2023 European Darts GP Preview

James Punt is on form and landed a lovely 3pt winner at the Premier League of Darts last night. He is hoping to repeat the trick at this weekend’s 2023 European Darts GP. Check out his outright betting preview below, as well as a bet for this afternoon’s session.

2023 European Darts GP

The Czech Darts Open saw yet another runner up for our ante post selections. Dave Chisnall lost to Peter Wright in the final but it saw another place win and four points profit. That is now a healthy 10.5 point profit from the first eight events.

This weekend we move back to Germany and the European Darts Grand Prix from the Glass Palace, Sindelfingen near Stuttgart. This has been the venue for the last eight European Darts Grand Prix and there have been six different winners. Merv King won in 2014, Peter Wright in 2015 and 2017, Michael van Gerwen in 2016 and 2018, Ian White in 2019, Jose de Sousa in 2020 and the defending champion is Luke Humphries.

It has been a good venue for the winner of the most recent Euro Tour event, Peter Wright. Two wins and two runners up spots for Snakebite and he was a semi-finalist here last year. Michael van Gerwen is also a two time winner and two time runner up, but he is not playing this weekend.

The 2023 European Darts GP Seeds

1 Luke Humphries

A three time runner up on this year’s Euro Tour, Humphries is once again trying to defend his title. He failed to do so in Prague two weeks ago, losing to Wright in the quarter final. He remains in great form, winning 70% of his matches in 2023 and while he was knocked out in the third round of PC11 & 12 at the weekend, he averaged 102.33 across his six matches.

2 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Dirk’s knee injury is said to be improving week by week, but in the ten matches he has played since hurting himself, he has lost five and is averaging 92.7. The edge has gone off his game, but he is still not without hope of winning his first Euro Tour title.

3 Dave Chisnall

Our runner up in Prague two weeks again remains in great form in Europe. Two wins and runner up spots from the first eight events puts him at the top of this year’s Euro Tour OOM. His scoring was noticeably down at last weekend’s Players Championship events but he was still able to win seven of his nine matches.

4 Damon Heta

Semi-finalist in Prague in the last Euro Tour event and a semi-finalist in PC12 on Sunday. He has reached three Euro Tour semi-finals in 2023. A serious contender? He has to be. He played very well on Sunday and so long as he doesn’t develop a losing habit at the business end of tournaments, he could get one of these over the line.

5 Gerwyn Price

Price hasn’t played on the Euro Tour sin ET4 some six weeks ago. He has concentrated on the Premier League but he did turn out for the Players Championship events at the weekend, reaching the quarter final on Saturday. Price is favourite in anything he enters right now but outside of the Premier League, he has only picked up two titles in 2023, but those were both Euro Tour events and his strike rate is 50%. He lost the big Premier League final to MVG last night. He was excellent when beating Jonny Clayton in the semi-final but he just didn’t get going against MVG

6 Rob Cross

Returned to the winner’s enclosure last weekend, winning PC11 on Saturday. He was a semi-finalist in Prague and he has won fourteen of his last fifteen matches. He was runner up here last year. Will that PC 11 win be the final piece of the jigsaw, boosting his confidence to get him his first Euro Tour title?

7 Nathan Aspinall

Will have to pick himself up after being cruelly denied a place in the Premier League play offs. He didn’t play in last weekend’s Players Championship events. He has lost five of his last ten matches and those ten are bookended by two 88 averages. However, he has been scoring very well otherwise, hitting five ton plus averages. There is still a little too much inconsistency to make it onto the shortlist.

8 Danny Noppert

It is not happening for Noppert in2023. He won PC2 back in February and he has reached a Euro Tour semi-final and three more quarter finals, but he is putting in too many poor performance too often to think that he is a potential winner. He has lost five of his last ten matches

9 Josh Rock

Continues to rise. His seasonal average is up to 97.4, his win rate is 70% and he has won eight of his last ten matches. He was runner up to Jonny Clayton on Sunday and he is another strong contender.

