2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy Betting Preview

It was a mixed bag overall for James Punt at the World Series but at least he finished strong with a trio of winners in his final preview. He is back in action on the Euro Tour this weekend, his 2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy betting preview is below.

2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy

This will be the fourth Hungarian Darts Trophy and the eleventh of the thirteen Euro Tour tournaments in 2024. The three previous winners have been Gerwyn Price, Joe Cullen and Dave Chisnall last year. Chizzy was a beaten semi-finalist in 2022, Price in 2023 and they are the two most successful players in this event.

We have had eight different winners from the first ten Euro Tour events. Littler (x2), Chisnall (x2), Humphries, Schindler, Anderson Cross, Rock and Wright. Still no win for Michael van Gerwen. Dave Chisnall has won two of the last three, with Peter Wrights win sandwiched in between.

The Seeds

1 Dave Chisnall 

Has won two of the last three events on the Euro Tour, is the defending champion and a semi-finalist here in 2022. His recent form is excellent. He won the European Darts Open in June, was a semi-finalist at the German Darts Championship at the start of the month and won the Flander Darts Trophy two weeks ago. Earlier this week he was semi-finalist in PC20 and runner up in PC21. Chizzy has to be short listed.

2 Ross Smith 

A two time runner up in 2024 and maybe frustration is getting the better of him. He has lost five of his last ten matches and only picked up one win in this week’s Players Championship events.

3 Luke Humphries

A quarter finalist on Tuesday but knocked out in round one on Wednesday. He has won six of his last ten matches and is playing well. Always a serious contender.

4 Gerwyn Price 

A semi-finalist on Tuesday and reached the fourth round on Wednesday, Price has won eight of his last ten. Still not at his best, however, and hasn’t won a ranking title since ET3 in April.

5 Danny Noppert 

Four Euro Tour quarter finals and a semi-final in 2024. Noppert only picked up two wins in midweek and he has lost five of his last ten matches. Expensive to back outright at the best of times. Poor value now.

6 Josh Rock 

The new dad did not play midweek and he has only played six competitive matches in the last month, losing four. Played well in Belgium last time out but lost 5-6 to Chris Dobey in the third round.

7 Stephen Bunting 

Won ten of his twelve matches mid-week, losing the final of PC20 7-8 to Luke Littler, and reaching the quarter final on Wednesday. Bunting has reached two quarter finals and two semi-finals on the Euro Tour in 2024. He has yet to pick up a title in eleven years on the Euro Tour and remains hard to fancy outright.

8 Damon Heta 

Played some great stuff midweek, winning seven from nine. He is back in good form and could have another good run. He reached the quarter final here last year.

9 Ryan Searle 

Has reached six Euro Tour quarter finals in 2024, two more than for the last seven years combined. He is getting the hang it, but like players such as Noppert and Bunting, is expensive to follow outright, on stage at least. He was a quarter finalist on Tuesday and has won seven of his last ten matches. He could reach another quarter final, but hard to fancy outright.

10 Martin Schindler 

Lost both his first round matches midweek and he has now lost six of his last ten.

11 Rob Cross 

Winner of the Baltic Sea Open in May, he skipped the last two Euro Tour events. Returned at the World Series finals where he played OK but lost the quarter final 9-10 to Michael Smith. He won three from five midweek and he looks a bit short of match fitness after a month off. Hasn’t got beyond the second round in this event.

12 Gian van Veen 

Showed some better form when winning seven of his nine matches midweek. He has reached a couple of quarter finals in 2024 and reached the third round here last year.

13 Chris Dobey 

Reached the semi-final in Belgium two weeks ago and has won six of his last ten matches. He has reached two semi-finals this season but he is another that is expensive to follow outright.

14 Michael van Gerwen 

Made an equipment change midweek and he picked up his first ranking title of 2024. He has won nine of his last ten and winning that first ranking title has come just at the right time.

15 Ricardo Pietreczko 

From being in dire form, Pietreczko was runner up in the Flanders Darts Trophy two weeks ago. He lost both his first round matches in midweek, and it is very hard to place his form.

16 Daryl Gurney 

Gets a leg up to seeded status thanks to the withdrawal of Luke Littler. Superchin is having some decent tournament runs lately, but he has been a bit disappointing when he gets into the business end of events.

He reached the quarter finals at the World Series finals last weekend but went down tamely to Peter Wright. He reached the semi-final of the German Darts Championship at the start of the month. Gurney also reached the semi-final of PC19 last month and was runner up in PC11 in June. He has lost five of his last ten matches.

