2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Preview & Tips – JP
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Preview
James has already posted his outright preview with three tips, see that by clicking here. You can check out James Punt’s 2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 preview and tips below.
Overview
The line up for this afternoon’s session is as uncompetitive as I have seen on the Euro Tour. There are two matches that look competitive. That doesn’t mean the favourites will all win, but it is hard to see why not.
Mickey Mansell vs. Bradley Brooks
The only close match on paper. Brooks is the marginal 1.91 favourite, with Mansell 2.00.
Mansell comes here on the back of some good stuff in PC27 two weeks ago. He reached the quarter final and averaged 96.60 across his five matches. He has won six of his last ten matches and on the Euro Tour, he has won three of his four first round matches.
Brooks has won seven of his last ten matches and also played well in PC27 and PC28, but lost out to Nijman and Humphries respectively. He has won both his Euro Tour first round matches in 2026.
Their H2H record is 1-0 to Mansell. That was a 6-0 win in PC8 back in March. That was Mansell’s A game and it is unlikely that he averages 102.48 with a checkout rate of 86% again. However, he will know it was a 6-0 win, and so will Brooks.
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 1 point Mickey Mansell to win @ 2.00 with SpreadEx, Betvictor, Betfair
Ryan Joyce vs. Stephen Burton
Burton checked out 146 to avoid a 0-6 loss to Ross Smith last week, ruining our 19.00 correct score bet. I’m not bitter, but I hope he gets stuffed here.
Joyce has won five of his last ten matches and on the Euro Tour, he has won his last nine first round matches. He is so much more comfortable in these matches nowadays.
Burton won his first Euro Tour match last weekend when he beat Joe Cullen 6-3. Cullen is not in good form and the largely dependable Joyce will be a tougher nut to crack.
Joyce is the 1.57 favourite, Burton 2.60. They have only met once and that was way back in 2019. Joyce won it 6-3.
Joyce has won four of his last seven first round matches 6-3.
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 0.5 point Ryan Joyce to win 6-3 @ 6.00 generally available
Evening Session
Rob Cross vs. Cristo Reyes
This is a big match for Reyes. He is provisionally in the Grand Prix, in last place and just £500 ahead of Kim Huybrechts and £1500 ahead of Bialecki. Those two play later this evening. It isn’t quite a must win for Reyes, but it is really. Reyes isn’t quite nailed on for the European Championship finals yet either.
Rob Cross doesn’t have those worries. He has won seven of his last ten matches, but he was poor last week in a 4-6 loss to Keane Barry. He has had a few poor performances and lost all three, but I won’t say he is out of form, yet.
Reyes has won five of his last ten matches and is as inconsistent as that sounds. On the Euro Tour, he has lost his last five first round matches. Given the pressure he is under, he would have hoped for a better draw than Rob Cross in the first round.
Their H2H record is 4-3 to Cross, but most of that is very old form. Reyes won their only match in 2026, 6-4, back in February. Given the pressure he is under, it will be hard for Reyes. Cross is the 1.57 favourite, Reyes 2.50.
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 1 point Rob Cross to win -1.5 legs @ 1.91 generally available
Joe Cullen vs. Andy Baetens
Cullen isn’t in good form, losing six of his last ten matches. He has lost four of his last five and really struggled in those matches. Cullen usually wins his first round matches but lost to Stephen Burton 3-6 last week.
Baetens never lived up to the hype when he was on the Pro Tour and lost his card at the end of last year. He came through the local qualifiers yesterday, averaging 92.02, and hit a 102 average in his final match. He qualified for the Belgian Darts Open earlier this year and made it all the way to the quarter final. Baetens is on home soil again and must fancy his chances.
Cullen is the 1.80 favourite, Baetens 2.10. They have only met once before, and that was in the Belgian Darts Trophy this year, which Baetens won 6-5, also in the first round. Can History repeat itself?
