2026 International Darts Open R1 Preview

We have already posted a player by player outright betting preview, read that here. Check out James Punt’s 2026 International Darts Open R1 preview below.

Andrew Gilding vs. Bradley Brooks

Gilding was very nearly an outright selection as he is in great form, winning eight of his last ten matches. He was runner up in PC18 on Tuesday and won PC16 ten days ago. Gilding has reached two of his last three Euro Tour quarter finals and is playing well.

Brooks has lost six of his last ten matches and hit eight sub 87 averages. This is his first Euro Tour match of 2026 and in his entire career he has played nineteen Euro Tour matches and won seven.

Brooks can be very good, but his A game has not been sighted for weeks.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Gilding to win -1.5 legs @ 1.72 with SpreadEx

Keane Barry vs. Niels Zonneveld

Zonneveld has reached two Euro Tour semi-finals in 2026, but that hot run of form has come to an end. Most recently he has lost seven of his last ten matches.

Keane Barry has won six of his last ten matches and while he is not pulling up any trees, he is playing at a decent level, with fairly regular A game sightings. He last played Zonneveld in ET5 and won that 6-3. Overall, Barry is 7-4 with Zonneveld and in 2026, it is 2-1 to the Irishman.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Keane Barry to win @ 2.30 with Livescorebet, SpreadEx

Evening Session

Dave Chisnall vs. Liam Maendl-Lawrance

I am going to have a go with the outsider here. Liam Maendl-Lawrance is a German qualifier but is not new to the Euro Tour. He won two first round matches in 2023 and took Danny Noppert to a deciding leg in two second round matches. His not so secret weapon is that he is painfully slow. He can play a bit, he is nothing special, but very slow.

Dave Chisnall may be in terminal decline. He has been out of form for a couple of years now and most recently has lost seven of his last ten matches, hitting six sub 90 averages. If he puts in one of his duff performances, Maendl-Lawrance could take advantage. It is worth rolling the dice at the odds.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Liam Maendl-Lawrance to win @ 3.75 with BET365

Kevin Doets vs. Tom Bissell

These two have played twice, both last year on the floor, and Doets won both 6-2. He is running very hot, but Bissell can have his moments and should get a leg or two. He has played in three Euro Tour events, all last year, and lost two opening matches, 3-6 to Pietreczko and 4-6 to Luke Woodhouse, but he did beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 in one, before losing 2-6 to Mike de Decker.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 0.5 point Doets to win 6-2 @ 6.00 generally available

Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Rob Cross

Dirk has been playing a lot of very good darts. Nine of his last ten matches have seen 95+ averages and six 98+. He still lost four of them and that is his problem. Turning good performances into wins.

Rob Cross continues to struggle post Taxmangate. He only got here as a late call up from the reserve list and has lost five of his last ten matches. He is much like Dirk, plays well, but struggles to win.

Neither player is blessed with much confidence. Their H2H record is 5-3 to Dirk and he won their only match in 2026, a 6-5 win in ET2. They have played just twice in the last two years and both were close affairs.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.94 with Livescorebet

Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Cristo Reyes

These two met in ET3 in March and Reyes won 6-4. It was a high-quality match with Reyes averaging 102, Ratajski 98. Ratajski is not in top form, losing five of his last ten matches, but he does have some strong performances, just lacking consistency.

Reyes has also lost five of his last ten matches, and like Ratajski, is lacking in consistency. This could be good and has a 6-3 feel, but to which player? No bet.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: No Bet

Charlie Manby vs. Niko Springer

Manby is making his Euro Tour debut and comes here on the back of eight wins from his last ten matches. That sounds better than it actually was. In those ten matches, he only averaged over 93 twice.

Springer is on home soil and has won seven of his last ten matches, largely playing better than Manby. Springer is an experienced Euro Tour player, winning a title last year. In the last 12 months, Springer has won nine of his twelve first round matches.

I will go for the more experienced, home player.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Niko Springer to win @ 1.80 generally available

Daryl Gurney vs. Kim Huybrechts

Gurney reached the semi-final of the Austrian Darts Open last time out but his most recent form sees five wins from ten. That run in Austria pretty much secures his place in the European Championships.

Huybrechts has been undergoing something of a revival in his career of late. He has won six of his last ten matches and hit three big ton plus averages. His A game is very good. The consistency isn’t quite there, but his A game is better than Gurney’s right now. He is four from four in his Euro Tour first round matches and is just one place behind Gurney in the European Championship OOM.

Their H2H record is 6-3 to Huybrechts, but they haven’t met since 2020. Huybrechts is the 1.80 favourite, Gurney 2.10. The odds look about right but a close match would be no surprise.

2026 International Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.96 with Livescorebet

Back tomorrow for Round 2.

-JamesPunt