European Darts Grand Prix 2019 preview and schedule – Saturday afternoon session

There will only be seven matches though in this first session due to James Wade withdrawing late from proceedings. This means that Ryan Searle who was meant to face The Machine will get a bye.
It all starts off though with Michael Smith taking on Krzysztof Ratajski. ‘The Polish Eagle’ had a stern test in his first round with him having to come from behind to defeat Robert Owen,
Despite that though the tie against Smith is potentially a tie of the round and should be a close affair.
Joe Cullen and Mark McGeeney are next up. Cullen has been a bit hit or miss at times this year and McGeeney will hope it’s the latter. The former BDO World Finalist was excellent against Josh Payne yesterday and will hope to continue that today.
Then it is the turn of Jonny Clayton and Ross Smith which has potentially gone under the radar as to match of the round. Both players are in great form and so it should be a cracking contest.
Mervyn King faces James Richardson following that. ‘Ruthless’ eased past Matthew Edgar yesterday in their county derby and will hope to do the same today.
The last three games of the session are all quality clashes starting with Ricky Evans facing Keegan Brown.
Evans in particular has played brilliant as of late which means he finds himself in the seeds once again. Brown himself has found some form and so it should be close.
Ian White then faces Dimitri van den Bergh. White will hope that third times the charm as he hopes for a title win after losing out two weeks running in the final. Van den Bergh hasn’t been playing to his potential but if he can come close, it’ll be a must watch match.
Finally Gerwyn Price takes on Gavin Carlin. Price comes into this weekend off the back of another frosty night in the Premier League this time clashing with Daryl Gurney.
He faces a potential banana skin though to start his campaign in Sindelfingen in Carlin. The Northern Irishman has been playing really well and should provide a stern test for ‘The Iceman’.
Michael van Gerwen is the defending champion at the European Darts Grand Prix. The world number one defeated James Wade in the final last year. Mervyn King (2014), Kim Huybrechts (2015) and Peter Wright (2017) are the other winners of this European Tour event in the past.
Click here for more information about the PDC European Tour, including the format, calendar and the prize fund breakdown.

12:00 Michael Smith v Krzysztof Ratajski 12:30 Joe Cullen v Mark McGeeney 13:00 Jonny Clayton v Ross Smith 13:30 Mervyn King v James Richardson 14:00 Ricky Evans v Keegan Brown 14:30 Ian White v Dimitri Van den Bergh 15:00 Gerwyn Price v Gavin Carlin