PDC European Darts Matchplay: A History

For the third time, the north German city hosts the European Tour event. However, it'll be the of the European Darts Matchplay. The first of them took place in Innsbruck, Austria, back in 2015. After the Andersons, Kyle and Gary, backed out at the last minute, two more home nations qualifiers were added. So with Maik Langendorf qualifying beforehand, there were seven Austrians in the mix. Only two made the second round. Langendorf succumbed at the second hurdle, but Rowby-John Rodriguez, then 21, reached the quarter-finals. As it turned out, only the eventual champion could stop him. Michael van Gerwen opened the tournament with wins over Ronny Huybrechts and Raymond van Barneveld. He then averaged 114 in defeating Rodriguez, before a 109.9 average sealed a 6-1 semi-final thrashing of Rob Thornton. In the final he met Dave Chisnall, who had seen off surprise semi-finalist David Pallett. The Dutchman proved unstoppable, though Chizzy pushed him hard before he completed a 6-4 win. His title defence didn't go to plan. The 2016 event, now in Hamburg, ended for Mighty Mike at the semi-final stage. His conqueror, James Wade, then went on to the title. After wins over Jonny Clayton, Gary Anderson, Benito van de Pas and van Gerwen, the Machine met a familiar face in the final. Dave Chisnall was back for another shot at the crown. Wade flew into a 4-1 lead but two ton-plus finishes sparked a Chisnall comeback. The match went into a deciding leg, and Wade held his nerve to win the £25,000 prize. 19-year-old homegrown hero Max Hopp stole his share of the headlines, fighting his way to the quarter-finals before defeat to Peter Wright. And so, in 2017, it was Wade's turn to mount a title defence. It couldn't have gone much worse for the 2016 champion. Wade averaged a mere 71 in a second round exit at the hands of Kyle Anderson. It was one of many shocks, including fourth seed Simon Whitlock's 6-1 thrashing by Andy Hamilton in the same round. Peter Hudson made the quarter-finals, while Cristo Reyes powered through to the last four. The winner, however, was pretty predictable. Van Gerwen bounced back from his 2016 heartbreak to reclaim the European Darts Matchplay trophy. He was in hot form too; a 99.73 average in the semi-finals against Michael Smith was his only average below three figures all weekend. Mensur Suljovic, the first man to deny Dave Chisnall a place in the final, put himself in line to take his second European Tour win. But it wasn't to be, despite a 106.26 average. A ruthless van Gerwen took his chances and claimed a 6-3 win. The two-time world champion will defend the title in Hamburg - though recent history is against him.