2024 German Darts Championship R2 Preview

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2024 German Darts Championship R2 preview. James got off to a solid start on Friday, fingers crossed for more of the same.

Gian Van Veen vs. Robert Owen

Owen put in one of the best performances of the day yesterday, beating Krzysztof Kciuk 6-3 and averaging 102. The question is, can he come close to repeating that? Probably not, but he does have a very strong A game which shows itself now and again. He had a 115 average when beating Ryan Searle recently, but he is more likely to average under 90 than a ton plus.

Van Veen has lost five of his last ten matches and isn’t quite firing. He has played Owen three times and won all three. Van Veen is opposable given his recent form, but he is a better player and a bit more consistent than Owen who is not exactly a Euro Tour specialist.

Van Veen is too short at 1.40, but I am happy to pass on this match, just about resisting the 3.30 about Owen.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: No Bet

Ryan Joyce vs. Andrew Gilding

Gilding was not great in his 6-4 win over Johan Engstrom. He averaged 93, which is better than most of his first round efforts in Europe, but he could/should have been 0-4 if Engstrom was hitting his doubles better. As it was, it was a bit of a struggle to beat a player averaging 87.7.

Joyce has lost five of his last ten matches, but four of those losses came in his last five matches. I am happy to back Joyce when he is in form, but he can’t be said to be running hot right now. However, he lost two matches with a 102.8 average, and a 98.6, so he was scoring well enough. His problem is a lack of consistency, with four sub 90s in his last ten.

Their H2H record is 2-1 to Joyce, with all ending 6-3. Joyce is the 1.57 favourite, which seems very short given his lack of consistency. He is the better player in 2024 and should be favourite, but not by that much.

A bet on Gilding then? No thanks. Under 9.5 legs? Past form says that is likely. All three previous matches were low on quality and if one sparks into life, they could win by a wide margin. However, there must be better bets around today. No bet.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: No bet

Daryl Gurney vs. Stephen Burton

Two former stablemates going head to head for the seventh time, Gurney having won five of their previous six, but Burton’s sole win was in their last match in June. Superchin is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches. Burton has won six of his last ten. He is not a power scorer, it is 30 matches since his last ton plus average, but he is a trier and quite tenacious.

Gurney is the 1.36 favourite, Burton 3.30. Of their previous six matches, five required over 9 legs and three required a deciding leg.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 generally available

Chris Dobey vs. Micky Mansell

Hopefully this will be over quickly. Mansell made his 6-2 win over local qualifier Matthias Ehlers seem like hard work. He averaged 83 and it was a terrible spectacle.

Chris Dobey is bang in form, winning a Players Championship match last week, and he has won nine of his last ten matches.

Their H2H record is 5-3 to Dobey and the Geordie will not enjoy Mansell’s pace of play, but he knows what to expect. They have met twice this season and Dobey has won both, very easily. There was 10-3 in the UK Open and a 6-1 in a Players Championship match.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Chris Dobey to win -2.5 legs @ 1.91 with Betfred

Ross Smith vs. Nick Kenny

It was a good day for the Welsh yesterday with wins for Clayton, Owen and Kenny. He was OK in a 6-3 win over Jelle Klassen, but it must be said that Klassen was very poor. Kenny has won four of his last ten matches and his scoring has been on the light side, with only one average over 92.

Ross Smith has won seven of his last ten matches and he is one of the heavier scorers around. He will be hard for Kenny to live with if he plays around his average level.

Smith is 1.25 favourite, Kenny 4.25, but Smith will not take this lightly as he has lost one of his two matches vs. Kenny. No bet.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: No Bet

Danny Noppert vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode

Dirk summed this game up well when he said it will only be a good game if he can play well, as Danny always plays well. Noppert is consistency on a stick right now, he hasn’t always been, but right now he is. Noppert has won eight of his last ten matches with seven seeing 95+ averages and no sub 90s.

Dirk is still getting back to full fitness, he is not there yet, but he can practice more and it shows. He has won seven of his last ten matches and seven of his averages have been 95+ also. He has also had four ton plus averages, but one sub 90. The Aubergenius is 95% back to his best and his best is better than Noppert’s.

Their H2H record is 9-5 to Noppert and he has won the last three, which is no surprise as Van Duijvenbode has been injured for some time now. It was his knee, and then his shoulder.

Looking at the stats, you have to say Noppert is the favourite, but the stats are a reflection of Dirk playing way below his best for some time. A prime Dirk is the better player.

The question is if he is in good enough shape to show his best game? He is odds against and that is enough for me.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Dirk van Duijvenbode to win @ 2.10 with Ladbrokes

Ryan Searle vs. Jonny Clayton

The Ferret ended our big outsider hopes with Martin Lukeman. It was a 6-5 win for Clayton, with both averaging just over 90. Not the highest quality, but a good match.

Clayton has won five of his last ten matches and his return to form is not a straight path. His averages in those last ten saw eight sub 94s and he is usually in the 90 – 93 range. That can make it hard to win at this level, and especially against an in-form Ryan Searle.

Up to this year, Searle was easy to oppose on the Euro Tour, he just didn’t travel well, but in 2024, the penny has dropped, and he has reached five quarter finals, but lost the lot.

Heavy Metal has won seven of his last ten matches and was runner up at PC18 last week. It must be said that he is a better floor player than a stage player, but he can still get wins in the early rounds.

Their H2H record is 4-3 to Clayton and it was The Ferret who won their only match this year, a 6-2 win in ET7 in May. Time for some revenge?

Searle is the 1.73 favourite. But I will be more positive and back him on the handicap.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Ryan Searle to win -1.5 legs @ 2.25 with Betfred

Damon Heta vs. Ritchie Edhouse

Edhouse was at it again last night, winning on the Euro Tour. He beat Luke Woodhouse 6-5 in a very entertaining match that was, however, a bit low on everything, except bullseyes. Both players averaged below 89 and it is likely that Edhouse will need to up his scoring against the in-form Heta.

The Aussie beat Ryan Searle in the final of PC18 last week, despite only returning from New Zealand a few days before. He averaged 106 in the final and 100.77 across his seven matches. That is top form.

He was runner up in the New Zealand Darts Masters and he is somewhere near his best. Like Searle, he does his best work in the floor tournaments win wise, but he has won on the Euro Tour before.

Their H2H record is 4-2 to Heta and when he wins, it is usually quite easily, when Edhouse has won, it was in deciding legs, including in ET7 back in May. More recently, Heta won 6-0 in a Players Championship match last month.

Heta is 1.40 favourite but I will take him on the handicap.

2024 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Damon Heta to win-1.5 legs @ 1.74 with Livescorebet

Hopefully I will have time to cover at least some of tonight’s matches, so there will be an update later this afternoon.

-JamesPunt