2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Preview

James Punt finished off last night with two winners, including a correct score touch at odds of 6.25. Check out James’ 2026 Poland Darts Open R3 preview below.

Saturday Reflections

It was a frustrating day yesterday. The afternoon session was a bloodbath, full of one-sided matches and it was a -3.75 point. loss. The evening saw some relief and we finished +3.11 points. That leaves us on -1.56 for the event so far. One more session to try and get back into the black, and we still have Luke Humphries gunning for the overall win.

Luke Littler vs. Ross Smith

I’m not sure that Littler will appreciate being first match up on a Sunday. He is not a morning person. He was back to his very best yesterday, averaging 113.84 in his 6-1 win over De Decker.

Ross Smith beat Daryl Gurney by the same margin and he averaged a creditable 102.27. A fine performance but made to look pedestrian by Littler’s effort.

Their H2H record is 6-1 to Littler and he is the 1.20 favourite. Smith is a heavy scorer when playing well and his 180 radar is key to his game. He has been better in that department in recent matches, which is a good sign for his prospects. They have played one Euro Tour match, a semi-final in 2024, and Littler won that 7-2. They met earlier this season and that was a 4-1 win for Littler in the World Masters.

These two are big 180 hitters with Littler’s 12-month rate at 0.45 and Smith 0.34. Smith hit five against Gurney yesterday, Littler three against De Decker.

The bookies are wise to this and over 7.5 180s is just 2.16. The problem is not their hitting ability, but how long the match will last. We were one maximum short with a 180 bet yesterday and if we got a 6-1, 6-2 sort of match, that could be the case a gain. No bet.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: No Bet

Cristo Reyes vs. Josh Rock

An interesting match. Reyes has been impressive since coming back to the game after six years out. He is fresh and hungry. He has dropped just five legs in his wins over Springer and Searle.

Rock found his A game in a 6-1 win over O’Connor, who was unable to repeat his performance against Harrysson on Friday. I expect Reyes to be a tougher nut to crack.

Rock is the 1.53 favourite, Reyes 3.00. The money has been going down on the Spaniard and he does look to have a better chance than the odds suggest.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.10 generally available

Luke Woodhouse vs. Chris Dobey

Dobey hardly got out of first gear to beat the overrated Connor Scutt 6-0. He has won nine of his last ten matches and says he is looking to do what Aspinall did in 2026. To break his Euro Tour duck. We shall see.

Woodhouse did his usual solid job in a 6-4 win over Rydz. It was a good game and while Rydz didn’t quite play his best, Woodhouse was very good on the doubles and deserved his win.

The question for me is, when will Dobey get tight? I suspect not until we get to a match with ‘final’ in the title. He lost three quarter finals and two semi-finals last season on the Euro Tour.

Their H2H record is 5-3 to Dobey and he has won five of their last six. I am not a huge fan of backing Dobey on a stage but given his form and H2H record vs. Woodhouse he makes sense at the odds.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: 1 point Chris Dobey to in @ 1.73 with Livescorebet

Jonny Clayton vs. Michael Smith

Clayton had to work quite hard to beat Adam Gawlas 6-4 last night, but his bandwagon is still rolling. He has won eight of his last ten matches and playing well. He hit six 180s against Gawlas and was solid on the outer ring. He should be hard to beat.

Michael Smith made the most of his late call up, beating Joe Cullen 6-5. It was a 97.01 average and Smith has won his last seven matches. He has hit seven 180s in each of his last two.

Their H2H record is 19-17 to Smith, but Clayton has won six of their last seven.

Clayton is the 1.60 favourite, Smith 2.75. I fancy Clayton to win it but I will go for an overs wager in the 180s market.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: 1 point over 5.5 180s @ 1.91 with Hills

Luke Humphries vs. Boris Kcrmar

Big Boris has been good to us so far, landing odds against bets when beating Ryan Joyce and Martin Schindler. He enjoys playing the big names and he fears no one, and why should he, he is huge!

He played Humphries in ET 10 in 2022 and won 6-3 but since then, they have met twice, both on the Euro Tour and Humphries won 6-2 and 6-4.

Humphries is the 1.20 favourite, Krčmar 5.50. Humphries was taken all the way by Ratajski last night, but he was playing not just the man, but the country. He wasn’t happy with the crowd, but he got the job done, despite Ratajski averaging 99.59.

Humphries is the deserved favourite and I suspect he will get the better of Boris once again, but the odds are of no interest, No bet.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: No Bet

Stephen Bunting vs. Jermaine Wattimena

Wattimena was poor in his first-round win over a local qualifier, but was a very different player when beating Danny Noppert 6-5. Yes, Noppert missed three match darts but it was that kind of tight match with both players scoring well, but Wattimena was just that bit better on the doubles.

It is hard to have too much faith in Wattimena. He has won seven of his last ten matches but had five sub 90 averages. He is very unpredictable right now.

Bunting got some relief from his PL woes with a 6-4 win over the in-form Zonneveld. It wasn’t a great match and Bunting only averaged 88.06. Both players were rubbish on the doubles and I would suggest that Bunting’s confidence is still fragile, despite the win. He is another player with five sub 90 averages in his last ten matches, but he won seven.

Their H2H record is 7-7. I was going to skip this one, but looking at that H2H record and one thing stands out. They have played twelve best of eleven leg matches and only one required more than nine legs.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: 1 point under 9.5 legs @ 1.90 with SpreadEx

Gian van Veen vs. Nathan Aspinall

Van Veen was taken to a deciding leg by Andrew Gilding, much as expected. Aspinall is a different kind of player and probably more to Van Veen’s liking.

Aspinall beat Daryl Pilgrim 6-3 in a quality game of darts. It was a 96.95 average for The Asp, with five 180s and 46% on the doubles. He has won six of his last ten matches and is playing well on the whole, with a couple of duff matches. He loved playing on the Euro Tour in 2025, topping the OOM, and looks keen to repeat it.

Their H2H record is 3-3. On the Euro Tour it is 2-1 to Aspinall but Van Veen has won their two matches already played in 2026.

Van Veen is the 1.67 favourite, Aspinall 2.30. Their last match on the Euro Tour was a 7-6 win for Aspinall in ET14 last year, and we could have another close one.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.04 with Livescorebet

Wessell Nijman vs. Cameron Menzies

Menzies has cost me 3 points this weekend, beating Edhouse 6-4 and then Wade 6-0. He was poor on his doubles against Edhouse but was 50% on them against Wade. I can’t knock how he has played overall. Menzies doesn’t usually tend to go deep in these events. He has played twelve third round matches and lost nine, and he has never gone beyond the quarter finals.

Nijman has won eight of his last ten matches. He beat Gary Anderson 6-2 yesterday, averaging 103.46. It was huge improvement on the dross he played against Thomas Lovely in round 1. For all his talent, Nijman remains inconsistent. He has won 50% of his ten Euro Tour third round matches.

Their H2H record is 3-2 to Menzies. Nijman is the 1.48 favourite, Menzies 3.00. I have lost enough on Menzies already. No bet.

2026 Poland Darts Open R3 Tip: No Bet

That’s it from me this weekend, back on Thursday for the Premier League from Belfast.

-JamesPunt