Iceman Ready for Title Defence

World Number 1 and recent New Zealand Darts Masters champion Gerwyn Price will be looking for a first victory on the Euro Tour this year, as he prepares to defend the Hungarian Darts Trophy which he won last year against Michael Smith.

The Red Dragon thrower will enter in Saturday’s evening session against either Franz Roetszch or Madars Razma in the Hungarian capital, with the pair opening the tournament on Friday afternoon.

Amongst the field is reigning World Champion Peter Wright who missed the triple World Series header in New Zealand and Australia due to health issues.

Red Dragon’s double World Champion returns looking for his first Euro Tour title of the year. Snakebite will face the winner off either Brett Claydon or Jim Williams in Saturday’s evening session, with the Welshman a winner on the Pro Tour this year as well as the 2019 Champion of Champions winner.

Michael van Gerwen, the reigning Premier League and World Matchplay champion, will likely feature prominently in ET10 this weekend, having won two titles on the European circuit already this year. Most recently the Dutchman claimed victory in the first part of the Australia and New Zealand World Series triple header, winning the Queensland Darts Masters against the World Number 1 in the Final.

Mighty Mike could be set for a rematch against Simon Whitlock in Hungary if the Australian comes through his First-Round match against Janos Vegso on Friday night. The Wizard knocked the Vlijmen ace out of the New South Wales Darts Masters last month in his home country.

Jonny Clayton another winner down under could face a difficult opening round encounter with Dave Chisnall on Saturday afternoon. Chizzy impressed during the summer at the World Matchplay having beat Kim Huybrechts before a narrow 11-8 defeat to Gerwyn Price in Blackpool. The Englishman will face Daniel Larsson in the second match of the evening session for a place in the Second Round.

The Ferret rediscovered the form that put him top of this year’s Premier League last month and will hope to add his first title on the Euro Tour this weekend. The Welshman defeated James Wade 8-1 in the Final of the New South Wales Darts Masters after beating Joe Cullen 7-1 in the Semi, dropping just two legs in his last two matches.

Luke Humphries the most successful Euro Tour player of 2022, winning four tournaments will also seek the Hungarian Darts Trophy in Budapest, with Cool Hand involved in the third tungsten tussle of the evening session against either Boris Krcmar or Levente Sarai.

The three-time World Championship Quarter Finalist has enjoyed by far his best year on the PDC Circuit with some fantastic averages all through the year, including a 7-0 win over Michael van Gerwen in Munich for the German Darts Grand Prix back in April, scoring over 107 against a man who went on to win the Premier League and World Matchplay in 2022.

The First Round sees Lakeside World Finalist Thibault Tricole make his second appearance on the Euro Tour stage having appeared at the Austrian Darts Open at the end of April. The French Touch lost out 6-5 to Red Dragon star Neil Duff in Surrey but has enjoyed good runs in the qualifying events, showing the confidence was not knocked after his defeat.

The Winmau star will face Karel Sedlacek in the afternoon session, with the Czech Republic international reaching the Quarter Finals of the German Darts Championship back in March.

Friday also sees First-Round action including an all-Northern Irish battle to wrap up the afternoon session in Hungary between Daryl Gurney and winner on the Development Tour Nathan Rafferty.

Superchin entertained in Blackpool back in July including an opening match victory over Gary Anderson, giving fans their money’s worth when he threw a blind 180 before closing out with a 10-7 victory over the back-to-back World Champion.

Will it be experience or youth that prevails in Budapest, with the 22-year-old Coalisland thrower enjoying a strong breakthrough year including a perfect leg at Players Championship 20 in a 6-4 defeat to Dave Chisnall.

Coverage kicks off on PDC TV on Friday from midday as action in Budapest kicks off, with the likes of Ryan Meikle and Jeff Smith in action as the First-Round action starts for Euro Tour 10.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Order of Play: Friday

Afternoon Session:

Franz Roetzsch v Madars Razma

Brett Claydon v Jim Williams

Boris Krcmar v Levente Sarai

Jeff Smith v Rusty-Jake Rodriguez

Darius Labanauskas v Josh Rock

Thibault Tricole v Karel Sedlacek

Andras Borbely v Jeffrey de Zwaan

Daryl Gurney v Nathan Rafferty

Evening Session:

Ian White v Martin Lukeman