2025 German Darts Championship R2 Preview – JP
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Preview
James Punt went 3/5 in the afternoon session and 3/6 in the evening session on Friday. Check out his 2025 German Darts Championship R2 preview below.
Gian Van Veen vs. Niels Zonneveld
Zonneveld beat Labanauskas 6-2 in the first round and it was a solid performance. He has now won seven of his last ten matches and is in pretty decent form. He has only ever won four second round matches on the Euro Tour from seventeen events played.
Gian van Veen might be the unluckiest player in darts, but he is also one of the best. A two-time Euro Tour runner up, he is coming to the boil. He has made two semi-finals in the last three events and earlier this week played his way into his third World Youth Final in a row.
H2H
These two have met seven times and it is Zonneveld who won five matches, including a 6-5 win just a couple of weeks ago. All of their previous matches have been on the floor and it is fair to say that Van Veen is more at home on the stage.
We have backed Van Veen outright and this is a potential banana skin, but Gian should be able to move on to the next round. He is the 1.33 favourite but given their H2H record it would be wise to sit this one out.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: No Bet
Damon Heta vs. Steve Lennon
Lennon was able to access his A-game in a 6-2 win over Jeffrey de Graaf yesterday. He was helped by De Graaf being absolutely dreadful on his doubles and once Lennon settled it was game over.
Lennon does have a good A-game but he finds it hard to string good performances together which explains a 43% win rate in 2025 and the fact that he has lost five of his last ten matches. He has failed to get past the second-round stage in his last seventeen Euro Tour events.
Heta was runner up in the European Darts Open at the start of June but since then he has lost four of his five second round matches on the Euro Tour. Most recently, Heta has won six of his last ten matches but half of those saw sub 90 averages. He is devoid of any consistency.
Their H2H record is an unsurprising 3-1 to Heta and their last match was a 6-3 win for the Aussie back in June. I would not be surprised to see something similar, but with two dodgy players, you never know. No bet.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: No Bet
Danny Noppert vs. Luke Woodhouse
Here we have two very professional darts players who are never going to set the world on fire. Two top end journeymen. Noppert has won a major title, but if you ever saw the final of the 2022 UK Open, you will remember that it was handed to him, gift wrapped on a plate by Michael Smith. Yes, he was good enough to reach the final and be in a place to receive that gift, but Noppert is more famous for losing lots of quarter and semi-finals.
Woodhouse can only dream of being able to lose lots of quarter and semi-finals, but he is getting there. He lost the quarter final of the 2023 Players Championship Finals and the semi-final of last year’s European Championships.
On the Euro Tour, Woodhouse has lost four quarter finals, a semi-final and just three weeks ago, the final of the Swiss Darts Trophy. They are two peas in the same pod, just that Noppert has been there for longer.
Not At best
Woodhouse has won six of his last ten matches but he is not playing his best. Yesterday Woodhouse beat Tom Bissell 6-4. It was a gritty performance and he is getting better at winning matches. He was outscored by Bissell yesterday but was able to dig out a win. It was very Noppert-esque.
Their H2H record is 7-1 to Noppert. They have not met in 2025 and have never met on a stage before and of their last five matches, four have been over 9.5 legs. Both players are capable of digging in and winning legs. Noppert is playing the better darts right now and he should justify the favourite’s odds of 1.67, but it could be close.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Danny Noppert to win @ 1.67 with Hills
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 0.5 point Danny Noppert to win 6-4 @ 6.50 with SpreadEx
Ryan Searle vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Ratajski has probably done enough to ensure his participation in the European Championship finals with his 6-1 win over Felix Springer yesterday. He didn’t mess about, averaging 96.23 and has now won six of his last ten. He is not playing anything outstanding, but he is usually a very solid player who gives his best and makes his opponents beat him, rather than handing out wins.
Ryan Searle is the more flamboyant player, capable of big averages and lots of maximums, but is also likely to throw in a flat performance. Searle won PC28 three weeks ago and reached the semi-final of PC30 two weeks ago, so he is in good form and feeling confident. He has reached two quarter finals in 2025 and the last was three weeks ago in the Swiss Darts Trophy.
