German Darts Championship Finals Night Tips – JP
Sunday German Darts Championship Preview
James Punt roared back to form this afternoon, firing in four winners from five tips. Now, it is time for his last preview of the weekend. Check out his German Darts Championship Finals night tips below.
Gabriel Clemens vs. Michael van Gerwen
Clemens is into the rarified air of a Euro Tour quarter final, for only the third time. He reached two quarter finals in ET12 and ET13 late last year and lost them both, 5-6 to Clayton and 4-6 to Heta.
The German Giant came through a missed doubles marathon vs. Ross Smith (what is it with the doubles this weekend?). Clemens missed sixteen, Smith twenty one. Smith missed eight to go 4-2 up and take control of the match, but his game fell apart after losing that leg.
At least they managed seven 180s in the match, four from the German who does have his range on the treble 20 this weekend.
Unimpressive MVG
MVG was less than impressive in a 6-5 win over Joe Cullen. It was another flat performance and he was lucky to get away with the win. That said, he averaged 96.7, hit four 180s and was 54.5% on the doubles. Most players would love those game stats.
These two have met three times and Van Gerwen has won the lot and won them easily, 7-3, 5-1 and 6-2, the latter being on the Euro Tour this summer. MVG likes players he can dominate as they are halfway beaten before a dart has been thrown.
The crowd will try and get on his back but I have noticed that they can be shut up very easily. MVG gets in front and the crowd will be flatter than a Topfenstrudel.
Van Gerwen Odds On
Van Gerwen is the 1.25 favourite and while Clemens has played some good stuff this weekend, I would not be surprised to see him struggle here. The expectations from the home crowd will be there and if he struggled with Ross Smith, MVG could be worse.
MVG has played seven Euro Tour quarter finals in 2023 and won four. The three he lost were all 4-6. The four wins were absolute shaggings. A 6-0, two 6-1’s and 6-2.
If you fancy Clemens, back him to win 6-4, if not, MVG to cover a big handicap may be the way to go. He hasn’t fired yet, he may not fire, but if he gets going, it could be another shagging.
German Darts Championship Finals night tip: 2 points Michael van Gerwen to win -2.5 legs @ 1.85 Ladbrokes, Boylesports
German Darts Championship Finals night tip: 0.5 point Michael van Gerwen to win 6-1 @ 8.00 with Unibet
Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Stephen Bunting
Pietreczko was impressive once again, averaging 96.3 in a 6-2 win over George Killington. He still missed twelve doubles, which puts his scoring into perspective. There was also a 164 checkout into the bargain and he looks to be in top form.
Pietreczko reached the quarter final of ET2 at the end of March but lost it 5-6 to Rob Cross. He is playing much better than he was that weekend, it must be said, and his tournament average is 97.48 across his three matches so far. He has reached two Players Championship semi-finals and a recent quarter final.
Eight wins from his last ten matches tells us that he is confident and playing at the top of his game. His scoring is strong and consistently so. Seven of his last ten matches have seen averages of 96+ with a low of 91.5. He looks ready to give anyone a game.
Bunting Not At Best
Stephen Bunting wasn’t at his best in a laboured 6-5 win over Jules van Dongen this afternoon. Neither player really got going in a scrappy match. He needs to find the game he had last night when averaging 101 against Josh Rock.
Their H2H record is 1-1 and their only stage match was in ET 2 in March which Pietreczko won 6-3.
I would expect a close match. Pietreczko is looking in terrific form and Bunting is on a good run himself. We are at the business end now and Bunting can start to get tight in these matches.
He has already won a quarter final on the Euro Tour this season, but lost another earlier in the year. He has played three quarter finals across Players Championships and the Euro Tour recently and won all three. That is a sign that his game has improved.
Bunting is the 1.60 favourite which is pretty short in my book. Pietreczko is playing too well to be the 2.38 outsider. The crowd might just be the deciding factor.
German Darts Championship Finals night tip: 1 point Ricardo Pietreczko to win @ 2.38 with Boylesports
Damon Heta vs. Peter Wright
This will be Euro Tour quarter final number eight for Heta in 2023. He has won four of them and seven went over nine legs.
He just about got past Martin Lukeman in a 6-5 win that had everything including a missed big number in the deciding leg by Lukeman that likely cost him the match. Thank goodness for taking the handicap option.
It was a decent performance by Heta, Lukeman wouldn’t give up and Heta was made to operate under pressure and he just got away with it. His doubling was poor, missing sixteen, but he hit five maximums in a very mixed bag.
Untroubled Wright
Peter Wright didn’t have to do much to beat a disappointing Nico Kurz, who was a shadow of the player we saw in the first two days. Wright averaged 92.3 in a match that didn’t really tell us much about his form.
Heta and Wright met in the final of last year’s final Euro Tour event and it was Heta who won it 8-7. They have met nine times and Wright has won seven. He won their only match in 2023, a 7-5 win in the ET8 semi-final. Wright went on to win the title, a rare highlight in a poor season. A good omen for Snakey?
Wright has played three quarter finals in 2023 and got hammered in two with 1-6 and 0-6 defeats, but his sole win was against Heta.
Heta does tend to make life hard for himself and with Wright not looking at his best this weekend, this could be a bit of a grind.
German Darts Championship Finals night tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.85 with Ladbrokes
Luke Humphries vs. Rob Cross
What can you say about Luke Humphries’ form? He whitewashed James Wade and that that doesn’t happen very often. Humphries averaged 111, hit five 180s and was 54.5% on the doubles. It made his 106 average last night look a bit shit. He is like the proverbial dog with two tails and they are wagging furiously.
Rob Cross finally got past Michael Smith to improve an already good H2H record against Bully Boy. He nearly let it slip, missing match darts before winning a deciding leg. It was a 102 average, with five maximums and 50% on the doubles. He will need to be at least as good tonight.
Close H2H
Their H2H record is 7-5 to Cross. However, Humphries gave Cross a proper doing in the World Series Finals last month, winning 10-2.
They have met in three Euro Tour finals, Humphries winning two, but it was Cross who won their final in May at ET5, to claim his first Euro Tour title. Humphries averaged 104 in that final but lost 6-8. Humphries cannot just assume that he will do to Cross what he did to Wade, but I think he might.
We are on Humphries to win the title so there is no need to be backing him at short odds here, but I will have a go at the 180s.
Both hit five this afternoon and in their three Euro Tour finals they hit a total of 25 in 37 legs played, at 0.675 per leg. We should see plenty here, but the risk is that Humphries could run away with things and we don’t get many legs. Cross is a professional and he is going to be trying his damnedest.
