2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 Preview & Tips – JP
2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 Preview
We are back on the Euro Tour this weekend and James Punt has already posted an outright preview, see that here. Check out his 2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 preview below.
Karel Sedlacek vs. Tyler Thorpe
Sedlacek is trying to win a place at the Matchplay, and he looks to be wilting under the pressure. He is now £5k shy of the last placed player and he is looking for a quarter final minimum this weekend.
The Czech has lost five of his last ten matches and on the Euro Tour, he has won three of his five first round matches. He only just beat Jason Riedtke 6-5 in ET8, and lost 5-6 to Valters Melderis in ET5, both matches he should have won easily. He did beat Johan Engstrom 6-0 in ET7, but he has averaged under 90 in his last four Euro Tour matches and he has looked tight.
Thorpe has only played one Euro Tour match and lost that 1-6 to Willie O’Connor in ET3. He has struggled on the Pro Tour and is the outsider here, but if Sedlacek continues to feel the pressure, it could be scrappy affair which may let Thorpe have some sort of chance.
2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.20 with Betfair
Andrew Gilding vs. Merv King
These two played each other on Tuesday and Gilding won, 6-5. Before that, their last match was in 2024, and Gilding won that 6-5. The rest of their form is quite old and King has regressed in recent years.
King can still play a bit and while I would be surprised if Gilding didn’t win, he may have to work a bit harder than the odds suggest. He has won three of his last five Euro Tour first round matches 6-4.
2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.20 with Betfair
2026 Slovak Darts Open R1 Tip: 0.5 point Gilding to win 6-4 @ 7.00 with Livescorebet
Willy O’Connor vs. Jeffrey de Graaf
De Graaf still has an outside chance of making the Matchplay, but likely needs to make the semi-finals, so it is not going to be the first thing on his mind. De Graaf won PC19 two weeks ago, has won six of his last ten and his playing with good consistency.
O’Connor has also won six of his last ten matches. He was runner up in PC20, the day after De Graaf won his title. He too is playing with a decent level of consistency and is getting used to winning his first round Euro Tour matches (six from eight in 2026).
Their H2H record is 4-2 to O’Connor and 1-1 in the last 12 months. This could be a good match.
