2024 European Darts GP Outright Betting Preview

The coffers should be full after James Punt fired in three winners from three tips on Night 12 of the Premier League. He is looking to cause more heartache for the bookies at the 2024 European Darts GP, check out his preview and free outright tips below.

European Darts Grand Prix

This will be the eighth European Darts Grand Prix and it has provided seven different winners. Merv King won in 2014, Kim Huybrechts in 2015, Van Gerwen in 2016 and 2018, Peter Wright in 2017, Ian White in 2019, Jose De Sousa in 2020 and Rob Cross last year. Peter Wright has also been runner up three times, MVG twice.

Last weekend’s International Darts Open was won by Martin Schindler, picking up his first PDC title. We had two players make the quarterfinals. Danny Noppert lost to Schindler while Chris Dobey beat Searle, before losing to Schindler in the semi-final. It was a strange and complete collapse in his game. From sublime to a timid 86 average and out. I really thought Dobey was going all the way, but it was not to be.

PL Disadvantage

At least I was right about the Premier League players being at a disadvantage after a frantic week of playing and travelling. Yes, Gerwyn Price reached the final, but he always does in Riesa, and he didn’t win! This week is a bit less frantic with no Players Championship events to fit in. The Premier League event was in Rotterdam this week, so there will be an easier trip for the those players playing in both events.

We have two no shows this weekend. Nathan Aspinall, winner of last night’s Premier League, and Dimitri van den Bergh. Neither were seeded and they are replaced by Ian White, and Niels Zonneveld.

The 2024 European Darts GP Seeds

1 Dave Chisnall

Not in great form, losing four of his last five matches and in Europe, Chizzy has just one win from four matches played.

2 Luke Humphries

Still just a bit flat. He did average 100 against MVG last night, then 92 when losing to Aspinall. Not great on the doubles, but he will blame that on the breeze on the stage.

3 Gerwyn Price

Continues to score with best of them, but winning titles seems to be out of reach. There was more woe on the outer ring last night, which doesn’t help.

4 Damon Heta

Has lost five of his last ten and while he is playing well most times, there are few flat spots which will make winning titles hard.

5 Dirk van Duijvenbode

Dirk has lost five of his last ten and despite returning from injury, he just isn’t playing well enough to think he can have any sort of run.

6 Josh Rock

I had high hopes for Rock last week and he was just pipped by Cameron Menzies in 5-6 defeat. He is still showing good form and has to be a possibility this weekend.

7 Rob Cross

Cross is losing too many matches to think he can win a tournament. He lost another Premier League match last night and he must be very frustrated that he is making no progress with his game.

8 Michael van Gerwen

He played OK against Humphries last night, but OK isn’t good enough these days. MVG is not at his best and there are more attractive options.

9 Jonny Clayton

Has lost five of his last ten and is playing with little consistency.

10 Danny Noppert

Couldn’t quite follow up his PC8 title with a Euro Tour one last week, but he has won nine of his last ten matches and could have another good run.

11 Michael Smith

Bully Boy is struggling for consistency and is losing too many matches to think he can win the title. He did do us proud by beating Luke Littler last night. He played very well, averaged 100 and followed that up with a 90, just enough to beat Price, but he then lost 6-4 to Aspinall in the final, averaging 96. That little trio of matches sums his game up right now. Very inconsistent.

12 Ross Smith

Smudger finally got a few breaks last week. He played poorly against Willie O’Connor and Cameron Menzies but came from behind to end up winning both. He then averaged 102 against Gerwyn Price in the third round and lost 5-6. It’s a funny old game.

Smith has won seven of his last ten matches and has reached three Players Championship semi-finals in 2024. If he finds his range on the treble 20, he is a very dangerous opponent and he is always worth considering.

13 Krzysztof Ratajski

The Polish Eagle is struggling to win matches, just three of his last ten. He played well against Chris Dobey last weekend but was just up against a player in top form. His lack of consistency is poor and he won’t win the title, but he could finally get a Euro Tour match win if he gets a better draw this weekend.

14 Gary Anderson 

Will he bother turning up? He has missed the last two Euro Tour events following a shoulder injury, but he did play in two Players Championship events a couple of weeks ago and reached a quarter final. I suspect he just doesn’t want to play in Europe. With a few hours to go before the start of play, he is still on the entry list, so maybe he is going to play. Who knows what he will do?

15 Ryan Searle

Heavy Metal has reached two quarter finals already this season and he might be starting to get the hang of the Euro Tour. He is playing with a commendable level of consistency and should be looking to have another good run. If Anderson doesn’t withdraw however, he is likely to face Luke Humphries in the third round.

16 Ricardo Pietreczko

No longer the last German to win on the Euro Tour. Pietreczko has lost six of his last ten matches but has played some very good darts at time, and he also had four sub 90 averages. He seems to be heading in the right direction scoring wise and his 102.61 average against Gerwyn Price in defeat last weekend is a case in point. I’d want to see more wins before considering him for another euro title.

Best of the Unseeded Players

Luke Littler

Has to enter at the first round stage as he is a tour card qualifier. That means he will be making the Rotterdam – Amsterdam- Stuttgart – Sindelfingen trip on the same day as he plays. That, or a long six hour drive. He will be given a late slot on Friday evening no doubt (8pm), but it is easier to have a day to travel without having to play as well.

