK. Raman had a decent showing at the recent WDF World Championships and will have momentum. He showed glimpses of the form that he had a couple of years ago when it was thought he would be forging his way up the Pro ranks. Bialecki will be buoyed by receiving a Tour card after great performances on the PDC Development Tour. He has been on the Modus stage many times and nerves shouldn't play a part. He is definitely a player capable of going all the way.
The younger players representing are Thomas Banks and Bradley Brooks, although Brooks seems to have been around for ever! For a while Banks was often compared to Luke Littler, as both seemed to be coming through the youth ranks at great speed. However, Banks had forged his own path and performed well on both the Modus stage and PDC Development Tour. I have no doubt he will make the main Pro Tour one day, and this path may well give him a good grounding. He can certainly make the final stages here, and from there, who knows. A player with a lot of talent, so not to be discounted. Brooks, has played on the Pro Tour and won the World Youth Championship. Another player that was maybe expected to go on and climb the Pro ranks, he has stalled a little, but that doesn't mean he won't get that form back. This may just be the springboard he is looking for.
Gemma Hayter is the sole female player this week, but is a dark horse in this event. She always performs well on the Modus stage and has become, this year, one of the best female players on the Women's Tour. She took the Women's ADC Tour Finals title on this stage last month, beating Fallon Sherrock 4-0, showing her real class. A good showing here, will again be proof of the growing strength in the women's game.
Bradley Roes, Adam Lipscombe and Conor Heneghan are another group of players that have played on the Modus stage on multiple occasions. Heneghan has particulalry good form here, although recently had a blip in form. If he can show some of the quality he has previously showed, then he could make the finals night, although he does need to raise his game quickly. Lipscombe is a steady type of player, who will cause problems, but whether it will be enough here, remains to be seen. The same could be said of Roes, who certainly has talent, but he may not be playing quite at the standard he needs to if he is going to make the final night.
That just leaves the Cypriot player, Andreas Nikolaou. I know very little about this player, except he has played in a few WDF events this year. To have made it this far, he must be a decent player, but lack of stage experience could play against him. However, it could be the opposite and he takes to the stage and he surprises everyone!
So, in summary I would say Daryl Pilgrim is the player to beat. Sebastian Bialecki is definitely someone who is capable of taking this title, and also watch for Gemma Hayter, who seems to love it in Portsmouth.
