2024 Dutch Darts Masters Preview & Tips – JP
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Outright & Match Previews
The second of the World Series events is the 2024 Dutch Darts Masters. Not to be confused with the old European Tour event of the same name. There has only been the one Dutch Darts Masters as a World Series event and Dimitri van den Bergh beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 8-2 in the 2022 final.
The opening round of the 2024 World Series was won by Luke Littler, who beat Michael van Gerwen 8-5 in the final of the Bahrain Masters last week. Littler is now the number one seed for this event and the bookies’ 5.00 second favourite.
The venue, the Maaspoort Den Bosch, is regarded as one of the very best for a darts tournament. It has an 8500 capacity and all seats have an unobstructed view of the stage.
Same Eight
The eight PDC World Series players are the same eight that we saw in Bahrain and are also the eight players who will contest the 2024 Premier League. Hence why I am covering the opening two events of the this year’s World Series. I won’t be covering any more, as I will be sick of the sight of them after a few weeks of the PL.
The eight PL players will be joined by eight BeNelux players, or seven Dutch players and Dimitri van den Berg if you like. All are tour card holders and as far as World Series events go, you won’t see a stronger line up of players.
Four Seeds
Four players are seeded for the first round. Luke Littler is the number 1, MVG 2, Michael Smith 3 and Gerwyn Price 4. They cannot meet until the semi-final stage and if the seedings go to form, we will see another Littler vs. MVG final.
The format is a little different from last week as only the first round matches are best of 11 legs. The rest of the tournament is a best of 15 legs format.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters: The Seeds
1 Luke Littler
Living up to the hype now that he is a tour card holder. Having been runner up in his last event as a non-tour card holder at the World Championship, Littler won his first tournament as a senior, tour card player.
He has won eleven of his last twelve matches, the only loss being the World Championship final. Seven of those twelve matches saw ton plus averages and he has averaged 101.46 in his seven matches in 2024. Handy.
2 Michael van Gerwen
Will have the big crowd on his side here and he might need them. MVG is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten matches. His 2024 average is 96.1 but he will have been stung to lose his first match against the Boy who would be King.
MVG likes to put the up and comers in their place, but he played poorly in last week’s final, only averaging 87.80. That was his lowest average since losing 0-7 to Josh Rock in a Euro Tour semi-final last April, some 85 matches ago. It was almost like it was MVG who was beaten before a dart was thrown. How times have changed.
In the last four months, MVG has lost to Ricardo Pietreczko, Gian van Veen and now Luke Littler. It seems the breakthrough players have no fear of MVG. However, this is home turf for Van Gerwen and he will be doubly determined to win the event.
3 Michael Smith
Has won six of his last ten matches but is not the same player who won the 2022 Grand Slam and 2023 World Championship. His scoring hasn’t quite fallen off a cliff, but it is on the slide having fallen to below 96 over the last 12 months. That leaves him with the 13th highest 12 month average, still very good, but he knows he can do better.
He survived match darts against him in last week’s first round match against Paolo Nebrida, smashed up Peter Wright 6-1 in the second before losing 6-7 to MVG. Smith only averaged 91.58 in that match and he is having too many matches where he just doesn’t fire.
His doubling has largely been OK, and it is hard to put your finger on just what is not quite right, but it may just be down to a bit of frustration getting into his head.
4 Gerwyn Price
Ended the twenty match unbeaten run of Luke Humphries last week, beating the World Champion 6-4, but it was only a 90.48 average from the Welshman, who had struggled to beat Reynaldo Rivera in the first round and lost 3-7 to Littler in the semi-final.
Price didn’t fire in any of his three matches, averaging below 93 in all of them. That is significantly off his 12 month average of 98.51. Price has won six of his last ten matches and he continues to be off his A game.
Nathan Aspinall
Played quite well last week but just got blown away by Littler in the quarter final. The Asp has lost six of his last ten matches but he has played better than that sounds. That said, he needs to show more consistency before getting my vote.
Peter Wright
Snakebite was lucky to beat Haruki Muramatsu 6-5 in the first round last week before going down tamely to Michael Smith in the quarter final. Wright has lost six of his last ten matches and his scoring continues to fall. There were a lot of stray darts last week and he just couldn’t keep them straight. Very hard to fancy.