He won his first ever Euro Tour event, in Belgium, five weeks ago, and he is on the shortlist for anything he plays in. The Nuke lost another match to Michael Smith last night, but still averaged 102. He has a local qualifier tonight as a warm-up, then faces Luke Humphries in the second round. Bad news for one of them, probably Humphries.

Chris Dobey 

He had a great week last week, winning PC7 on Monday and reaching the semi-final of ET3 on Sunday. He just didn’t turn up against Schindler in that semi-final and he does have that tendency to throw in a poor performance once in every eight or nine matches. Hollywood has won eight of his last ten matches and he has to be on the shortlist again. Still only ever made one Euro Tour final.

Stephen Bunting 

It was a bit of a mixed bag for Bunting last weekend. He was very good vs. Unterbuchner, very lucky to beat Luke Humphries, scraped past Ritchie Edhouse before losing 5-7 to Price in the semi-final. Bunting has been lucky to be bumped up to seeded status in the last two ET events. He has won seven of his last ten matches, but his consistency is still a bit suspect.

Martin Schindler

The happiest man in Germany last Sunday, winning his first title at the venue where he used to be a steward. He is one of the few German players to be able to lift himself in front of the German fans, and he is now a virtual darting God. The crowd will be going ballistic when he takes to the stage.

It is hard to win back-to-back, of course, but it will be interesting to see how he gets on. He was a semi-finalist in ET2, won ET3 and the Euro Tour does tend to throw up players who thrive in a particular season, so this could be his time.

Ritchie Edhouse

Madhouse had a very exciting run to the quarter finals last week and he is in a rich vein of form. He has also qualified for ET 5&6 and he is having a good go at this year’s Euro Tour. He played some of the best darts in last week’s event, pulling off great comebacks, hitting big averages and big finishes. He is in the form of his life and may well have another good run.

The Draw

First Quarter

Chris Dobey has to start in the first round, where he faces Ian White, but he is the form player in this quarter. Chisnall, MVG, Clayton and Pietreczko are the seeds. The draw guarantees a German player makes the third round, definitely nothing dodgy there, but Dobey shouldn’t fear anyone in his quarter. He does have problems with MVG however, and Joe Cullen, but I like his form.

Second Quarter

This looks quite open. Damon Heta is the top seed here but he is not in great form, losing five of his last ten. His last three defeats have all been 5-6, which will have frustrated him. He does have a good draw and if he can find his A game, a good run is possible.

The other seeds are Dirk van Duijvenbode, Ross Smith and Krzysztof Ratajski. Smith is playing well and can feature, but the other two are unlikely to do much. Of the unseeded players Ritchie Edhouse stands out, but there is also Martin Lukeman, Luke Woodhouse, James Wade, Scott Williams and Niko Springer.

There is no easy path through this quarter.

Third Quarter

The Group of Death? Luke Humphries is the top seed, joined by Ryan Searle, Rob Cross, and Danny Noppert. None of them make a lot of appeal in terms of making the final.

The non seeds include Martin Schindler, Gian van Veen, Daryl Gurney, Stephen Bunting and Luke Littler. Humphries is not at his best and will face Littler in his opening match tomorrow. Littler has his number and I’d fancy Littler to win the quarter but he will have to be at his best. His only easy match is the first round.

Danny Noppert is in great form and is an alternative.

Fourth Quarter

Gerwyn Price is the top seed here, joined by Gary Anderson, Josh Rock and Michael Smith. There are question marks about all of those. Price should be the one to beat, but I just can’t see him winning and his odds are too short. Anderson in Europe? Josh Rock is a possibility, Smith is a bit too inconsistent. Of the non-seeds, none make any appeal.

2024 European Darts GP Selections

I am marking down the Premier League players again, with the exception of Littler, who hasn’t had the same sort of travel schedule as the others lately. He has won his only ever Euro Tour event and he is playing very well, if finding winning at the top level, a bit tricky.

There are some in-form players at very big odds. That doesn’t mean they win, but the value is with form players at decent odds. The likes of Humphries, Price and MVG, dominate the market, and if they fall, and they have been doing just that, the ‘lesser lights’ have an opportunity.

1 point Luke Littler to win the 2024 European Darts GP @ 8.00 with Ladbrokes

Frankly, an absurd price given Dobey’s current form.

0.5 point e/w Chris Dobey to win the 2024 European Darts GP @ 34.00 with Boylesports, Fitzdares, BET365

Rode his luck last week, but he was due it. Smith is very capable and in decent form.

0.5 point e/w Ross Smith to win the 2024 European Darts GP @ 41.00 with Betfair, Fitzdares, BET365

Starting to play better again and if he gets a break or two, Rocky could have a good run.

0.5 point e/w Josh Rock to win the 2024 European Darts GP @ 51.00 generally available

Others to consider are Danny Noppert @ 51.00, Martin Schindler @ 81.00 and even Ritchie Edhouse @ 301.00. I am tempted to tip them all! But that would be cheeky.

-JamesPunt