Stephen Bunting most successful player vs seeds in European Tour history

The top 16 of the Pro Tour rankings are automatically qualified for the second round of European Tour tournaments. Christopher Kempf, responsible for statistics at the PDC, has therefore made an interesting analysis of which unseeded player has the best record against these players.

The European Tour qualification structure has changed for this season. Last year, only the top-16 of the Pro Tour rankings were invited. This year however, the top-16 of the world rankings and the top-16 of the Pro Tour Order of Merit are automatically qualified.

Read also

TV GUIDE: How to watch Austrian Darts Open live

The 32 invited players are then ranked according to their Pro Tour rankings. The top-16 from this list will receive protected status in the draw for a Euro Tour event and enter the tournament from the second round.

Analysis of figures from 2014 to the present shows that Stephen Bunting won the most matches against seeded players on the European Tour in the second round. 'The Bullet' won 19 of his 27 matches against such players, good for an average of 70.37%.

In second place we find Danny Noppert. 'The Freeze' won nine of his 14 matches against set heads, good for an average of 64.29%. Completing the top three is Joe Cullen, who managed to win six of his 10 matches in the second round against series leaders.

Read also

Michael van Gerwen set to reach historic milestone this weekend at Austrian Darts Open