2025 European Darts Open R1 Preview & Tips – JP
2025 European Darts Open R1 Preview
James has already posted an in-depth, outright betting preview, read that here. You can check out his 2025 European Darts Open R1 preview and tips below.
Madars Razma vs. Daryl Pilgrim
Razma is an unpredictable beast at the moment. He has lost five of his last ten matches and lost four of his eight ET matches in 2025. His scoring is inconsistent and he is hard to predict. Razma is, of course, much more experienced than Pilgrim.
Pilgrim won his Tour card in January and since then has a win rate of 58%, which is better than Razma’s 49%. Pilgrim has won seven of his last ten matches and his form has picked up after a very lean spell were he lost nine of ten in April. He has not been hitting any big scores and could be outmuscled by Razma, if the Latvian has a good day. Pilgrim has only ever played four Euro Tour matches and won just one. In 2025 he has played one, losing 2-6 to Ryan Searle.
These two have met once before and it was Pilgrim who was the 6-1 winner, but that was back in 2023. Razma is the 1.61 favourite, Pilgrim 2.63. Razma is the better player, but not by much. Razma is the more experienced on the Euro Tour, but the opening slot on a Friday is not a bad one for the inexperienced players.
There is arguably some value in Pilgrim’s odds but I will go for an overs game. It could be a bit of a grind.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.00 with Boylesports
Ritchie Edhouse vs. Petr Krivka
Krivka’s last match was a Euro Tour first round match against…. Ritchie Edhouse. That was in the German Darts Grand Prix. Krivka is very much a part timer who plays a bit of Challenge Tour darts and his 2025 is around 85.
Edhouse, the European Champion has been making hard work of the Euro Tour in 2025, but he has won four of his seven first round matches. Overall Edhouse has lost eight of his last ten matches and hit seven sub 90 averages.
Madhouse did reach the third round last weekend, his best result of the season. He currently sits in 32nd place in the European Championship qualifying table, so he needs to win more matches if he is to get to defend his title. He is also about £8.5k outside the Matchplay cut off and £12.5K outside of the Grand Prix cut off. Edhouse is under some pressure to pick up what should be easy money here, but he made a meal of his last match with Krivka.
If Edhouse rocks up with one of his sub 90 averages and is shaking his head in frustration, we could get another close one. His first round performances have become increasingly nervous and his last four have seen averages of 84.84, 84.74, 88.02 and 81.12. Anything like that and Krivka will be in the game.
Edhouse is the 1.25 favourite, Krivka 4.50. I’ll will go for an overs match.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.40 with Ladbrokes, Boylesports
William O’Connor vs. Mickey Mansell
O’Connor took advantage of a late call up last weekend and reached the quarter final, picking up £6k in ranking prize money. That has pushed The Magpie into contention for places in the big majors, but he needs to take these chances when they come.
He has lost two of his three opening matches on the Euro Tour in 2025, although last weekend he had a bye into the second round. O’Connor has won six of his last ten matches and while he is not playing as well as he was in March and April, he is playing OK.
Mickey Mansell has played three Euro Tours and won two of his three first round matches. He needs to get going if he is to make any of the big majors. Mansell has won seven of his last ten matches and while he was really terrible in a 0-6 loss to Ryan Searle in last week’s second round, he has been scoring quite well in recent matches. Outside of Mike de Decker, Mansell has not beaten much, but at least he has got a bit of confidence.
H2H
H2H records are always important when it comes to Mansell. Some players struggle with his slow, deliberate style. It is Mansell who is 5-4 vs O’Connor and he has won their last three, the last being a 6-2 win in ET7 last year.
O’Connor is the 1.62 favourite with Mansell 2.50. O’Connor is the better player, but not massively. If Mansell plays like he has been doing recently he can make it hard for O’Connor and The Magpie does have a tendency to drop his head too early.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Mickey Mansell to win @ 2.50 with SpreadEx
Neils Zonneveld vs. Lukas Wenig
It is one of the great darting mysteries. Why is Zonneveld nicknamed ‘Triple Z’? He only has one Z in his name. He should be ‘Triple E’, or ‘Triple N’. It is annoying.