These two have met on seven previous occasions and Searle has won three, Ratajski four. They have not played since 2022 which is a surprise. They have met on the Euro Tour once, back in 2021 and Ratajski won that 6-3.
Ryan Searle is the 1.75 favourite, Ratajski 2.20 and that looks about right. I will go for a competitive match and an overs bet.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 with Betfair
Mike De Decker vs. Wessel Nijman
Nijman started very slowly in his 6-2 win over Martin Kramer yesterday. He was fine once he got going but he will not be allowed to get away with that against the better players. He has won eight of his last ten matches and is playing some very good stuff.
De Decker has won seven of his last ten matches and he too is playing some very good darts. The Real Deal hasn’t had much success in his second round Euro Tour matches, playing twelve and losing eight.
Their H2H record is 4-3 to De Decker but it was Nijman who won their only match in 2025, a 6-4 win in ET5 back in April.
Nijman is the 1.79 favourite with De Decker 2.20. It is a tricky looking match but hopefully Nijman can get through to the final day. Both are big 180 hitters, Nijman ranked 13th for 180s per leg and De Decker 8th. Their last match on the Euro Tour produced seven maximums.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point over 5.5 180s @ 1.73 with Livescorebet
Rob Cross vs. Cameron Menzies
Menzies put in a very impressive performance against Wesley Plaisier yesterday, coming from behind to win 6-4. He was very calm, didn’t panic under heavy fire and was able to turn the tables and break Plaisier’s spirit. He has won six of his last ten matches and is in decent form.
Rob Cross will know that he is not yet assured of a place in the European Championships, but a win here should do it, so there is a bit of pressure on him.
Cross has won six of his last ten matches and he is playing like he always does, scoring well but not winning as many matches as he should be doing. He lost 1-3 to Menzies in the World Grand Prix a week ago and overall, their H2H record is 3-3.
Cross is the 1.73 favourite with Menzies 2.30. It looks to be a toss up to me and there is just enough value in Menzies’ odds to take a chance on him to repeat last week’s win.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Cameron Menzies to win @ 2.30 with SpreadEx
Peter Wright vs. Ricardo Pietreczko
A repeat of the 2023 final which Pietreczko won 8-4. Pikachu beat Szaganski 6-3 last night with both players averaging 92, but Pietreczko was better on the doubles, which is the best part of his game. He also used the home crowd to get him going.
Pietreczko has won four of his last ten matches and is not playing well. His record on the Euro Tour in 2025 shows a great first round win rate of eleven from thirteen, but his second-round record sees just two wins from twelve.
Peter Wright has won six of his twelve second round matches but his overall form of late is dire with just two wins from his last ten matches.
Their H2H record is 2-0 to Ricardo, both on the Euro Tour, and in the days when Wright was a much better player than he is now.
2025 German Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Pietreczko to win @ 1.91 with Boylesports
Dave Chisnall vs. Gabriel Clemens
Chisnall simply must win to take his place in the top 32 qualifying places for the European championships. Lose, and he is out.
His record on the Euro Tour in 2025 sees eight consecutive second round defeats and overall, he has lost eight of his last ten matches, so his confidence is in the bin. Under pressure and everything is going wrong. Good luck with that.
Clemens beat the Czech qualifier 6-2 last night. It was an underwhelming performance in a poor match, but it was Clemens’ first Euro Tour win in 2025 in just his second appearance. His form is as bad as Chisnall’s. The German has lost seven of his last ten matches and he is struggling. Clemens does have home advantage and he is not the one under pressure.
H2H
Their H2H record is 6-3 to Chisnall but his wins came before his game fell apart after a back injury in the second half of last year. They have met once in 2025 and Clemens won that 6-2 back in May. Their last six best of eleven leg matches have been under 9.5 legs.
This is a strange match. Chisnall is in turmoil but despite losing his last nine Euro Tour matches and his last eight second round matches in a row, his scoring has mostly been decent. He just folds like a cheap suit. Clemens is also in a hole but his scoring has been very weak.
I suspect that if Clemens can win the first couple of legs, that will be that, but with such light scoring will Clemens be able to boss the match?
How do you pick a favourite here? The market has Chisnall at 1.73 and Clemens 2.20. I will stick with their trend for uncompetitive matches.
