Ryan Searle (Picture: Kais Bodensieck/PDC Europe)

Five players yet to win a major who could pose a threat at the remaining darts majors in 2021, including the World Championship

By Paul Nicholson

Darts

Tue November 02, 2021 · 4y ago

There's three big darts majors left in 2021, including the World Championship, and Paul Nicholson picks out five players who could break their duck.

It’s a perfect time to talk about dark horse contenders for the final three majors of the season because now we have evidential proof about which players are starting to hit some great form at just the right time.

There’s a lot of players who could obviously challenge for glory at the Grand Slam of Darts, Players Championship Finals and the World Championship because the standard is getting freakishly high at the moment.

Just look at Michael van Gerwen at last month's Super Series. In the past he’d pick up many Players Championship titles but this year he’s yet to win any and that’s not really down to his own form. As Dan Dawson put it, he must have run over a truck of black cats. In his four defeats he averaged 107 (v Searle), 103 (v van Duijvenbode), 107 (v Gurney) and 99 (v Huybrechts) and that just shows how much the chasing pack have improved.

So here are five non-major winners I think could potentially make their big breakthrough this winter:

Michael Smith

We’ve all been saying for many years that Michael Smith is one of the most naturally gifted players in the game and he really should have long since broken his major duck. But after a lean period in his career he looks like he’s coming out the other side.

He won one of the most recent Players Championship events to make it two titles for the season – both of which achieved against Ross Smith - and he’s also scrapping some victories without playing his best, which means he still has gears to find.

When you start winning both well and ugly, you become a dangerous prospect, especially when you’re still off the radar. Just look at what Rob Cross has achieved out of nowhere recently.

Smith is still well inside the top 10 in the world for averages this season but I just hope we see his old fired up attitude when he’s next on the televised stage – like what we saw from him when defeating Nathan Aspinall in the 2019 World Championship semi-finals. That remains his best-ever performance for me.

He does have a negative streak in him and he knows that more than anyone but I do think he is gradually erasing that as he gets older and wiser.

Stephen Bunting

A lot of people could have said his run to the World Championship semi-finals was a flash in the pan for his career at the time – but his form in 2021 has proven that wasn’t the case.

He’s won a Pro Tour title this year as well as reaching the last four of the World Grand Prix, where he arguably could have gone even further.

With his combination of quality, tenacity, mental strength and resilience, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go to Minehead and win the Players Championship Finals and have another great run at Ally Pally.

That wouldn’t shock me one bit. When he’s in that zone, nobody wants to play him.

He’s got a great family behind him and they’re almost like a proper team when they come to events. Being happy behind the scenes can really help your game so when that clicks and your darts click too, you become a dangerous force.

Everybody loves him and wants to see him do well and fulfil that rich potential we saw when he won that Lakeside title a few years ago. Over the past 12 months he looks on track to reignite that darting machine inside him.

Bunting’s form at the World Championship and World Grand Prix shows he’s great at peaking in these one game a day tournaments – although picking up that Pro Tour title shows he has consistency to produce the goods multiple times over a long day as well.

Danny Noppert

It’s been such an up and down year for Danny, who has experienced heartache with the loss of a parent, but the way he’s put that behind him has been incredible.

I’ve been a huge fan of his for years – well before he reached the Lakeside final against Glen Durrant – because he has a flawless robotic darting action and a frightening ability to stay focused.

We saw that side of him at the World Grand Prix when he held his nerve to beat Michael van Gerwen even after he was ruffled. It showed he can take punches within matches and fire back.

He hasn’t won a title for a while but he’s beating very good players on a regular basis and putting in some ridiculous stats which suggests he’s bubbling under the surface and ready to do something big.

Ryan Searle

This selection won’t surprise anyone considering he’s like a fireman climbing a ladder when going up those rankings at the moment.

He’s now well inside the top 30 in the world and he’s not even defending much money so we could see him break the top 16 by the turn of the year if he carries on like this.

At the start of the year he was working closely with Gary Anderson, who has been waxing lyrical about him for a long time, and it’s not a coincidence that his confidence, performance levels and rankings have improved so much since then. He has an amazing impact on people – just look at Michael Smith over the years.

If he won the World Championship, I wouldn’t be shocked!

He’s been breaking personal average records on multiple occasions this season and even managed a brilliant 116 which could have been higher.

Ryan seems to play the game like he doesn’t care. He’s so relaxed and beautiful to watch, while his demeanour doesn’t give his opponent anything to feed off. I could watch him all day long and there’s nothing he can’t do right now. He’s just going to get better and better.

We will see the prime of him in the next three years but over the next couple of months he could arrive as a major winner even earlier.

Martin Schindler

Martin Schindler’s name will surprise many reading this but despite quietly going about his business under the radar, he is averaging in the top 20 this year on the Pro Tour.

He’s become more consistent than ever before and he really could make some big runs if this continues.

I’ve been watching him since he made his European tour debut back in 2016 – shortly after working as a steward at events – he’s now turning into a world class player.

Of all the players who graduated from Q School back in January – where he put in a 123 average - he’s the highest ranked and the form he’s in now would worry anyone.

He went through some troubled times on the oche a few years ago which meant he lost his Tour Card but the fact he bounced back so well speaks volumes. He’s worked hard in the gym to build up his energy levels and having won the German Super League, he is guaranteed a spot at the World Championship.

He’s been averaging 100+ on a regular basis which breeds confidence even in defeat – such as when he lost with a 106 against Rob Cross, who had to post 112!

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