GLEN DURRANT
England
Rank: 1 Age: 45
The man who will go in as the favourite for the World Trophy is of course Glen Durrant.
He has a great game to start the tournament with Andy Fordham. I’m looking forward to that and introducing Andy onto the Lakeside stage.
If Glen gets past Andy, which will be tricky for him, he’s going to be the man nailed on to win.
He had a recent win in Denmark so he’s playing well, but he’s never gone all the way and lifted the trophy at Lakeside, which he will be desperate to do this weekend.
DANNY NOPPERT
Netherlands
Rank: 2 Age: 25
The name I’ve been mentioning a lot is Danny Noppert. He was runner-up of the Dutch Open earlier this year and he has since gone on and picked up a couple of big wins in the Scottish and German Opens.
I just think he’s the bright, young thing at the moment in the BDO. He’s been playing a lot in Holland and was top of their national rankings and this year he’s taken it onto the circuit.
The way he played against Martin Adams in the Dutch Open final was brilliant. I really think he’s going to push on, but now I’ve said that he’ll probably go out in the first round!
RYAN JOYCE
England
Rank: 31
Barry Lynn will be the qualifier in people’s minds because of what he done in the UK Open, but there’s another qualifier called Ryan Joyce who has gone under the radar.
I was there in the Isle of Man and Denmark when he got to the final of both and he was brilliant. He’s another one to watch that people might not have seen before.
CRAIG CALDWELL
New Zealand
Rank: 38 Age: 43
There are nine WDF regional qualifiers in the men’s draw and out of all those I have to say I was really impressed by Craig Caldwell at Lakeside.
He just lost out to Scott Mitchell in the first round but he played very well. I think he’s someone if I had to pick one out of that lot maybe he can be a spoiler.
DETA HEDMAN
England
Rank: 1 Age: 56
I have to go with Deta Hedman in the ladies draw, just because of the form she’s in at the moment. Deta’s won the last five ranking events that she’s played in, two in Denmark, the Welsh Open and two in Poland last weekend.
She’s back to number one in the world. If there’s any stumbling block it’s that she’s never triumphed at Lakeside. Maybe this could be a breakthrough for Deta.
CORRINE HAMMOND
Australia
Rank: 9
Corrine has qualified by right through her ranking after travelling around the world to play in Australia and across Europe.
She’s a class act and I’m waiting for a breakthrough win to come for her. I think if she gets to the latter stages then she’ll be very tough to beat.
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