Zonneveld has won six of his last ten matches and on the Euro Tour, he has played seven and won four. He has won two of his three first round matches. He has played well enough overall, but lacks the consistency needed for a deep run. Zonneveld did make a semi-final last year but never averaged above 94 in any match.
Lukas Wenig has played nineteen Euro Tour matches over the years and won just five. He has played fourteen first round matches, winning four, and he has lost both his openers in 2025, 1-6 to Niko Springer and 2-6 to Martin Lukeman. His recent form sees six wins from his last ten, but all six were on the same day in two rounds of Euro Tour qualifiers.
Their H2H record is 2-0 to Triple N. Both were floor matches and the last was in March and a 6-5 win to go with a 6-4 in 2024 for Zonneveld. Both were surprisingly good games, at least in terms of 180s. Their first match produced seven from ten legs, and their latest six from eleven.
Zonneveld is the 1.53 favourite with Wenig 2.75. I am not going to argue with those odds but will have a go on the 180s.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 5.5 180s at 2.45 with Boylesports
Matt Campbell vs. Alan Soutar
This could be good. Two players with very good A games, but both are far from consistent.
Matt Campbell came off the reserve list and his recent form sees just four wins from his last six matches. Five have seen 97+ averages, but four sub 90s.
Soutar has won seven of his last ten matches and his last seven have seen all 92+ averages and mostly mid-90s, so he has found a bit of form.
Campbell has played in three Euro Tours in 2025 and won four matches, including two of his three first round matches. He has taken his chances well and he knows that these events are important for rankings. He averaged 102 when beating Bunting in ET5 and 97 when losing 4-6 to Van Duijvenbode in the second round. The Canadian also averaged over a ton in a 4-6 loss to Ross Smith in ET1.
Their H2H record is 2-1 to Soutar and he beat Campbell 6-2 a couple of weeks ago in a Euro Tour qualifier, and 7-10 in this year’s UK Open.
Soutar is the 1.91 favourite and Campbell 2.00. Soutar has found a bit of form, has a recent win over Campbell and leads their H2Hs.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Alan Soutar to win @ 1.91 with Ladbrokes
Jermaine Wattimena vs. Joshua Hermann
The first real mismatch of the first round. Wattimena is the 1.11 favourite, Hermann 10.00.
Hermann is a local qualifier and he won his place two weeks ago, so not yesterday in the same venue, which can sometimes be the case. He is a Development Tour player with a seasonal average of 75. He had to win five matches to get his place, so he earned the right. However, his A game is high 80s and that shouldn’t bother Wattimena. No bet.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: No Bet
Andrew Gilding vs. Kevin Knopf
Another mismatch, but maybe Gilding is a bit vulnerable? He reached the final of ET6, but his last four matches have produced averages of 89, 86, 86 and 85. Not very good.
The problem for Knopf is that he can only dream of averaging in the high eighties. His seasonal average is 72.08. This looks like a very lucky draw for Gilding. No bet.
2025 European Darts Open R1 Tip: No Bet
Wessel Nijman vs. Brendan Dolan
Nijman had his best Euro Tour result last weekend, reaching the semi-final. He has won five of his last ten matches, so last week’s run came on the back of some pretty ordinary form. Nijman has won six of his seven Euro Tour first round matches, so he is building up a good bank of experience in these events.
Brendan Dolan is another slow player who can get into players heads. He isn’t dirty player, just a bit slow. He is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches with lots of low 90 averages. That may not sound very good, but he is an effective player that can win with low scoring. He was recently runner up in PC16.
Their H2H record extends to just one match, which Dolan won 6-5, all very Dolan. What wasn’t very Dolan is that both players averaged 102 in that match and Dolan hit four 180s.
Nijman is the 1.48 favourite, Dolan 2.90. I do not think that Dolan can be dismissed that easily, especially has he has been picking up match wins recently. He may make this hard work for Nijman.
