World Grand Prix Darts 2022 | Day Three Preview and Order of Play
Round Two of the 2022 World Grand Prix commences in Leicester on Wednesday with four unmissable ties on the cards.
Four of the eight seeded players have been sent packing across the opening two days of the double-start major, now the format and drama are set to increase at the Morningside Arena.
Michael van Gerwen steps up his pursuit of a sixth World Grand Prix title with a tie against last year’s semi-finalist – Stephen Bunting.
This tournament holds fond memories for MVG, whose first PDC major title came in Dublin a decade ago, but he is yet to add to his tally outside of the Emerald Isle.
The reigning Premier League and World Matchplay champion brushed aside struggling rival Gary Anderson in straight sets on Monday and is now aiming to protect his perfect record in the Second Round of this event.
Former Lakeside Champion Bunting, who also made the Semi-Finals on his Dublin debut in 2014, dispatched 2011 runner-up Brendan Dolan in straight sets and is now targeting what would be his most significant win of the season so far.
The opening match of the evening sees two resurgent power-scorers collide as Adrian Lewis faces Chris Dobey.
Two-time World Champion Lewis, who finished runner-up in the 2010 Grand Prix, marked his first appearance in this event since 2019 with an impressive 2-0 win over Jose De Sousa, averaging 94.7.
Lewis ended a three-year title drought on the ProTour back in July and is now eyeing a charge back up the world rankings with minimal prize money to defend between now and the end of the season.
Dobey, semi-finalist in 2019, bounced back from July’s World Matchplay heartache with a commanding straight sets defeat of in-form Luke Humphries on opening night and now has his sights set on a first televised ranking Quarter-Final appearance since November 2019.
Two-time World Champion Peter Wright continues his quest for a maiden Grand Prix crown with a show-down against Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski.
Wright, the 2018 runner-up, has returned to the top of the provisional Order of Merit with Gerwyn Price defending his title winning prize money from two years ago, and Snakebite stoked the fire by telling his rivals to “get back on the practice board” after he saw off Kim Huybrechts 2-0 in his opener.
Ratajski is aiming to avenge his 13-11 defeat to Wright in a high quality World Matchplay Second Round encounter in July, and he began brightly here by overcoming Callan Rydz in straight sets.
Reigning champion Jonny Clayton is bidding to become only the third player in the 24-year history of the event to successfully retain the title, and the Welshman faces another formidable test against Dimitri van den Bergh.
Clayton claimed his first televised PDC ranking title here 12 months ago and opened his account for 2022 in August’s New South Wales Masters.
The Ferret dug deep to deny Dirk van Duijvenbode from a set down on Monday and has the upper-hand over Van den Bergh in their recent televised meetings.
Van den Bergh has suffered two First Round exits and a Last 16 defeat in his three previous Grand Prix appearances but will be keen to replicate the form which guided him to two World Series titles this year, as well as the Semi-Finals of the World Matchplay.
The Belgian star edged out recent Belgian Darts Open winner Dave Chisnall in a deciding set in Round One and is now aiming to dethrone the defending champion and break new ground in this prestigious competition.
The action gets under way from 7pm BST, with Second Round matches to be contested over the best of five sets.
All Sets are the best of five legs and there will be no tie break in any set. All legs must begin and end with a double, meaning that a player must hit a double before they can begin scoring in each leg.
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World Grand Prix 2022 Day Three Schedule
Wednesday October 5
Second Round
7.15pm Adrian Lewis v Chris Dobey
8.15pm Peter Wright v Krzysztof Ratajski
9.15pm Michael van Gerwen v Stephen Bunting
10.15pm Jonny Clayton v Dimitri van den Bergh
