2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Preview

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday night preview. He landed two winners earlier today, hopefully there’s more to come.

Gian van Veen vs. James Wade

James Wade kicked off with a 105 average when beating Daniel Markovsky 6-1. It was a proper job. Wade has won six of his last ten matches and he is playing well, arguably better than 6-4 sounds.

Gian Van Veen has won seven of his last ten matches, but most of those were in the World Youth Championship qualifiers. At senior level, he has lost six of his last ten, and the last five in a row.

Their H2H record is 6-1 to Wade and he is the obvious pick here.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point James Wade to win @ 1.88 with Livescorebet

Dave Chisnall vs. Niels Zonneveld

Zonneveld got our weekend off to a losing start, beating Robert Owens 6-2. I expected a close match, but Zonneveld found his scoring boots after a slow start. He has lost six of his last ten matches and he can play a lot better than he did yesterday, but he is hopelessly inconsistent. Zonneveld has played in eleven Euro Tour events, and he has made the third round just once, and that was back in 2022.

Chizzy has won six of his last ten matches, but he is not in top form and his scoring has been bit off in recent matches.

Their H2H record is quite close, 6-4 to Chisnall. It is 2-1 to Chisnall in 2024, including a 6-2 win on the Euro Tour back in May. Chisnall is the 1.36 favourite, which is too short given that H2H record and the fact that he isn’t firing on all cylinders. I can’t back Zonneveld either, given his poor record on the Euro Tour. No bet.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Stephen Bunting vs. Jonny Clayton

Bunting has a win rate of 69% in 2024 and most recently has won six of his last ten. He does have off matches a bit too often, but generally is hard to beat these days, at least in the early rounds.

Jonny Clayton beat Dimitri van den Bergh 6-2 last night and he has now won eight of his last ten matches. Is the comeback finally on? Maybe, but Bunting will be much tougher nut to crack.

Their H2H record is 9-6 to Clayton and on the Euro Tour, he is 2-0 against Bunting, both 6-2 wins in 2023 and 2022.

Bunting is the 1.73 favourite, Clayton 2.20. Despite their two Euro Tour matches being 6-2 results, This has the look of a close match. Both players are in good form and while Clayton is tempting at 2.20, I will go for a overs match.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.91 with Ladbrokes

Maik Kuivenhoven vs. Raymond van Barneveld

Gerwyn Price was another very late withdrawal and Maik Kuivenhoven got the call and is dashing to the venue, rather unprepared. He has won just two of his last ten matches, and if I were him, I’d leave the engine running as he is likely to have a very brief stay in Prague.

Barney had a confidence boosting 6-0 win over Daryl Gurney last night. That makes it six wins from his last ten matches.

Their H2H record is 5-2 to RVB, and the last time they met was in ET10 last month, and Barney won….6-0. He couldn’t do it again could he?

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: 0.5 point Van Barneveld to win 6-0 @ 19.00 with Boylesports

Michael van Gerwen vs. Krzysztof Ratajski

Their H2H record is 8-0 to MVG and is all I need to say really.

MVG is the 1.33 favourite, Ratajski 3.50 and I’d say that Ratajski is a bit short at 3.50. No bet.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Luke Littler vs. Nathan Aspinall

Aspinall took care of a local qualifier with a routine 6-1 win. He has won just four of his last ten matches, but he has all but sealed his place in next weekend’s finals. That may relax him as he has been very uptight lately.

Littler has lost five of his last ten matches. Most of the losses where on the floor, and he professes to not really liking playing in that format. He is a superstar now and his place is in front of a big crowd. He lost in the first round of the Grand Prix and he will be keen to get the ship back on course as we head into the big money events.

Their H2H record is 6-1 to Littler and that is largely due to his 5-1 record in the Premier League. Their last two matches went to a decider, but I fancy that this will be not so close.

Littler is the 1.48 favourite, but he is on the drift and Aspinall is in to 3.00. With Littler on a bit of a poor run, I am happy to sit this one out.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Luke Humphries vs. Ritchie Edhouse

Edhouse averaged 97 in a 6-2 win over a local qualifier. It was a decent performance and he stuck to his task after getting rattled by a couple of decent legs from the Czech. Edhouse has won five of his last ten matches and last night was a welcome win after he had lost four of his last five before that match.

Luke Humphries has been suffering from exhaustion and he does play a lot of darts. He was the beaten finalist in last Sunday’s Grand Prix, had Monday off, played Tuesday and Wednesday in the Players Championship, before flying out to Prague. You can see why he might be feeling it. Humphries has won seven of his last ten matches but he was pretty ordinary in the midweek.

Their H2H record is 4-0 to Humphries and they last met in September with Humphries winning 6-3 at the Flanders Darts Trophy. Edhouse is a bit in awe of Humphries for a reason, but if Humphries is still jaded, Edhouse has a puncher’s chance.

Humphries is the 1.30 favourite, Edhouse 4.25. Is it worth taking on Humphries? It probably is, at least at some stage this weekend. Any tiredness is more likely to kick in during the busy Sunday schedule. Edhouse is even money getting a 2.5 leg start which is tempting, but I’ll sit this one out.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Martin Schindler vs. Peter Wright

Wright needed a deciding leg to beat fellow Scot Cam Menzies 6-5 last night. It was a very good match, with both players averaging 97. Wright has won six of his last ten matches and he is playing reasonably well, but last night was at the top end of his current game.

Schindler has won seven of his last ten matches and sits at the top of the Euro Tour OOM. He has won two titles reached two other semi-finals and three quarter finals. He is very comfortable on the Euro Tour stage and he has never been more confident.

Their H2H record is a very emphatic 12-1 to Wright and their only match in 2024 was a 6-2 win for Wright last month at the Flanders Darts Trophy. Clearly, Wright has a huge psychological advantage, but Schindler has the game to beat Wright, if he believes he can. We are on him outright and I will just cross my fingers at hope for the best.

2024 Czech Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

-JamesPunt