10 Ryan Searle

Another player who is lacking the consistency to make the short list. He has lost six of his last ten matches

11 Jonny Clayton

Winner of PC12 on Sunday, The Ferret was now picked up two titles in a month, having won ET5 in Austria last month. He is still not quite at his consistent best and he dodged a few bullets on Sunday.

12 Martin Schindler

Not in good form. Losing six of his last ten matches but he lost four of those 5-6. He is not playing poorly, there are a few flat spots, but his confidence is getting hurt.

13 Joe Cullen

Played some great stuff at the weekend, reaching the quarter finals of PC 11 & 12. He hit two 109 averages and a 103 in defeat in one quarter final. If he can keep that up, he will have a good run.

14 Dimitri van den Bergh

Christmas came early for Dimitri last Thursday when he picked up the last Premier League night of the season, despite only playing two matches. MVG’s withdrawal meant a bye into the final and a 6-5 win over Gerwyn Price. That meant he finished ahead of Chris Dobey and cost us a nice winner. But I’m not bitter. Belgian git. He has won seven of his last ten matches but he remains very inconsistent and his Euro Tour record in 2023 is played 12, won 5.

15 Ross Smith

Smudger is a player who is not getting much return on some very good scoring. He lost both his first round matches at the weekend despite averaging ton plus averages in both. He has lost six of his last ten matches but hit seven averages of 97+. Smudger just needs a bit of luck to string a good run together, but he just isn’t getting any.

16 Andrew Gilding

Reached the semi-final of PC12 on Sunday but he relied on some excellent finishing to keep him in matches he should have lost. There was still a couple of ton plus averages and while his consistency isn’t great, he is perfectly capable of a decent run.

Notable Non-Seeds

Jose de Sousa

Played just four matches at the weekend. He hit two ton plus averages and two sub 90. That is not the kind of consistency that is going to get the 2020 champion very far.

Gian van Veen

Is a bit like Ross Smith. He can throw darts like a god but get no return. He averaged 103.3 in PC11 and lost 4-6 to James Wade, and 102.8 and lost 4-6 to Ricky Evans in PC12. Van Veen has won six of his last ten senior level matches and picked up two more titles on the development tour. He is going to win a lot of titles but he needs to pick more experience to go with the raw talent. Do not rule out a good run as he is due a break or seven.

Pascal Rupprecht

Is a young German player who reached the last 16 on Sunday, beating Noppert, Gawlas and De Decker. That will have given his confidence a boost, but he doesn’t have anything like the kind of fire power of the likes of Van Veen. He has played in two Euro Tour events this year and lost both his first round matches 0-6 and 3-6. He played OK and with home support, he might get his first Euro Tour win.

Daryl Gurney

Made the semi-final of ET5, losing 6-7 to eventual winner Jonny Clayton. He has played 14 Euro Tour matches in 2023 and won 7. At the weekend he went out at the third round stage on both events. He is still just a bit to inconsistent to see a tournament win, but he is capable of a decent run.

Gabriel Clemens

Continues to struggle on the Euro Tour. He has played 11 and won just 4 in 2023. He has won six of his last ten matches overall and is playing decent stuff and is quite consistent. The German Giant just doesn’t do it on the Euro Tour.

Chris Dobey

is a late replacement and he is now free to concentrate on ‘normal’ darts after his Premier League stint has finished. He reached the quarter final of PC12 on Sunday, averaging 101.9 across his five matches.

The Draw

The seeds in the top quarter are Humphries, Gilding, Noppert and Rock. Humphries has reached three finals this season and is the defending champion. He played some very nice stuff at the weekend. He should have another good run, could go all the way, but getting out of this quarter is not a simple task. Gilding is a banana skin and Josh Rock is also in top form.