Rob Cross
Continues to play well without getting much return on his investment. He averaged 99.5 against MVG, but once again came up short, losing 4-6. I have to expect Cross to win a few matches, but if he comes up against a top player playing well? He struggles against MVG and is drawn to play him in the quarter final.
Luke Humphries
Perhaps it was inevitable that Humphries was going to lose at some point last week. A big winning run like he was on is going to end sooner rather than later, and he just had a match where he missed too many doubles against Gerwyn Price.
His checkout rate of 26.7% was his worst in 42 matches, so it was an outlier. Having won twenty of his last twenty one matches and averaging 103.6 in 2024, I expect Cool Hand to be right in the mix again this weekend.
The BeNeLux Players
The eight ‘local’ players have not had the advantage of shaking the post World Championship rust off in Bahrain last week. It will have been three or four weeks since these players have thrown a dart in anger and their form is a bit clouded as a result.
Danny Noppert
Lost his opening match at Ally pally and Noppert has not played for over a month. His form at the end of 2023 was erratic and six of his last ten matches saw averages of less than 91.
Dirk van Duijvenbode
Dirk also lost his opening match at the World Championship and he has won just two of his last ten matches. He had been playing with a shoulder injury and it is impossible to say just how fit he will be this weekend. At least he has had another month to recuperate, but just how much practice will he have done? Best left alone for now.
Dimitri van den Bergh
The defending Champion was in poor form in 2023. His win rate dropped to just 53% and his average to 93.68. His fall from grace is not unlike Peter Wright’s. Van den Bergh was another to fall at the first fence at Ally Pally and he has lost seven of his last ten matches, scoring poorly. Unlikely to defend his title.
Raymond van Barneveld
Made the last 16 at the World Championship, losing 1-4 to Luke Littler. He had won five of his last ten matches in 2023 and he still has a pretty handy game, but not one that is going to win him this event, huge home support or not. Win a match or two? That depends on the draw.
Jermaine Wattimena
Was lucky to draw Fallon Sherrock on an off day at Ally Pally and he got a 3-1 win with a 91 average. He then lost 1-3 to Martin Schindler. Wattimena won six of his last ten matches in 2023, was inconsistent at best, and remains easily opposed against top players.
Gian van Veen
Runner up to Luke Littler in the World Youth Championship and then lost his first round match at Ally Pally 3-2 to Man Lok Leung. The end of 2023 turned out to be a very damp squib for Van Veen, who, up to that point had been arguably the most exciting new tour card holder in darts.
He lost seven of his last ten matches in 2023 and he had started to get frustrated at not kicking on in the big events. To see Luke Littler go on and reach the World Championship final will have been further deflating. It is hard to say where his form will be.
Hopefully, the break will have allowed him to relax and reflect on what had been a good first season on tour. Perhaps his expectations will be lowered a bit and he can just play darts and let the form flow again.
Vincent van der Voort
Just here to give the crowd a chance do the Vincent van der Voort chant? To sell a few more tickets to the Dutch faithful? His win rate in 2023 was just 40%, with an average of 88.74. Big Vinny has only won three of his last seven matches and hit only three 90+ averages.
Kevin Doets
Only just kept his tour card by finishing 2023 ranked 62nd. One match won at the Players Championship Finals and World Championships was enough, but he lost five of his last ten matches in 2023. He was runner up to Luke Humphries in PC20 last September but he hasn’t quite lived up to the billing he was given when he got his tour card in 2022.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters: Ante Post Selection
To me, it looks like there are three likely winners. Luke Littler, Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen.
Littler is sweeping aside anyone put in front of him, with the exception of Humphries in the World Championship final. These shorter format matches are likely to be more comfortable for him and he did make a bright enough start against Humphries at Ally Pally, going 4-2 up but Humphries finished the stronger player, winning five sets on the spin.
Away Day For Littler
This will be Littler first ‘away’ tournament of his senior career. He is used to playing abroad but now that he is the biggest draw in darts, the attention is so much greater. It will be the biggest physical crowd he will have played in front of and the vast majority will want a Dutch player to win.
Littler faces Dutchman Dirk van Duivenbode in the first round and if The Aubergenius is fit and firing, Littler may have to face a hostile audience. However, Dirk has been suffering with a shoulder problem and has lost eight of his last ten matches.
