German Open preview: Peter Wright back to defend the crown

The 11th European Tour event of the season gets underway at the Sparkassen-Arena in Jena, Germany on Friday and it promises to be a high-class renewal of the German Darts Open. 

Peter Wright is back to defend the crown that he won 12 months ago and Snakebite will face an opening contest against either Darius Labanauskas or Cameron Menzies.

There are 48 players going to post, battling it out for a total prize pool of £175,000, and a winner's share of £30,000. 

The seedings for this event are based on Euro Tour rankings and that gives a slightly different feel to the competition. 

There are 16 seeded players, which includes the likes of Dirk van Duijvenbode, Danny Noppert, Luke Humphries, Dave Chisnall, Josh Rock, Rob Cross and Wright and those top PDC stars are joined by 32 members of the Pro Tour. 

James Wade, Simon Whitlock, Kevin Doets, Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, Brian Raman, Mike de Decker, Ricky Evans and Cameron Menzies earned their spot through the qualifying event and they will enter the German Darts Open in the first-round. 

The in-form Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen are missing from the German field, but Humphries is rated the 7/1 favourite, Cross is 9/1 and Van Duijvenbode, Nathan Aspinall and Rock available at 10/1.

What	German Darts Open
Where	Sparkassen-Arena, Jena, Germany
When	Friday 8th September – Sunday 10th September, 2023
How to watch	PDC TV, Viaplay and DAZN
Odds	Luke Humphries 7/1, Rob Cross 9/1, Dirk Van Duijvenbode 10/1, Nathan Aspinall 10/1, Josh Rock 10/1, Dave Chisnall 11/1, Peter Wright 12/1

Snakebite up for the fight

It's fair to say that Wright has struggled to consistently find his best form and there have certainly been low points this season. However, Snakebite has shown bursts of his brilliant best and the Scot is the defending champion in Germany. 

The two-time world champion is also a two-time German Darts Open winner and Snakebite claimed his eighth European Tour title in May's Czech Darts Open.

Wright will start the defence of his title with a second-round contest against either Labanauskas or Menzies, and at 12/1 in the outright market, Snakebite could constrict his rivals. 

Titan could stand firm

Gerwyn Price has been the dominant force on the Pro Tour in recent weeks, taking down three Players Championship events, but the Iceman is absent in Germany and that could open the door for another prolific floor winner. 

Van Duijvenbode has won three Players Championship events this season, the Titan has made the final of two European Tour events and the Dutchman's ferocious scoring is a potent weapon. 

Van Duijvenbode shouldn't have any issue getting past Roy van de Griendt or German debutant Danny Tessmann in round two and the 10/1 outright on offer looks a fairly generous price. 

Youngsters can join the party 

Humphries is an established top-level performer and it's no surprise to see Cool Hand Luke at the head of the market. The Newbury thrower is a 7/1 shot to collect the title in Germany and that would make it two European Tour crowns for the 28-year-old this term. 

Humphries will enter the competition at the second-round stage and face the winner of Daniel Klose v Ricardo Pietreczko at the last-32 stage. 

Josh Rock has had a huge impact since joining the Pro Tour, and the fact the 22-year-old is only a 10/1 chance to lift the German Darts Open crown, indicates just how impressive the Northern Irishman has been.

Rocky has made the final of three Players Championship event, and a European Tour competition already this season, and the County Antrim ace will start his title tilt against either Connor Scutt or Jules van Dongen.

Gian van Veen is the latest star of the Dutch darting block and the 21-year-old reached the final of the recent Players Championship 18 event in Barnsley. Price proved too strong for GVV on that occasion, but the Dutchman is a talented performer. 

Van Veen is a 1/2 chance to get the better of Simon Whitlock in round one and 25/1 go all the way to German Darts Open glory. 

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.