Josh Can Rock 2022 European Darts Championship Rivals
The 2022 Cazoo European Darts Championship begins on Thursday. Broadcast live on ITV Sport, this four-day tournament is the fifth televised ranking event of the season. Two more major competitions will follow before the World Championship gets underway in mid-December.
21-year-old Josh Rosh, seeded 26, is 33/1 to win this weekend’s European Darts Championship. ©PDC
Its 32-player field was finalized following the Gibraltar Darts Trophy (October 16), with the top 32 players on the European Tour Order of Merit – based on prize money won in the thirteen European tour events during the season – securing qualification.
Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski, Chris Dobey and Ryan Meikle are the players that sneaked into a qualifying spot. The top seeds are Luke Humphries, Michael van Gerwen and Peter Wright. European Darts Championship players have been drawn in a fixed bracket by their seeded order, with the top-qualifier playing the 32nd (Humphries versus Ratajski) and the second playing the 31st seed etcetera.
Fingers Crossed for Fourth Seed Cross
The schedule of play has also been confirmed. Rob Cross will begin the defense of his Cazoo European Championship title against 2018 winner James Wade on the opening night of this year’s competition played at the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund, Germany.
Fourth seed Cross also won this title in 2019. This time around, he is 20/1 in the outright betting. The best darts betting sites have him priced on 4/6 to defeat Wade. The shortest proposition of all first-round matches is Peter Wright to beat Ryan Meikle. The reigning world champion is 1/5 to land this contest.
Also on Thursday, fifth seed Damon Heta – who celebrated his maiden European Tour title in Gibraltar – faces veteran Dutch player Vincent van der Voort. Michael Smith is up against Czech ace Karel Sedlacek and World Grand Prix runner-up Nathan Aspinall takes on emerging star Josh Rock.
Rock Has Sunk Some of the Best
Rock, aged just 21 from Northern Ireland, has enormous potential and is one of our two big-priced selections in the outright competition betting. In the Gibraltar event, the youngster accounted for Ryan Meikle in the opening round and then proceeded to eliminate established stars, Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton.
A product of the PDC Development Tour – where he won five titles during 2022 – Rock exited the Gibraltar event at the quarter-final stages when losing out 6-5 to Rob Cross. With a 101.6 average, he did outscore his opponent during the match.
This remarkable form has continued unabated. Last week he played with distinction in a series of Players Championship events in Barnsley. In the opening competition, Rock achieved four ton-plus averages in six wins on a day that began with a whitewash of Ritchie Edhouse.
He then averaged 102 to defeat Darren Webster, registered 110 against Dirk van Duijvenbode, followed up with victory over Kim Huybrechts and averaged 112.66 in a quarter-final win over Mike De Decker. Seeing off Gibraltar Darts Trophy winner Damon Heta 7-3 in a high-quality semi-final – this time averaging almost 109 – only Dave Chisnall managed to halt Josh Rock …in the final.
Better was to come. On Sunday, he produced a series of sensational displays to clinch his first senior PDC ranking title. Averaging, 108 Rock swept aside top-seed Luke Humphries to register an 8-5 success in the decider. During this competition, he boasted an average of over 103 and produced five ton-plus averages in seven matches.
Dave ‘Chizzy’ Chisnall Is Chipping Away
Chisnall is another player on the hot list. The winner of 17 ranking titles, he claimed the notable scalp of Gerywn Price en route to that Players Championship verdict over Josh Rock. It was his second notable victory in a month.
Dave Chisnall has promised to win more trophies. ©PDC
In late September, ‘Chizzy’ landed the first nine-dart finish on the European Tour in three years on his way to taking the Belgian Darts Open. “It’s very special,” said an emotional Chisnall after collecting his winner’s trophy.
“Any tournament you win is special but this one means even more after a tough year personally,” he continued. “We’ve had a couple of family bereavements, so this is for them. I had a terrible year last year, but I am coming back and there will be more trophies going in my cabinet.”
Confidence is king in mano a mano sports. Hopefully, Chisnall can use his to overcome Stephen Bunting in the opening round and then make a serious run at the European Darts Championship title at 40/1.
Recommended Competition Outright Bets
Dave Chisnall 40/1 each-way (top-priced at bet365)
Josh Rock 33/1 each-way (top-priced at Coral)
The 2022 European Darts Championship Format
Following the conclusion of the first round, the last 16 stage will take place across two sessions on Saturday, October 29. The tournament concludes with its quarter-finals, semi-finals and final played during a bumper double-session on Sunday, October 30.
The 2022 European Darts Championship tournament will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK and through the PDC’s worldwide broadcast partners including DAZN and Viaplay. The best live streaming betting sites will also give punters access to the action as it unfolds.
