2024 Belgian Darts Open Betting Preview

Now, it is time for the first Euro Tour event of the year, the 2024 Belgian Darts Open. James Punt has on outright betting preview, you can check it out below.

2024 Belgian Darts Open

After Belgium’s Dimitri van den Bergh won his second major title at last weekend’s UK Open, we head to Wieze, and the Belgian Darts Open.

The entry system for the European Tour has been modified for 2024, and not to everyone’s liking. It is still the top 16 players on the PDC Pro Tour OOM who qualify for a second round entry, but the first round is now made up of the next 16 players on the OOM, not already qualified.

The remaining 16 places will go to players from four qualifying events, 10 from the Tour Card Holder Qualifiers, four from the Host Nation Qualifiers, one from the Nordic & Baltic Associate Member Qualifiers and one of the East European Associate Member Qualifiers.

Less New Faces

This means fewer opportunities for players outsider of the top 32. The rich getting richer, or a better product for the paying punters and stream viewers? It certainly should improve the quality, but we will see fewer new faces, which is disappointing.

What isn’t clear is who gets to fill the space when Gary Anderson decides he really doesn’t like all the travelling to these events, or those playing in the PL decide to have the odd weekend off? I assume there is a reserve list, but whether that comes from the OOM list, or local qualifiers, I am not sure.

Format

Apart from that, the format remains the same. Friday sees sixteen first round matches between the players ranked 17-32, and the other sixteen qualifiers. Saturday sees the sixteen seeded players join the fray, with the quarters, semis and final all played on Sunday.

It does make the work of this previewer a bit tougher, as in effect we have thirty two top players to seriously consider, not just the sixteen. I will do my best, but I will concentrate only on the in-form players who I expect to have a chance of a good run.

This will be the third Belgian Darts Open, with last year’s being won by MVG, who beat Luke Humphries. In 2022 it was won by Dave Chisnall who beat Andrew Gilding.

Top Players Taking Part

Luke Humphries

Runner up in last weekend’s UK Open. He has won 8 of his last ten matches and looks back to his best form. It was interesting that he said that he was very tired for last weekend’s UK Open. A lot of travelling had taken it out of him.

Well, he was in Brighton on Thursday night for the PL, and then straight over to Belgium for this weekend’s event. I reckon he had one night at home in the last ten days, so tiredness could still be a problem.

That said, his performance in Brighton was absolutely top class. Averages of 106, 114 and 101 was far too good for the rest to cope with. Anything close to that and Humphries will be very hard to stop.

Michael van Gerwen

MVG has already missed events to avoid the kind of tiredness that affected Humphries last weekend. Van Gerwen went out in his opening match at the UK Open, after a lacklustre performance against Mensur Suljovic. He has won five of his last ten matches but lost his last three.

All three defeats were similar, just very flat performances. Something is up. Mighty Mike is the defending champion and he will be keen to get an early win under his belt. That would give him the flexibility to miss a few EuroTour events while the PL is still going.

However, his recent form has seen three disappointing performances and he just looks out of sorts.

Michael Smith

Struggling with his form again? He has lost five of his last ten and his scoring has been a bit light by his standards, possibly down to some pretty ordinary doubling.

Smith was runner up in the PL last night, but he survived match darts against Peter Wright, and could quite easily have been out in the opening round. Smith did hit fifteen 180s across twenty nine legs which makes him dangerous, but he remains hard to fancy.

Nathan Aspinall

Says he has got his confidence back just by winning Premier League night five. Confidence is currency, so we should expect better performances from the Asp.

Sadly, that did not happen last night. It seems his confidence boost was only fleeting. He could only manage an average of 87 in his 3-6 defeat to Luke Littler and he looked anything but confident.

Gerwyn Price

Continues to lose too many matches to justify his odds. He lost 2-6 to a rampant Luke Humphries last night. Price played well enough, he usually does, but that is now five defeats in a row.

Rob Cross

Normally such a reliable, consistent player, Cross was very poor in the UK Open quarter final against Ricky Evans, averaging just 87.45 thanks to a 20% checkout rate. A bit like Price, Cross loses too many matches. He generally plays to a high level, but his conversion rate leaves a bit to be desired.

