2024 European Darts GP Friday Preview

Now, it is time for James Punt’s 2024 European Darts GP Friday evening session preview. His outright tips can be viewed here.  

Ritchie Edhouse vs. James Wade

Edhouse had been showing some good form on the floor a couple of weeks ago and he brought it to the Euro Tour stage last weekend, reaching the quarter final. He has won nine of his last ten matches and will be feeling very good about his game.

Madhouse would have hoped for an easier first round draw, but he was beating World Champions for fun last weekend, and James Wade is not one of them.

Wade has lost five of his last six matches and his seasonal win rate is just 41%. He is in poor form. He has won two of his three first round matches on the Euro Tour this season, but not progressed beyond the second round.

Their H2H record is 2-1 to Wade. Edhouse’s only win was on the Euro Tour in 2018.

Wade is the 1.73 favourite and that is on his historic reputation, not on recent form.

2024 European Darts GP Friday Tip: 1 point Ritchie Edhouse to win @ 2.20 with Betfred

Martin Schindler vs. Gian van Veen

Gian van Veen doesn’t get easy first round draws. The last two Euro Tours have seen him face and beat recent Players Championship winner, Raymond Van Barneveld. Tonight he faces the winner of the International Darts Open, Martin Schindler.

The match is well into the evening session and the well refreshed crowd will be going radio rental for home hero Schindler.

Schindler has won eight of his last ten matches and will be on cloud nine. He has played Gian three times and won two. Van Veen’s only win was a 6-2 triumph on the Euro Tour last year. Their last two matches have both ended 6-2.

Class Act

Van Veen has won seven of his last ten matches and he is a class act, but far from the finished article. He lacks the consistency that Schindler has been showing, but it has taken Schindler a long time to get there.

Schindler is the 1.75 favourite, with Van Veen 2.10. This is a hard one to call. Schindler deserves to be favourite and he enjoys the whole home fan favourite thing. If Van Veen finds his A-game he can win, but the odds look about right. Under 9.5 legs? Tempting at 1.91, but I will have to sit this one out.

2024 European Darts GP Friday Tip: No Bet

Peter Wright vs. Micky Mansell

Peter Wright endured a humiliating 2-6 loss to Nathan Aspinall last night. He averaged a career low of 77.48, slightly lower than his 78.00 in ET5 last year. That he won two legs was the surprise.

Snakebite has lost his last seven matches in a row and he should be there for the taking.

Micky Mansell is rarely spotted on the Euro Tour. He won two of his three opening matches on the Euro Tour last year and had a few good runs in 2022. His recent form sees just five wins from his last ten matches and only two averages over 91.

Their H2H record is 3-2 to Peter Wright, but they haven’t played since 2022.

Wright is the 1.70 favourite, Mansell 2.30. It is hard to think that Wright could be odds on to beat any fellow professional after last night’s performance, but Mansell is hardly pulling up any trees himself. This could be a grind.

Wright can’t be as bad again, surely? Probably not, but his confidence is paper thin and Mansell will smell the opportunity of extending his stay in Germany.

2024 European Darts GP Friday Tip: 1 point Mickey Mansell to win @ 2.30 with Betfred

Gabriel Clemens vs. Rene Eidams

An all-German affair, with the winner to face Pietreczko in the second round. These two have met four times and each has won two. All four required under 9.5 legs.

Clemens is by far the heavier scorer, but he has lost six of his last ten matches and has a 2024 win rate of just 35%. He is far from a banker.

Eidams plays on the Challenge tour and he won CT7 last month. He must have partied hard afterwards as he lost his next four matches. He has won a few Euro Tour matches but he is hard to fancy.

Clemens is a dodgy favourite, but he has got a good draw. If he can get off to a decent start, he can wrap this one up quickly. If he lets Eidams into the game he could be in bother. I was going to go for under 9.5 legs, but that is only 1.53. No bet.

2024 European Darts GP Friday Tip: No Bet

I will not be covering tomorrow afternoon’s session but will be back for the evening session.

-JamesPunt