Can Searle bring the world number one to his knees?

Gerwyn Price will start the PDC Darts Masters 2022 on Saturday evening. In the first round still with a walk-through the “Iceman” will meet on Saturday evening Ryan Searle, the ranking 16 of the Order of Merit. In contrast to Price Searle already played a match in the Masters and started successfully into the new calendar year.

“Heavy Metal” Searle won his compulsory match against Mervyn King with 6:1 and with an average of 91,17 – his opponent King only had an average of 83,86 – he created a clear balance of power. The aim now is to build on this in the showdown with Gerwyn Price.

According to the best bookmakers, Searle is only the underdog in his match against Price. Currently, odds of 3.25 are offered on Price vs. Searle for a bet on the 34-year-old Englishman. Meanwhile, on the Welsh iceman to win, odds of up to 1.38 are on offer.

The bookmakers’ comparatively clear assessment is surprising. The last time the two players met was six months ago, when Ryan Searle won 6-4 to beat Gerwyn Price for the second time in his career.

Gerwyn Price – Statistics & current form

Just four weeks ago Gerwyn Price reached the semi-finals of the 2022 World Championship. In a hard-fought match against eventual runner-up Michael Smith the “Iceman” missed numerous matchdarts and was punished by his opponent. As co-favourite for the title the Welshman missed the chance to win the second World Championship title of his current career.

The next chance for a trophy will be this weekend at the Masters 2022 and the “Iceman” already got a hammer lot at the tournament opener – after all Gerwyn Price will meet Ryan Searle in the last 16. Against his Saturday opponent the Welshman won four of the last six matches. However, he lost the last match.

If the “Iceman” succeeds in taking revenge, bettors can currently pick up odds of up to 1.38 on Price vs Searle for tip 1. This is partly due to the strong average that Gerwyn Price played over the last year. This was also the case at the 2022 World Cup, where the Welsh star player always cracked the 90 average mark.

Is Gerwyn Price getting the frustration off his chest?

The double quota of Gerwyn Price will be decisive in the round of 16 against Ryan Searle. Statistically the Welshman is one of the players with the highest average and the highest checkout rate on the tour – at least last year. At the 2022 World Cup, the world number one had an average doubles rate of over 40%.

Gerwyn Price has never won the Masters tournament in his long career. Last year was the best result at the Masters with the semi-final, where the “Iceman” failed to reach King.

Last matches of Gerwyn Price:

World Darts Championship
01/01 2022 – Gerwyn Price 4 – 5 Michael Smith

12/29 2021 – Gerwyn Price 4 – 1 Dirk van Duijvenbode

12/27 2021 – Gerwyn Price 4 – 3 Kim Huybrechts

12/15 2021 – Gerwyn Price 3 – 1 Ritchie Edhouse

Players Championship Finals
11/27 2021 – Gerwyn Price 8 – 10 Brendan Dolan

Ryan Searle – stats & recent form

Ryan Searle is aiming for the first big surprise this calendar year. Last year, “Heavy Metal” already caused a sensation and achieved the best ranking in his current career so far with the 16th place in the Order on Merit. At the World Championship 2022 Searle only lost in the last 16 to the eventual tournament winner Peter Wright.

On the tour “Heavy Metal” reached the final of the Players Championship several times. Only once Searle won the title but he lost many times in the final against elite players like van Gerwen, Cross & Co. In addition the 35 year old lost in the final of the Players Championship Finals very close against Peter Wright and missed a title win in a Major.

Nevertheless the year 2021 was satisfying and a booster for the career of the Englishman. The aim now is to build on that this year. With the power show against King, Searle already made a clear statement at the Masters to start the tournament.

Searle with quarter-final spot?

Searle didn’t have a sensational average against Mervyn King, but he did have an impressive 42.86% doubles rate. For long stretches Ryan Searle profited from the weak performance of his opponent who had an average of 83,86 over seven legs and only once checked out a “36”.

That Searle nevertheless has the necessary potential to defeat a player like Gerwyn Price was already shown by “Heavy Metal” during the Players Championship 23 when he eliminated the world number one 6:4 in the best-of-11.

If the next surprise against the “Iceman” comes on Saturday evening, odds of more than 3.00 will be paid out for a prediction on the underdog in Price vs Searle.

Last games played by Ryan Searle:

The Masters
01/28 2022 – Ryan Searle 6 – 1 Mervyn King

World Darts Championship
12/30 2021 – Peter Wright 4 – 1 Ryan Searle

12/28 2021 – Ryan Searle 4 – 2 Danny Noppert

12/22 2021 – Ryan Searle 3 – 0 William Borland

Players Championship Finals
11/28 2021 – Ryan Searle 10 – 11 Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price – Ryan Searle Direct comparison / H2H record

The two players have met six times. Gerwyn Price won four of the six matches so far, only twice Ryan Searle prevailed. One of the two victories, as mentioned earlier, came in the last meeting just under six months ago. Before the 6:4 win at the PC23 Searle had lost two times in a row against Gerwyn Price.

In the six matches between the two players five times nine or more legs were played. It would therefore not be at all surprising to tip Price vs. Searle for a long match this time as well.

Gerwyn Price – Ryan Searle Tip

Last year Gerwyn Price only failed to reach the final at the Masters in the semi-finals. Surprisingly, the “Iceman” lost the match against Mervyn King with 10:11. Before that, the Welshman eliminated top players like Joe Cullen and Adrian Lewis during the tournament. However, there will be no revenge for that.

King lost the tournament opener to Ryan Searle. The 35-year-old Englishman ensured a clear balance of power with a 6:1 victory in the last round and now goes into the last 16 against Gerwyn Price with a broad chest. The last time “Heavy Metal” met the “Iceman”, Searle won 6:4 – a good omen?

Tendentiously, despite Searle’s recent run of form, we think it’s more than bold to bet on a win for the 35-year-old on Saturday night. Gerwyn Price is looking to vent his frustrations after missing out on the 2022 World Championship title. If the Welshman continues his strong average of the 2022 World Cup, the only question is how high the win against Searle will be.

With a stake of five units we place our bet on Price vs. Searle at odds of 1.56 on a win for the “Iceman” with at least two legs ahead.