Of the unseeded players in this quarter, Chris Dobey stands out. He plays Graham Hall today and the winner faces the number 1 seed Luke Humphries. Gian Van Veen plays Jermaine Wattimena in the opening match of the tournament. Van Veen would then face Danny Noppert in round two. Not a bad draw for the young maestro. A possible third round tie with Josh Rock is a mouth-watering prospect.

Second Quarter

The second quarter has Heta, Cullen, Price and Schindler as the four seeds. You have to fancy Price to come through but Joe Cullen is the dark horse. He is in form and has a decent record against Price, which can’t be said for Heta or Schindler.

Where Price’s head will be is the question. He will have been disappointed with his performance on Thursday night but what better way to put that right than winning another title. The unseeded players do not look to pose any serious threat.

Third Quarter

The third quarter features sees four of the weakest seeds in the event. Van Duijvenbode, Aspinall, Ross Smith and Ryan Searle are all struggling for wins right now and this might be an opportunity for one of non-seeded players to come through.

Daryl Gurney is set to face Dirk van Duijvenbode if he can beat stablemate Dylan Slevin in the first round, which he already has done in Europe this season. Things could open up for Superchin and he could do with a good run to protect his World Cup selection chances.

4th Quarter

The bottom quarter has three recent winners and Dimitri van den Bergh. Chisnall is in great form in Europe but was a bit off at the weekend. Jonny Clayton won in Austria and again on Sunday and then got thrashed by Gerwyn Price at the Premier League play offs. Rob Cross, runner up last year, won PC11 last Saturday and has won 14 of his last 15 matches. Clearly a very hard quarter to win.

2023 European Darts GP: Ante Post Selections

This looks a tricky one. I would say only Gerwyn Price can look at the draw and feel confident of making the semi-final vis the second quarter. He is the 3.50 favourite to win the tournament and while he deserves the favourites tag, he is too short for me. In the same quarter is Joe Cullen and his recent form brings him into the equation. If Price is a bit jaded after his PL defeat, Cullen looks able to make the semi-finals.

2023 European Darts GP Tip: 0.5 point e/w Joe Cullen @ 26.00 generally available

The top quarter looks like a toss up between Humphries and Rock. Humphries task will be made harder if he is to face Chris Dobey in the second round. That said, he looked in very good nick at the weekend and he has a fine Euro Tour pedigree and remains at decent odds.

2023 European Darts GP Tip: 1 point e/w Luke Humphries to win @ 15.00 generally available

The third quarter is wide open. The four seeds are hard to fancy given their recent form. Of the unseeded players, Daryl Gurney makes some appeal. His consistency is still lacking but his draw is decent and he has made a semi-final on the Euro Tour already this season. The odds are big enough to have a small flutter.

2023 European Darts GP Tip: 0.25 point e/w Daryl Gurney to win @ 176.00 with Betfair

The final quarter is a real puzzle. Rob Cross is the form player but Clayton and Chizzy are also in great form. Clayton may be a bit tired after his Premier League endeavours and Cross has a decent record against him.

What Cross doesn’t have is a good record against Chisnall. He has lost his last nine matches against him and his last win came back in 2018. It is tempting to back Cross at 15.00, but at much the same odds, Chisnall is hard to pass over. He has won three of the last ten Euro Tour events and was runner up two weeks ago. He wasn’t great at the weekend but still made a quarter final.

2023 European Darts GP Tip: 1 point e/w Dave Chisnall to win @ 13.00 with Hills, Betfred, Unibet

There isn’t enough time to preview this afternoon’s matches but I have to have a go with Gian van Veen to beat Jermaine Wattimena in the opening match.

The two players have a near identical 12 month average but Van Veen is a rising star, Wattimena a journeyman. They met a few weeks ago and while Wattimena averaged 104.72, it was Van Veen who won 6-4, averaging a whopping 110.76. Something similar would be nice.

2023 European Darts GP Tip: 1 point Gian Van Veen to beat Jermaine Wattimena @ 1.73 with Hills

A preview for this evening’s matches will be posted later this afternoon.

-JamesPunt