The first PDC tournament of the year will get underway in Milton Keynes on Friday, January 28 as the Ladbrokes Masters returns for its tenth edition.
Reigning champion Jonny Clayton will be confident of retaining his crown, after picking up four TV titles last year and coming into the tournament having been awarded PDPA Players’ Player of the Year on Thursday.
Clayton suffered a fourth-round defeat in his last match four weeks ago in the World Championships to eventual runner up Michael Smith – despite having performed brilliantly, averaging over 102. In fact, Smith’s display in the match saw him receive the Toyo Tyres TV Performance of the Year.
The Ferret will play his opening game on Saturday against the winner of Dimitri Van Den Bergh and Ian White. He will perhaps be hoping that the latter prevails, as he has been defeated by VDB four times in seven matches. The Welshman is available at 7/1 to retain his title this year.
Embed from Getty ImagesWorld no. 1 Gerwyn Price will be looking to avenge his World Championships quarter-final defeat, also to the hands of Smith. The Iceman made a slow start to the tournament last month, which was no surprise as he tends to improve throughout the later rounds.
Price’s defeat came in a similar fashion to that of Clayton’s the round before, having put on a bold show with a 99 average as well as a 44% strike rate on his checkouts, before being pipped by Smith late on.
The former World Champion will face the winner of Ryan Searle or Mervyn King on Saturday evening. Price is the bookmaker’s favourite – as he was for the World Championships – available at 4/1.
Current World Champion Peter Wright will be coming into 2022’s opening tournament full of confidence, off the back of earning his second World title on January 3. Snakebite won this tournament two years ago when he defeated Smith 11-10 and will be confident that he can win the title back.
Wright will face off against Dirk van Duijvenbode or Simon Whitlock, both of which he will fancy his chances of beating. He has only played the Dutchman twice, most recently a 4-1 victory last September, as well as having an impressive record of 17 wins from 25 matches against the Australian. Wright is available at 5/1 to pick up the trophy.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother player who will be keen to impress is Michael van Gerwen, after the Dutchman was forced to withdraw from the World Championships following a positive Covid-19 case. It has been a frustrating couple of years for the three-time World Champion, who hasn’t won a TV title since 2020.
The Green Machine was defeated in the first round of this tournament last year, by eventual winner Clayton. However, this tournament has been a favourite of MVG’s in the past, he won it five consecutive times between 2015 and 2019.
Van Gerwen will take on the victor of Devon Peterson and Luke Humphries which on paper is a favourable draw, but Humphries has proven that he can mix it with the big gun’s multiple times in the past. MVG has played Cool Hand just once on TV, which ended in an 11-5 defeat for the Dutchman. Van Gerwen is the current second favourite, at 9/2.
Smith is a player coming into the tournament on the up, following his excellent performances in the World Championships. Despite eventually being defeated in the final, the Bully Boy was no doubt the standout player at Alexandra Palace.
There is no doubt in the Bully Boy’s talent, but it’s his ability to get over the line which has been questioned in the past. The man from St Helens has played in seven TV finals and is yet to win one. However, there is a strong feeling that he is getting closer and that he will break his duck sooner rather than later.
Smith will face either Krzysztof Ratajski or Gabriel Clemens in the second round, two opponents that he will be confident of seeing off. The Bully Boy is 9/1 to win the title on Sunday night.
The likes of Gary Anderson and James Wade seem to be left out when looking for tournament winners, but often their experience sees them through deep into tournaments. The pair are both coming into the competition off the back of World Championships semi-final defeats and are available at massive prices of 22/1 and 28/1.
An outsider that has a great chance of getting his hands on some silverware is Humphries. The world no. 19 was knocked out by Anderson last month at the quarter-final stage of the World Championships, but he is a dangerous opponent when he gets into his rhythm. Cool Hand is making his Ladbrokes Masters debut and may well be worth a punt each-way at 50/1.
Every player will fancy their chances of progressing far into the tournament. With the Premier League getting underway on February 3, it will be vital for the players competing to start the year well.
Although, that could work to the underdogs’ advantage, perhaps the favourites have their focus on the more sought after Premier League already? Only time will tell who lifts the trophy on Sunday, but the tournament promises to be full of entertainment.
Joe Dixon Journalism 