2023 Czech Darts Open Betting Preview – JP
2023 Czech Darts Open Outright Betting Preview
We rattled the crossbar again last weekend with Luke Humphries at 16/1. James is back with another outright preview for this weekend’s Euro Tour event. Check out his 2023 Czech Darts Open outright betting preview and tips below.
2023 Czech Darts Open
Last weekend saw another Euro Tour runner up for us in 2023. That is three runners up and a winner from the first seven Euro Tour events for an overall profit of 6.50 points on the ante post selections this year. It is frustrating hitting the post so often but if you keep knocking on the door, eventually it will open.
This week we return to Prague for The 2023 Czech Darts Open. Last year it was won by Luke Humphries, beating Rob Cross in the final. The only other time it was played was in 2019 when Jamie Hughes beat Stephen Bunting in the final. Two unseeded players making the final was very unusual and the only seeded play to reach the semi-finals was 14th seed Simon Whitlock.
There have been two late withdrawals. Last night’s Premier League winner, Michael Smith is having the weekend off and Gary Anderson couldn’t face the prospect of travelling to Europe for a third week in a row, and for once, he has a point. Four back-to-back tournaments across Europe is pushing it. The two withdrawals means the seedings have been changed for the first time in a month!
The Seeds
1 Luke Humphries
Our runner up last week, losing 6-8 to MVG in his third final of the year. He is the defending champion and is in great form, winning eight of his last ten matches, all of them on the Euro Tour. Three finals from his six events played is a very good strike rate and odds of 17.00 were great value last week. He is only a 15.00 shot this weekend but he has to be on the shortlist.
2 Dave Chisnall
The winner of ET1 and ET6, Chisnall has won six of his last ten matches. On the Euro Tour he has won fourteen of his fifteen matches played. His Euro Tour form is strong and he can’t be dismissed easily. He has won three of the last nine Euro Tour events.
3 Michael van Gerwen
Mighty Mike finally got his first Euro Tour title of the year last weekend. He has won seven of his last ten matches and has a 71% win rate in 2023. He survived a match dart against him in the third round but he wasn’t really tested until the final, edging out Humphries 8-6. Will his tail be up? He has gone back-to-back before so he has to be considered.
4 Damon Heta
Having decent runs on the Euro Tour but always finds someone too good. It was Jonny Clayton (again) last weekend but he has reached a couple of semi-finals so he has to be considered. His draw is decent and odds of 26.00 are tempting.
5 Dirk van Duijvenbode
Reached the semi-final last weekend, despite carrying a knee injury. It has taken the edge off his game and he didn’t average anything over 93 in his four matches. He’ll will give it his best shot as usual, but his best shot isn’t what it was a couple of weeks ago. He is the 13.00 third favourite despite his injury and the fact that he has never won a Euro Tour title.
6 Rob Cross
Has lost six of his last ten matches and he is getting frustrated. Runner up here last year and he has the game to have a good run. However, with fourteen matches played and seven won on the Euro Tour in 2023, he doesn’t look like a winner in waiting.
7 Nathan Aspinall
Runner up in ET, The Asp reached the quarter finals last week, but like Smith, he started really well but fizzled out. He was playing with fluency, with less of the re-gripping that was getting out of hand, literally. One troubling stat is that his win rate is only 56%. He played well in defeat in last night PL loss to Gerwyn Price, meaning he has lost six of his last ten matches.
8 Danny Noppert
The ET2 semi-finalist has also reached two quarter finals but he is not really looking like he is in the running for a title. His scoring has been a bit light of late and if he misses a few doubles he is vulnerable. He has lost five of his last ten matches and is hard to fancy.
9 Peter Wright
Played well in a 5-6 defeat to Gabriel Clemens last week, but he is struggling to win matches. His seasonal win rate is just 45% and he has lost seven of his last ten matches.
10 Ryan Searle
His great early season form has faded. He won PC1 in February, runner up in PC4, a semi-finalist in ET1 and was runner up in PC6 in mid-March. Since then he has played just 12 matches and lost 6. His Euro Tour pedigree remains unimpressive. His most recent form see five wins from his last ten.
11 Joe Cullen
Having a bit of a lean spell, losing five of his last ten matches. He is playing OK and can always have a good run on his beloved Euro Tour, but he isn’t winning enough matches to think he is a contender for the win.
12 Jonny Clayton
Winner of ET5 in Austria, The Ferret is in good form scoring wise, but losing five of his last ten matches is off putting. He played well last weekend but lost his quarter final 4-6 to Dirk van Duijvenbode. That was a bit disappointing as an injured Dirk was beatable. Playing well enough to enter calculations but his odds (10.00) tend to be on the short side.
13 Martin Schindler
Played very well in PC9 & 10 to reach two quarter finals but he has been a bit flat since, losing four of his last six matches. He missed a bullseye to knock MVG out in last week’s third round and his search for his first PDC title goes on.
14 Josh Rock
Rock is knocking on the door of his first Euro Tour title. He was runner up to Jonny Clayton in Austria (another runners up spot for us) and reached last weekend’s semi-final. He didn’t play great against MVG but it was another good run and he played some really good stuff to reach the semi-final. Very much on the shortlist.
15 Andrew Gilding
Has lost five of his last ten matches and is just a bit too inconsistent to think he is going to have a deep run.
16 Dimitri van den Bergh
Gets a free pass into the second round thanks to Michael Smith’s withdrawal. Dimitri is in poor form, losing seven of his last ten matches, and while he is still averaging mid 90s most times, his confidence is shot.
Best of the Unseeded Players
Jose De Sousa
PC10 runner up and he has won eight of his last ten matches. That said, his performances in the main have not caught the eye. A couple of 90 averages last weekend only got him to the second round and he doesn’t look likely to have a big run.
major Upset Unlikely
The rest of the unseeded players don’t look great form wise. Players like Matt Campbell, Ross Smith and 2019 runner up, Stephen Bunting, could win a few matches but make the final? Unlikely.
Callan Rydz and Rowby-John Rodriguez have been called up as replacements for Smith and Anderson. Hardly like for like as both are in poor form. Arguably this is the weakest line up of the unseeded players this season.
Ante Post Selections
The late re-jig of the seedings and subsequent change in the draw has had its implications. The first quarter is still headed by Luke Humphries and he is joined by the out of form Van den Bergh, Danny Noppert and Peter Wright.
Humphries remains the form player, winning eight of his last ten matches and finishing second in three of his five Euro Tour events entered in 2023. He said that he knows his time will come and I agree.
He is likely to face Ross Smith in his second round match and that is potentially very tough, but Smith is not in top form. Humphries was a very generous 17.00 last week and despite being runner up again, his odds have held up quite well.
2023 Czech Darts Open Tip: 1 point e/w Luke Humphries to win @ 15.00 with Ladbrokes, Betfair, Hills, Skybet
Michael van Gerwen, last week’s winner, is still in the fourth quarter but his draw looks quite tough. Ian White is his likely to be his second round opponent and if he gets through that, then Josh Rock is a likely third round opponent. He bet Rock quite easily last week, but he is not a player to be taken lightly and is a possible winner himself. Rock is the 15.00 fourth favourite
Another player who is enjoying a lot of success on the Euro Tour is Dave Chisnall. He has won two titles in 2023 and the draw has opened up nicely for him in the third quarter. Rock is now in the fourth quarter and Chizzy looks to have a good path to the semi-final. His odds remain generous.