I suspect Littler will be able to keep the Dutch fans quiet. After that, he is unlikely to face another Dutchie until the final, should he get there.
Tough Call In Quarters
Luke Humphries is drawn to face Littler in the quarter final and picking the winner of that match would be hard. They are the two form players in the tournament and it is a shame that they can’t meet in the final.
In the bottom half of the draw, MVG has a nice first round match against Van der Voort and is likely to face Rob Cross again in the quarter final. That looks to be his biggest banana skin on route to the final. He has won his last three matches vs. Cross, all tough matches, but he is on a bit of a roll vs. Voltage.
It is hard to pick the finalist in the top quarter of the draw, Littler or Humphries. Littler is the 5.00 second favourite to win the tournament, Humphries the 4.75 favourite.
From the bottom half of the draw, MVG is the 5.00 joint second favourite. I fancy his chances of making the final more than that of Littler or Humphries and as such he makes the most appeal as the ante post selection, but not for large stakes.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: 1 point Michael van Gerwen to win the Dutch Darts Masters @ 5.00 generally available
First round Match Previews
Nathan Aspinall vs. Danny Noppert
Aspinall, despite losing six of his last ten matches, hasn’t been playing badly. Inconsistently, yes, but not that badly. He got Nuked last week and this is a better draw.
Noppert hasn’t played since December and while he had won seven of his last ten matches, he wasn’t playing that well. Six of those ten saw sub 91 averages.
Their H2H record is 11-6 to Aspinall, who has won their last four, and Noppert’s last two wins over The Asp required a deciding leg. The crowd will be with Noppert but he can handle that. His regripping of the dart is beginning to worry me, but I’ll take him to get past Noppert.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: 1 point Nathan Aspinall to win @ 1.80 with Ladbrokes
Peter Wright vs. Kevin Doets
Snakebite continues to struggle with his game and he has lost six of his last ten. He was knocked out in the quarter final last week but he should really have lost his opening match to Haruki Muramatsu. Wright is an average player at best right now.
Kevin Doets will have been mightily relieved to have kept his tour card by the skin of his teeth last year and avoided a return to the dreaded Q school. He hadn’t been in great form at the end of 2023, winning five of his last ten, but it was a case of mission accomplished and he has another year to try and establish a firm foothold on tour.
Highly Rated
Doets is highly regarded but he only won 53% of his matches in 2023, as did Wright. He is not a heavy scorer, hitting just two ton plus averages in his last 50 matches, and he needs to improve on that.
This is a match where Doets can still win with a low average. Wright has been spraying the darts into the wrong bed too often and his confidence is paper thin. There is no H2H form to go on but Doets looks to be the value bet.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: 1 point Kevin Doets to win @ 2.50 with BET365
Gerwyn Price vs. Dimitri van den Bergh
The Iceman’s form is certainly on the cold side. He has won six of his last ten matches, but he is just not firing on all cylinders. He reached the semi-final last week but was lucky to win his first round match against Reynaldo Rivera.
Pricee caught Humphries on an off day in the quarter final and lost 3-7 to Littler in the semi-final. Price didn’t average above 93 in any match and he has just been a bit off his game of late.
Dimitri van den Bergh is the defending champion and he does tend to play well in the World Series events. His win rate in 2023 was just 53% and he ended the year by losing seven of his last ten matches.
His scoring has been poor and he is way more likely to average in the 80s than mid 90s (38% of his has fifty matches saw sub 90 averages).
Their H2H record is 13-7 to Price and in 2023 it was 4-2, and all quite close. If Price continues to misfire, we could have another close match, not a great one, but a close one. It is hard to see Van den Bergh doing much this weekend but this may not be as one sided as the odds suggest.
Price is the 1.44 favourite and Van den Bergh 3.10.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.20 with Betfair
Michael Smith vs. Gian van Veen
An interesting match. Smith is another of the big guns who isn’t at his best. He has won six of his last ten matches, so he isn’t in terrible form, but he is just not quite there.
When he won the World Championship, he was averaging around the 97 mark at the time, now he is nearer 95, again, it is not a collapse in form, but a sign that he has not quite firing. He played pretty well last week, taking MVG to a deciding leg in the semi-final but he is not playing with any great deal of consistency on the whole.
