After an enthralling World Grand Prix in Leicester last week, the World's best arrow-smiths are off to Hildesham, Germany for the 13th and final European Tour event of the year. Michael van Gerwen was dominant in Deutschland last year but will have to be at his very best to defend his title, with the likes of in form, Luke Humphries and Dave Chisnall also in the hunt for glory.
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Like in all ProTour events the top 16 players listed on the order of merit get a bye into the second round, however there are still some tasty first round ties to look forward to...
Former BDO World Champion, Jelle Klaasen kicks off his campaign against James Wade in a match that just feels too good to be in the first round. The winner will go on to play Matchplay champ, Nathan Aspinall, which is also likely to be a tight affair.
Read more: The Asp concludes the World Matchplay with a major
The other pick of the first round matches is Vincent van der Voort against Daryl Gurney, which promises to be a frantic match between two very experienced customers. The winner will go on to play Ross Smith, who managed to sneak into the top 16 places due to Gerwyn Price's withdrawal from the tournament.
Gabriel Clemens will be hoping to perform in front of his home crowd as he faces Dutch youngster, Danny Jansen. However, the big German will need a huge help from the crowd if he is to beat the number one ProTour player this year, Dave Chisnall, who he is set to play, should he defeat Jansen.
Second round draw
Dave Chisnall (1) v Gabriel Clemens/Danny Jansen
Ross Smith (16) v Vincent van der Voort/Daryl Gurney
Michael Van Gerwen (8) v Steve Lennon/Marcus Kirchmann
Joe Cullen (9) v Florian Hempel/Aaron Monk
Dirk van Duijvenbode (4) v Scott Waites/George Killington
Martin Schindler (13) v Ricardo Pietreczko/Mickey Mansell
Josh Rock (5) v Stephen Bunting/Jeffrey de Graaf
Danny Noppert (12) v Patrik Kovacs/Jules van Dongen
Damon Heta (2) v Jeff Smith/Darryl Pilgrim
Ryan Searle (15) v Martin Lukeman/Madars Razma
Jonny Clayton (7) v Dylan Slevin/Nico Kurz
Peter Wright (10) v Chris Dobey/Lee Evans
Luke Humphries (3) v Boris Krcmar/Ryan Joyce
Nathan Aspinall (14) v Jelle Klaasen/James Wade
Rob Cross (6) v James Wilson/Gian van Veen
Michael Smith (11) v Karel Sedlacek/Alan Soutar
Luke Humphries' win at the World Grand Prix last week may have been his first ever major, but was by no means a fluke. The 28 year old has been a consistent performer on the European Tour so far this season, reaching six finals of a possible twelve. 'Cool Hand Luke' is playing the darts of his life at the moment and will fancy his chances to go all the way, starting off with a favourable draw against Boris Krcmar or Ryan Joyce.
Read more: Luke Humphries beats Gerwyn Price 5-2 to win first major trophy!
Michael van Gerwen will begin the defence of his title against Steve Lennon or host nation qualifier, Marcus Kirchmann. MVG's only victory on the ProTour this year came in Belgium in May, highlighting a disappointing campaign for the Dutchman by his own high standards.
Martin Schindler is set to face the winner of Ricardo Pietreczko versus Mickey Mansell. If Pietreczko is victorious in his first round match he will play Schindler in an all-German clash which, in front of the notoriously rowdy Hildesham crowd promises to be a fantastic spectacle.
Will anyone be able to stop 'Cool Hand Luke'? Or will he still be hungover from his win in Leicester last week? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below...
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