2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Preview

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday preview. He landed two winners last night from four bets, he has another few wagers for this afternoon’s session.

Stephen Bunting vs. Jeffrey de Graaf

Jeffrey de Graaf beat Madars Razma 6-3 yesterday. It was a close game, going with throw, but de Graaf was able to break at 4-3 and that was effectively game over. It wasn’t a great game scoring wise, but there was some good finishing.

De Graaf has now won nine of his last ten matches. That sounds better than it is. De Graaf rarely averages above 95 and he is likely to be outgunned by the heavier scoring Bunting.

Stephen Bunting has won seven of his last ten matches with six 97+ averages. He has won five of his six second round matches on this year’s Euro Tour.

They have met twice before, both Euro Tour matches. De Graaf won the first 6-3 back in 2018, and Bunting 6-5 last year.

Bunting is the 1.29 favourite, De Graaf 4.33. That is a bit dismissive of De Graaf’s chances, he does win a lot of matches, a lot of legs, despite not being a heavy scorer. Half of Bunting’s last ten matches saw over 9.5 legs, and with De Graaf full of confidence after winning so many matches recently, I expect to see a contest.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.30 generally available

Daryl Gurney vs. Luke Woodhouse

Woodhouse was less than impressive in his 6-5 win over Ryan Meikle last night. Both players averaged mid 80s and only one of Woodhouse’s legs was under 15 darts. He is going to have improve substantially on that.

He has won six of his last ten matches and he normally plays better than he did last night. One thing he hasn’t done in 2024 is win a second round match on the Euro Tour.

With Brendan Dolan winning his opening match yesterday, the World Cup ball is now very much in Superchin’s court. The pressure is on. Lose this and he is out. Gurney has won seven of his last ten matches but it must be said, his scoring has not been great. Six of those ten matches saw sub 92 averages.

Gurney has only won one second round match on the Euro Tour this season. He made a Euro Tour semi-final last year, but most of the time, he went out early. In his last twenty six Euro Tour events, Gurney has only won five second round matches.

Gurney is under pressure and knows that his record of making the final day in Europe is very poor. Woodhouse has nothing to lose and he will be better than he was last night.

They have not met since 2019 but Gurney is 3-1 against Woody. Gurney is the 1.73 favourite, Woodhouse 2.30. I think the bookies have tis about right. No bet.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: No Bet

Damon Heta vs. Ritchie Edhouse

Edhouse took longer than he would have liked to beat Czech qualifier Jiri Brejcha 6-3. It was a fun match, Edhouse was never in danger, the Czech was making his debut and it was a bit like an exhibition match. Edhouse only averaged 85 but that was largely down to a 26 dart leg.

His doubling was poor on the whole (26%) and clearly, he won’t be allowed to get away with that today. Edhouse has won seven of his last ten matches and eleven of his fifteen Euro Tour matches.

Heta has lost five of his last ten matches and seven have been sub 93 averages. He isn’t quite firing on all cylinders. He did average 104 when beating Gian van Veen 6-4 at this stage in Kiel, but went out with a whimper in the next round.

Their H2H record is 3-1 to Heta. Edhouse won their last match 6-5 last year, but he is a different animal right now. Heta is the 1.67 favourite, Edhouse 2.30.

I would have Edhouse shorter than that. He is full of confidence, while Heta is not at his best, and he may need to be.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: 1 point Ritchie Edhouse to win @ 2.30 with Ladbrokes, Betfred

Dave Chisnall vs. Niels Zonneveld

Zonneveld beat Haupai Puha 6-5 yesterday. It was the narrowest of victories and an 83 average. That was his C game and he will play better today. It was his first Euro Tour win of the season and he was very happy to have fallen over the line.

Chisnall is scoring very well in his recent matches but still losing too many of them. He has won six of his last ten but lost three with 97+ averages. He is 5-3 vs. Zonneveld and beat him 6-2 just a few weeks ago. Chizzy is the 1.42 favourite, a bit short for me and as we have backed him outright, I will pass on this one.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: No Bet

Jonny Clayton vs. Marvin van Velzen

Local qualifier Marvin van Velzen beat Christian Kist 6-5 yesterday. He was giving it large and seems a combative young player. I don’t think that is going to work against the experience of Clayton.

The Ferret is not the player he was a year ago, but he should be too good for Van Velzen. I don’t expect Clayton to make much progress but he should justify odds of 1.29. No bet.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: No bet

Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Jermaine Wattimena

Wattimena was carrying on like a bit of a prick against Joe Cullen yesterday, getting the crowd to put Cullen off. It worked, it got Cullen hot under the collar and he stormed off in a huff. Wattimena does have the home support and is prepared to use it. That could be very effective against the thin skinned Pietreczko.

Pietreczko is in poor form in any case, losing seven of his last ten matches. He still puts in the odd strong performance but his confidence is not great and he can spit the dummy out if he thinks he is being wronged.

Wattimena is playing with more consistency than Pietreczko, but he is not a great player. Home advantage may well swing it his way, however.

Wattimena is the 1.73 favourite, Pietreczko 2.20. It makes little appeal. No bet.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: No Bet

Danny Noppert vs. Andrew Gilding

Noppert is another of our outright selections and I expect him to dispatch Gilding. Noppert has won all six of his second round Euro Tour matches in 2024 and has won seven of his last ten matches overall.

Andrew Gilding beat Damian Mol 6-5 with both players averaging under 90. Gilding hit a 164 checkout to save the match, so it was a skin of the teeth win.

Overall, Gilding has won seven of his last ten matches, but he hasn’t beaten much in the way of top quality players. He has only won one second round matches on the Euro Tour this season, and that was against Peter Wright in Kiel.

Their H2H record is 7-4 to Noppert, so at least he knows what to expect in terms of pace of play. Noppert has won their last four in a row and on stage is 3-0.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip 1 point Danny Noppert to win -1.5 legs @ 1.80 with BET365

Ryan Searle vs. James Wade

James Wade beat the Finnish qualifier, Teemu Harju, 6-0 in a non-contest. This will be a proper game of darts. Wade has lost six of his last ten matches and he is playing with no sort of consistency. He really can be anything, but with a seasonal win rate of 40%, there is more bad than good.

Searle may not enjoy his trips abroad but he is playing some decent stuff on the Euro Tour. His last eight matches have all been on the Euro Tour. He won four of them, which is not great, but seven saw 96+ averages. His scoring has been strong.

Their H2H record is 4-2 to Wade. They have met once on the Euro Tour and Wade won that 6-5 in 2022.

Searle is the 1.67 favourite, Wade 2.30. I can’t argue with that. No bet.

2024 Dutch Darts Championship Saturday Tip: No Bet

-JamesPunt