Cross averaged 108 against Luke Humphries last night, but lost 3-6. That says more about Humphries than Cross. A good run should be a formality for Cross, but winning the whole thing? Maybe not.

Danny Noppert

A seasonal win rate of 50% sums Noppert up. He plays well, scores well, but loses half his matches. He has lost five of his last ten, so that form remains in place.

Peter Wright

Definitely turning his form around, but it is still not quite there yet. However, he is putting the work in and as his confidence grows, do not rule out a win some time soon. He missed doubles to beat Michael Smith last night, and that is the problem with coming back after a long time out of form. He lacks the killer instinct.

Jonny Clayton

The Ferret has won seven of his last ten matches, which is means things are looking better, but his standard of play still isn’t near his best. It isn’t coming easy to him, but he is starting to grind out wins, and with that, his confidence may start to return. Still hard to back now, however.

Dave Chisnall

The 2023 European Tour OOM winner, Chisnall has made a slow start to 2024, winning just 50% of his matches. His is playing very inconsistently having been so good in 2023. Will a return to the Euro Tour light his fire? He needs to find something.

Damon Heta

Had a good run to the semi-final of the UK Open last weekend. His win over Luke Littler to reach the semi-final was top class. A great match, full of excellent darts from both players, but it was Heta who held his game together. It was very impressive.

It also took a lot out of him, and trying to lift himself for a big semi-final just a couple of hours later was too much to ask. Nevertheless, it was a nice cheque and moved Heta into the World top ten.

He has won thirteen of his last sixteen matches, has a seasonal win rate of 77% and won PC4 a couple of weeks ago. Leading contender.

Joe Cullen

A seasonal win rate of just 33% and he has lost six of his last ten matches, it is fair to say Cullen is not in great form. He has taken a leave of absence form social media and something doesn’t look right.

Dirk van Duijvenbode

Another player who is on the comeback trail after his prolonged struggle with injury. His shoulder problems are improving, he can practice more and his game is almost there.

Dirk has won seven of his last ten matches and more importantly, he is getting his 180 head back. He hit ten in a seventeen leg match with Luke Humphries at the weekend, and his run to the quarter finals of PC4 a couple of weeks ago was his best run since last September.

The consistency is not there yet, but he is a better proposition than for six months or so.

Dimitri van den Bergh

Up to number 6 in the World rankings, has won eight of his last ten matches and is the new UK Open champion. All is good in Dimitri’s world and here he is, doing a victory lap on home soil. His scoring hasn’t been great, but if you’re winning matches, that doesn’t matter.

Chris Dobey

Playing well on the whole, but the tendency to have a poor performance reared its head in Minehead last week. Dobey only averaged 89.7 when going down 5-10 to Gary Anderson and that is three times in the last eleven matches played that Dobey has gone sub 90. He needs a bit more consistency to win titles.

Stephen Bunting

He showed better form last weekend after a post Masters slump. He reached the quarter final, he got thrashed by Humphries and scored well, but he is not quite in top form just yet.

Gary Anderson

A win rate of 80% puts Anderson right up there on the short list, but we are in Belgium. Wieze is a village in Northeast Belgium. That is a flight to Brussels before a 24 mile taxi to the venue. It’s not the hardest trip to make, but it is a trip.

Anderson has avoided playing the Euro Tour for years, because he hated the travelling. Now he has dropped down the rankings, he is giving it a go. He did qualify for three Euro Tour events last year, played in ET6 and lost in round 1, played in ET7 and reached the quarter final, but that was enough.

Anderson could win it given his form and talent, but to win, you have to play three matches in a day. Does Anderson have the stamina?

Ryan Searle

Very likely to be Anderson’s travelling companion. Searle has a win rate of 81% and like Anderson, that puts him on the shortlist.

Like Anderson, Searle isn’t a great traveller. He does play a lot in Europe, but he doesn’t do as well as he should. His best result was a semi-final last season, and that was in the opening event of the season, and we know that Searle does start the season well, and he has done again in 2024.

