From February 25 to 27, the International Darts Open was held in Riesa, Germany. 48 players took a shot at the title, including seven Dutchmen. It eventually became a direct duel for the number one position in the world ranking. Gerwyn Price successfully defended that place by beating the world number two, Peter Wright, in the final.
On the opening day we immediately see a few surprising results. Rob Cross loses 6-1 to Krzysztof Kciuk and Ryan Searle loses 6-4 against Ritchie Edhouse. Jermaine Wattimena loses to German Niko Springer (6-4) and Ron Meulenkamp and Danny van Trijp also do not make it through the first round. Vincent van der Voort does win his first match. He beats Adam Gawlas 6-3 and averages 103.69.
On Saturday, the seeded players come into action for the first time. Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert and Dirk van Duijvenbode all win their match and qualify for the final day. Van der Voort loses 6-4 against James Wade, while Gerwyn Price starts his hunt for the title with a 6-3 win over Ritchie Edhouse. In the last sixteen, the end of the story is for Van Duijvenbode: he goes down with hard numbers against Michael Smith (6-1). Danny Noppert and Michael van Gerwen meet in the third round. It is Noppert who proves too strong for Van Gerwen with 6-4. Price beats Heta 6-2 and Peter Wright beats surprising German Niko Springer 6-2.
The curtain falls for Noppert in the quarterfinals. Gerwyn Price wins the match 6-4, allowing him to compete in the semi-finals against Nathan Aspinall who beat Wade 6-2. Jonny Clayton (against Dimitri van den Bergh) and Peter Wright (against Michael Smith) also book a place in the best four. In the end, the final will be a duel between the numbers one and two in the world, after they win their semifinals (both 7-3). If Wright wins the final, he will be the new number one in the world. But Price successfully defends his top position in the world rankings: he beats Wright 8-4 to take the International Darts Open title of 2022.