2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Preview – JP
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open friday Preview
James Punt made a nice start this afternoon with two lovely winners from three bets. Check out James Punt’s 2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday preview below.
Niels Zonneveld vs. Richard Veenstra
Both players have lost six of their last ten matches, but both are playing quite well.
Zonneveld has had a good year on the Euro Tour, reaching two semi-finals and a quarter final. Veenstra has only played in one event so far and reached the quarter final, were he lost 6-2 to Zonneveld. It was a good match with both averaging 96+. Overall, their H2H record is 1-1.
Zonneveld has won six of his seven first round matches this season and is the more accomplished player but Veenstra has a decent win rate in first round matches. A close match?
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open friday Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.00 with Bresbet
Kevin Doets vs. Lukas Wenig
Doets is the big favourite at 1.30, and deservedly so. He has won seven of his last ten matches. He has won a Players Championship title, was runner up on the Euro Tour in the last month and is having a lot of deep runs.
Wenig has played in twenty Euro Tour events over the years and won just six first round matches, and one from two in 2026. He won his first-round match when he last qualified for this event in 2023.
His recent form sees six wins from his last ten matches with half seeing 96+ averages, so he can bang. On his day he can compete with the big boys, but Doets is the better player and should be expected to win.
Their H2H record sees Wenig leading 3-2 and in 2025 it was 1-1, both 6-3 results.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: 0.5 point Kevin Doets to win 6-3 @ 5.50 with Betfred, Bresbet
Cameron Menzies vs. Rob Cross
We are on Rob Cross outright and this a potential banana skin. Menzies is very hard to predict but his A-game is top class.
Menzies has won six of his last ten matches, and like Rob Cross, reached the semi-final of the International Darts Open last weekend. Half of his last ten matches saw sub 91 averages and like I said, he is very hard to get right.
Rob Cross comes here after back-to-back Euro Tour semi-final runs and has also won six of his last ten matches. He has averaged over 95 in eight of them and is a much more consistent player than Menzies.
Menzies is 4-3 in the H2Hs and won their only Euro Tour match 6-1 last year. Cross was dreadful that day, missing eight doubles and averaging just 83.83.
Cross is the 1.57 favourite, Menzies 2.50. The odds look about right to me. No bet.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: No Bet
James Hurrell vs. Sebastian Bialecki
Bialecki has won eight of his last ten matches and his scoring has been good and consistent. Hurrell, on the other hand, has lost six of his last ten matches, but he is playing OK, most of the time. He has hit a few sub 90 averages but he has a good A game. Consistency isn’t his strong suit, however.
Their H2H record is 3-1 to Bialecki. Neither are very experienced on the Euro Tour. Bialecki has played in eleven events and won four first round matches. Hurrell has played four and lost four.
Bialecki is just £4k shy of the provisional qualifier list for the World Matchplay, so he will be fully motivated to move closer to making his debut in that.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: 1 point Sebastian Bialecki to win @ 1.91 generally available
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Paul Krohne
Dirk is cutting a frustrated figure these days, not for the first time. He has won six of his last ten matches but a player of his quality is looking to win titles, and Dirk can’t do that.
He was runner up in PC15 a couple of weeks ago and the quarter final in PC17 last week. Close, but no cigar is no good for Dirk. On the Euro Tour he has lost his last three first round matches, despite playing well. He lost 3-6 to Kim Huybrechts, 4-6 to Madars Razma and last weekend 5-6 to Rob Cross. At least this time, the draw has been a little kinder.
Paul Khorne has played in in three Euro Tour events in 2026 and won one first round match, a 6-4 win over Cameron Menzies. He played last weekend and lost 2-6 to William O’Connor. He has just the one Euro Tour match win from a total of six played.
Dirk is the 1.40 favourite and if he can get off to a good start, he can win this with something in hand.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: 1 point Dirk van Duijvenbode to win -1.5 legs @ 1.75 with Boylesports
William O’Connor vs. Cristo Reyes
O’Connor has won five of his last ten matches and that reflects his seasonal win rate of 50%. He lacks consistency but his A game has been good recently. He has won five of his seven first round matches on the Euro Tour this season, but that tends to be that.
Reyes is another that blows hot and cold. He has won five of his last ten matches, and has had five sub 90 averages. He has qualified for five Euro Tour events in 2026 and won three first round matches. When he is good, he is very good, but I think Reyes is a bit overrated. He has had very tough first round opponents on the whole, only Chisnall was an easy one.
Their H2H record is 2-2 but since Reyes returned to the game, they have only met once and O’Connor won that 6-3. Both players averaged over a ton in that match, but O’Connor was better on the doubles.
The market can’t split them at you are looking at 1.91 for each. It is a tricky one to call and I will pass. No bet.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: No Bet
Joe Cullen vs. Marcel Hausotter
We saw ‘The Otter’ in ET4 when he beat RVB, before the battle of the Lutrinaes, and a 5-6 loss to The Ferret. That should serve as a warning to Cullen. The GOAT is in mixed form, winning six of his last ten matches but hitting five sub 93 averages.
Cullen is the 1.17 favourite, he should win but the odds are of no interest or value. No bet.
2026 Baltic Sea Darts Open Friday Tip: No bet
Niko Springer vs. Nandor Major
Keeping the most uncompetitive matches for the end of the night. Springer is the 1.11 favourite and has won six of his last ten matches and on the Euro Tour has won four of his seven first round matches.
Nandor won on the Hungarian Super League a couple of weeks ago and he has played in two Euro Tours in the last three years, winning one match, a 6-4 over Pietreczko in 2023. He is a competent player but not at the level of Springer. No bet.