Best of the Rest

Michael Smith 

Runner up in the World Series Finals last weekend, Smith has won seven of his last ten matches. He won four from six midweek and is playing well in spells but lacking a bit of consistency after a longish break. He has only played in five Euro Tours in 2024 and made one semi-final.

Peter Wright 

Reached the semi-final at the World Series finals last weekend, the quarter final in the Flanders Darts Trophy before that and won the German Darts Championship before that. Quite a turnaround in form. He skipped the Players Championship matches earlier in the week, and he has won twelve of his last fourteen matches.

Ritchie Edhouse 

Reached the semi-final of PC21 on Wednesday and has won seven of his last ten. He has enjoyed his Euro Tour events this season and he can pick up some more ranking money this weekend.

Andrew Gilding 

Was shooting some big numbers midweek, but he needs to improve his consistency if he wants to have a good run anywhere.

Dirk van Duijvenbode 

Reached his first quarter final of the season in the Flanders Darts Trophy two weeks ago. Lost to Daryl Gurney at the World Series Finals and he has lost five of his last ten matches, winning just two midweek.

Gabriel Clemens 

Reached the third round in Belgium last time out, ending a run of four straight Euro Tour defeats. He won four from six midweek and he is playing quite well and quite consistently. Not a player to back outright, however.

Wessell Nijman 

Played in a remarkable match in PC21 on Wednesday. He beat Van Barneveld 6-4, averaging 108 and Barney 112! These are the things he can do. However, he lacks any great stage experience and he has not really brought his best game when he has played on stage. He has played in two Euro Tour events and won his opening match each time before losing in the second round. Nijman has won seven of his last ten matches.

Scott Williams 

Reached the semi-final here last year but has only played in two Euro Tour events in 2024, reaching the third round in one and the second round in the other. His recent form sees six defeats from his last ten.

The Draw

First Quarter 

Dave Chisnall was my first thought when thinking of a winner this weekend. He has won two of the last three Euro Tour titles and he is in great form, winning a lot of matches. The draw has not been kind, however.

He plays the winner of the Michael Smith vs. Jonny Clayton first round match but I would still back him to make the third round. There, I expect him to face Daryl Gurney and their H2H record is close.

Should he come through that, he will likely face one of the bang in-form Peter Wright, Ryan Searle, or Damon Heta, who is playing some good stuff. It is a tough quarter for all concerned. He is the defending champion and was a semi-finalist in 2022, so he likes his goulash.

Second Quarter 

This is not quite so tough, but still a tricky quarter. Gerwyn Price is the top seed in the quarter and I expect he faces Nijman in round two. Price can win that one, but there is always the danger that Nijman lets his A-game rip and, then, he can beat anyone.

Scott Williams and Luke Woodhouse play off to see who plays Chris Dobey, the winner of that playing Price/Nijman. No mugs there. Gian van Veen and Danny Noppert are the other seeds.

Van Veen has a decent second round draw, facing the winner of Keane Barry vs. Darren Beveridge. Noppert gets the winner of Aspinall vs. Ratajski. A decent draw for Noppert. Noppert is 3-2 vs. Van Veen and 2-0 in 2024, but Van Veen is in decent form.

Third Quarter 

This is a nice draw for Stepehen Bunting. The Bullet is in great form, winning ten of his last twelve matches and reaching a final and quarter final earlier this week. He looks to have a nice path to the quarter final.

Ross Smith is the top seeded player in the quarter, but his form has not been great of late. He will face the winner of the Edhouse v Barney clash. Bunting is in the best form of anyone in the quarter and has a decent draw. Do I fancy him to reach the final, or win it? No.

Fourth Quarter 

Another quarter of Death. Luke Humphries is the top seeded player and he gets the winner of Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Gabriel Clemens. Two very dangerous players on their day. If he wins that, he is likely to face MVG.

Van Gerwen returned to the winners circle on Wednesday and he will be very keen to get a Euro Tour title under his belt before the end of the season. Josh Rock is a bit of an unknown at the moment, James Wade is a first round entrant and Rob Cross plays the winner of the Gilding vs. Van den Bergh tie. This quarter looks to be between Humphries and MVG.

They met just last weekend and it was MVG who won 10-9, ending a losing streak of eight straight matches against Cool Hand.

2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy Selection

This year’s Euro Tour has not been a happy hunting ground in terms of outright selections. The matches have gone well, but I’ve not found a tournament winner. I am prepared to back Dave Chisnall this weekend as he ticks all the boxes.

He is in great recent form, his Euro Tour form is excellent, his tournament form is excellent and his draw, while tough, is not insurmountable. The market is making him tenth favourite, which is very strange given his recent form.

2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy Tip: 1 point e/w Dave Chisnall to win @ 29.00 with Boylesports

-JamesPunt