Frustrated Van Veen
Gian van Veen just dried up at the business end of 2023, losing seven of his last ten matches. It felt like he was getting frustrated at not winning a title and losing the final of the World Youth Championship to Luke Littler was a particularly big blow, especially as The Nuke has gone on to take the darting world by storm.
The young Dutchman needs to get his head down and stick at it. He is an exceptional talent but perhaps he was getting ahead of himself and fell flat on his face.
Home Advantage
It is a rare home match for Van Veen which may spur him on. He had been playing with a lack of consistency at the end of last year, four of his last ten matches saw sub 91 averages, four with plus 97, so it is hard to back him with any great deal of confidence.
These two have only met once and it was Van Veen who won 6-3 in a Players Championship match in September. That was very poor match, with Smith checking out at just 19% and averaging 83.7.
Smith is the 1.67 favourite and Van Veen 2.50. The temptation is to back Van Veen and hope for one of his good performances, but I think this a match best left alone. No Bet.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: No Bet
Rob Cross vs. Raymond van Barneveld
Barney may be in the late Autumn of career, but he is still a God in this part of the world. He will have the crowd right behind him and Cross will not be getting much love. At least Voltage has ton of experience of playing in front of huge crowds who may not always be on his side.
Cross has been a good player to back for a while now. He may not be quite the same player he was a few years ago, but he plays with a large degree of consistency and he usually gives you a good run for your money. He has won six of his last ten matches.
Cross Dominant H2H
Cross is 10-4 against Van Barneveld and was 2-0 in 2023, although one match at the UK Open required a deciding leg, with Cross nicking it 10-9. Barney does not quite have the firepower to mix it with the top players week in week out but he can still play a good game.
More often than not, Cross will be able to outscore Barney and if he hits the doubles well (ranked 6th over the last 12 months), he wins. Barney might get lifted by the huge home crowd support, but Cross deserves to be favourite.
Cross is the 1.44 favourite to win, RVB 2.88. The odds look about right to me. No bet.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: No Bet
Luke Littler vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
I would love to see these two going hammer and tongs at it, but with a big question mark over Van Duijvenbode’s fitness, it is easy to sit this one out.
If he were confirmed as fully fit, odds of 5.25 for a Van Duijvenbode win would be very tempting, but he is up against a likely winner of the tournament. If he is rusty after a few weeks off and probably not doing much practice, he could get a kicking. No bet.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: No bet
Luke Humpries vs. Jermaine Wattimena
Humphries’ run of twenty straight match wins was ended by an under par performance vs. Gerwyn Price last week. You can’t win them all and a poor performance had to come at some point.
Wattimena has won six of his last ten matches, his win rate in 2023 was just 50% and his seasonal average was 92.26. He is a very average player. He will have the crowd on his side, but if Humphries has his B game, he wins.
H2H Close
Their H2H record is 4-3 to Humphries, which is a little surprising, But they have not played since July 2022 and Humphries has really kicked on since then.
Humphries has won the last three in a row and is the 1.14 favourite. Wattimena is a 6.00 shot and attracting some money from punters thinking that Cool Hand might be about to have a dip in form.
Wattimena will have the home crowd behind him, but that might just fire Humphries up. He will be keen to get back to winning ways and this is a good draw for him to do just that.
It isn’t a great betting match, but you know me, I find it hard not to oppose Wattimena. I’ll have a small bet on a 6-3 win for Humphries, the same score as their last two meetings.
2024 Dutch Darts Masters Tip: 0.5 point Luke Humphries to win 6-3 @ 5.00 generally available
Michael van Gerwen vs. Vincent van der Voort
A bit of a damp squib to end the night. The two friends going through the motions in front of a big home crowd. Exhibition darts.
Van der Voort has lost seven of his last ten matches and MVG has won seven of his last ten. His game has been on the slide for the last three years and his record vs. MVG is 3-20. Van Gerwen has lost just one of their last eighteen matches and there is no reason to think that things will be any different tonight.
Van Gerwen is the 1.11 favourite, Van der Voort 7.50. I don’t like matches between mates but it is clear that MVG is happy to beat Vincent and he wants to win not just this match, but the tournament in front of his adoring fans.