Perhaps if he is to do well on the Euro Tour, this is the most likely event? His stage form is not his strength, however, and he flopped at the UK Open again.

Gian van Veen

His game is heading back in the right direction. Van Veen maybe should have beaten Damon Heta at the weekend, but he is starting to hit some big numbers and he is still improving. A good run is possible.

Van Veen has won eleven of his last twelve matches, and seven of his last ten at senior level.

Luke Littler

Last but not least. Littler has a seasonal average of 98.74, a win rate of 74% and is making his Euro Tour debut. He won his first World Series event and won his first Players Championship event, can he do the hattrick?

Littler has lost four of his last ten matches and looked quite pissed off on Sunday after Damon Heta refused to give way to his A-game. He still has to get used to the fact that it is harder to win at senior level.

However, his scoring power is going to be too much for most players and he should be expected to have a good run. He does just look to have dropped off a little, however, and he must have missed more double 10s in the last week than he has in the last six months.

The 2024 Belgian Darts Open Draw

1st Quarter

Dave Chisnall is the number 1 seed but his 2024 form suggests he will struggle to get too far this weekend. The other seeds are MVG, Pietreczko and Jonny Clayton.

Van Gerwen is the most likely quarter winner, despite not being in top form. He would love to get an early Euro Tour win and then withdraw from them, or some of them, until the PL is finished. However, he just doesn’t look right to me and I can’t back him.

Of the notable unseeded players drawn in the first round, we have Peter Wright, who meets MVG should he beat Geert De Vos, and he should. That has made MVG’s job a little harder.

This quarter looked to have MVG written all over it, but I would not be surprised to see him heading home early. It looks to be wide open. Could this be a springboard for Peter Wright to finally make his comeback?

2nd Quarter

Damon Heta is the form player here. The other seeds are the out of form Ratajski, the returning to form Dirk van Duijvenbode and the player who just can’t buy a win, Ross Smith. Heta will have been frustrated on the Euro Tour in 2023, losing four quarter finals and four semi-finals, but he is a former winner and another good run looks more than possible.

The unseeded players drawn into this quarter are a decent looking bunch. Brendan Dolan can piss on anybody’s chips, Luke Littler is a potential winner. He could meet Damon Heta in round three which would be a huge match. Martin Schindler, Joe Cullen and Daryl Gurney are no pushovers and this quarter got a lot harder thanks to the draw, but I have to go with Heta.

3rd Quarter

Luke Humphries has an excellent Euro Tour record and, so long as he is not feeling tired, he has a decent chance to continue that record. Cross, Searle and Noppert are no pushovers, but Luke has to be strongly fancied. I remain concerned that his schedule is still busy and winning these events is a drain on energy.

The first round entrants include James Wade, Barney, Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey. It is hard to oppose Humphries given his recent displays.

4th Quarter

The group of death? With Price, Anderson, Rock and Smith, it looks tough. However, on form, Anderson is the top player by some margin. Will he travel well? Could he remain competitive on a Sunday with three matches to play? There have to be question marks.

The other three seeds are big names, but all out of form. Could this be another opportunity for one of the unseeded players to get through? There are a number of the unseeded players who are in form. Dimitri van den Bergh for one. Gian van Veen is another, as is Stephen Bunting, and even Mike de Decker is no push over.

Ante Post Selections

Luke Humphries is a player who, despite all the evidence of greatness, the bookmakers underrate. Yes, he is the joint favourite, but had Littler, or MVG put in the kind of display Humphries did last night, they would be half the odds of Humphries.

2024 Belgian Darts Open Tip: 2 points Luke Humphries to win the Belgian Darts Open @ 7.00 generally available

Damon Heta just needs to win a title or two to shake of that ‘nearly man’ image. He is in great form and despite losing the UK Open semi-final last weekend, he played an outstanding match against Littler and he also won PC4 before that.

2024 Belgian Darts Open Tip: 1 point e/w Damon Heta to win the Belgian Darts Open @ 23.00 with SpreadEx, Unibet

There will be a preview for some of this evenings first round matches posted later today.

-JamesPunt