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 1 point Andy Baetens to win @ 2.10 generally available
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 0.5 point Andy Baetens to win 6-5 @ 7.50 with Unibet, Betfair
Cameron Menzies vs. Gabriel Clemens
Menzies is playing the better darts right now, but both players are very inconsistent. Menzies has played some great stuff, but some really bad darts as well. Clemens doesn’t fluctuate so much, but he has lost six of his last ten matches.
This is only Clemens’ second Euro Tour appearance in 2026. For a former World Championship semi-finalist, that is some fall from grace.
Their H2H record shows a history of close matches. The last four have been over 9.5 legs and the last three needed a deciding leg.
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 with Betfair
Damon Heta vs. Beau Greaves
Greaves got her first Euro Tour win last weekend, beating Daryl Gurney 6-4 and ending his hopes of a Grand Prix berth. She says she started that match feeling very nervous and hopefully she will be more relaxed this time round.
Heta has lost five of his last ten matches and he is playing OK, just a bit frustrated at times. One of the matches he won was a 6-3 win over Greaves in PC26 last month.
These two have an extensive H2H record, having met eight times, Heta winning six. The only stage match was in the 2023 Grand Slam which went to a deciding leg. The crowd will be on Greaves’ side, but the Belgians are a fair crowd.
Heta will be used to playing Greaves which will help him to just get on with it and not be worried about playing a woman. He is the marginal 1.91 favourite, with Greaves 2.00
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: 0.5 point Damon Heta to win 6-4 @ 7.00 with Betfair, Skybet
Sebastian Bialecki vs. Kim Huybrechts
The BIG match of the night. These two are playing to have a chance to make the Grand Prix and the European Championship, so there is a lot of potential cash riding on it.
It is a real clash of personalities. Bialecki, the timid, bookish Pole, and Huybrechts the pugilistic Belgian. The home crowd will be cheering on Huybrechts, but Bialecki is cut from the same stone as Ratajski. Unflappable.
In Form
Bialecki is in good form, winning PC26 in July and he has won seven of his last ten matches, but his scoring isn’t that great. Huybrechts has also won seven of his last ten matches, scoring that bit better than Bialecki on the whole. He has won seven of his eight first round matches on the Euro Tour in 2026 but, crucially, he lost his first one last weekend, just as the pressure was building.
This is a hard one to call. Both players will be aware of how important it is to win. Huybrechts has home advantage, but more scar tissue. His career has been on the slide in recent years, Bialecki is still an improving young player, picking up experience, but he has won two senior PDC titles.
H2H
Their H2H record is 2-1 to Bialecki, two 6-2 wins for Bialecki in 2026 and 2025, and a 4-2 World Cup win for Huybrechts back in 2022.
Bialecki is he 1.95 favourite, Huybrechts 2.00. I had expected the bookies to make Huybrechts the favourite, but they have called it right. No bet….or another 6-2 win to Bialecki? It doesn’t have the feel of a one sided match. No bet.
2026 Flanders Darts Trophy R1 Tip: No Bet
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Brendan Dolan
A clash of styles to end the night. Dirk is a bit of a speed merchant, while Dolan has a more modest pace. He is not Mickey Mansell slow, but he isn’t quick.
Dirk has won five of his last ten matches and was dire in a 2-6 loss to Super Mario in last week’s first round. He averaged 77.51 in that one.
Dolan comes here on the back of reaching the final of PC28, losing that 6-8 to Luke Humphries. He beat a certain Luke Littler in the semi-final, and the in-form Luke Woodhouse in the quarter final. So close to the Luke hattrick, and not many can say that. He has won seven of his last ten matches.
Their H2H record is 7-5 to Dolan. He won both their matches last year, and their last one saw a 6-0 win for The History Maker. Dolan is not great on the Euro Tour, losing eight of his last ten first round matches, but he is competitive and clearly has gotten into Dirk’s head at times.
Dirk is the 1.44 favourite, Dolan 2.90 and I will give Dolan a go on the handicap.
