2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Preview – JP
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Preview
It was a tricky afternoon for James Punt but we go again. Check out his 2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday evening session preview below.
Afternoon Reflections
The afternoon session saw three losers from four bets. We were on the wrong end of a very rare masterclass from Mike de Decker, who has moved to shorter points in his darts. A 107 average says that was a good move.
Madars Razma missed ten doubles to lose 2-6, despite Noppert being utter pants. That was annoying. Ryan Searle covered the handicap bet against Huybrechts, despite missing a hatful of doubles, and the final bet was another loser.
Luke Woodhouse was very poor in the earlier stages, went 1-4 down, missing a load of doubles. Despite a mid-match rally, he had left too much to do and Gilding was able to win the five legs needed to bust our bet. 2.90 points lost, but we are still ahead so far.
The conditions were very hot in the venue and that may have contributed to the poor scoring in most matches, and very poor doubling. With a full house in tonight, that trend may continue.
Only two of the sixteen players averaged more than 92 in the afternoon session. Both Mike De Decker and Willy O’Connor checked out at 67% in the very first match of the session, but of the other fourteen players, nobody checked out better than 37.5%.
Nathan Aspinall vs. Jim Long
Canadian, Jim Long, got a rare Euro Tour win yesterday, beating Daryl Gurney 6-1. Gurney was no great shakes, but Long played great, averaging 96.31. He has lost six of his last ten matches, however, but at least he has been playing regularly.
Aspinall has been a part time player this year and is just back from his stag do. If he has a wedding to pay for, he needs to get back to work and winning a few quid. Five matches played in the last two months is Anderson-esque, but not many players can have a schedule like that and hope to play their best.
These two have never met before. Aspinall is the 1.22 favourite, which is very short for a player with a lot of rust in his game. If, and of course it is a big if, Long can play something close to how he played last night, and Aspinall is rusty, Long has to have a chance here. You can get odds against Long with a +2.5 leg handicap which makes enough appeal to me.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point Jim Long to win +2.5 legs @ 2.20 with Betfair
Martin Schindler vs. Tom Sykes
Sykes introduced himself to the Euro Tour in fine style yesterday, beating Niko Springer 6-2 and averaging 103.64. Much like Tyler Thorpe this afternoon, Sykes now must back up one great performance with at least a good one. He has won six of his last ten matches and his 12-month average is 91.50, so yesterday’s effort was at the very top end of his range.
Schindler has lost five of his last ten matches, half saw sub 90 averages, but his last was a 108.19 in a 5-6 loss to Gian Van Veen on Wednesday.
This is all about Sykes. He is inexperienced at this level and he might get ahead of himself, but Schindler could be there for the taking. Schindler is the 1.80 favourite, Sykes 2.28. I think the market has overreacted to Sykes’ win yesterday, but I am not about to back Schindler with his inconsistency. No bet.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet
Gerwyn Price vs. Cameron Menzies
Price has lost six of his last ten matches. Yes, three of those where in the PL, against elite players, but he also lost to Reyes and Rydz earlier this week. He isn’t playing as badly as it sounds. He has averaged in the mid-90 to ton plus range in all those matches. The Iceman has just lost the winning habit.
Menzies is in the final qualifying position for the Matchplay, but he will know that his nearest rivals, Chisnall and Huybrechts, both lost this afternoon and that takes some of the pressure off him. The Ayrshire plumber has lost six of his last ten matches and he has deserved to. Five sub 90 averages and a sub 80 is poor form.
Their H2H record is 5-2 to Price and he has won five of their last six, but they have not met for nearly two years. Price is 1.30 to win, Menzies 4.35. Two of their last six meetings saw 6-2 wins for Price, and a 6-0, and given their relative form, we could get something similar.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: 0.5 point Price to win 6-2 @ 6.00 with SpreadEx
Gian van Veen vs. Rob Cross
Cross is one of our outright selections and he kicked off with a turgid 6-3 win over a local qualifier, who succeeded in dragging Cross down a level or ten. Cross has won nine of his last ten matches and won PC22 on Wednesday. He is in great form.
Gian van Veen has won six of his last ten matches and there are signs of his best form returning, but it is not all there yet. Their H2H record is 4-4 and Cross won their only match in 2026, 10-7 at the UK Open.
Van Veen is the 1.80 favourite, Cross 2.10, and while there is some value in Cross, I am happy to leave this alone and hope that our selection can progress to the final day’s play.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet
Michael van Gerwen vs. Krzysztof Ratajski
Ratajski was his usual mid 90 averaging self in a 6-2 win over Cristo Reyes yesterday. He has won seven of his last ten matches and is playing with good consistency, as usual.
MVG has won a title in the World Series, as he does, and was runner up in the World Cup with Van Veen last weekend. He has won six of his last ten matches, but while his A game is better than Ratajski’s, he has hit four sub 90 averages.
Their H2H record is 10-1 to MVG and Ratajski is a player who still fears MVG, and MVG knows it. Most players just see him as another player these days, Ratajski just hates playing him. Ratajski did finally get a win over Van Gerwen last month, a 6-5 floor win, but MVG beat the Polish Eagle a couple of weeks ago in ET6, 6-3.
MVG is the 1.53 favourite, Ratajski 2.63. Three of their four Euro Tour matches have been over 9.5 legs and Ratajski is consistent enough to win legs against anybody.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.15 with Boylesports
Jonny Clayton vs. Ryan Joyce
Joyce came from behind to beat Johan Engstrom 6-3 yesterday in a very ordinary match. Joyce is getting used to playing on the Euro Tour and winning matches these days. He has won five of his last ten matches overall but is playing with no consistency at all.
Relentless has hit everything from a 73.39 average to a 100.76. On the Euro Tour, he has won four of his five Euro Tour second round matches and was a surprise runner up in the Baltic Sea Darts Open three weeks ago, without hitting an average above 94.50.
Jonny Clayton is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches, but he is still a little inconsistent scoring wise. He hasn’t played on the Euro Tour since mid-April, but he is four from four in his second-round matches in 2026.
Their H2H record is 4-2 to Clayton. He is the 1.40 favourite but an overs match may be the way to go. They have only played three best of eleven leg matches and two were over 9.5. If Clayton has one of his lighter scoring matches this could be close.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.38 with Boylesports
Stephen Bunting vs. Niels Zonneveld
Zonneveld beat a local qualifier 6-1 last night in a totally meaningless performance. He has won six of his last ten matches but has been very inconsistent.
Bunting has won eight of his last ten matches and has been playing some great stuff, and consistently so. He is 4-0 vs. Zonneveld and should be able to make that 5-0. Bunting has covered a -1.5 leg handicap in their four previous matches and looks a decent call to do so again.
2026 Slovak Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point Bunting to win -1.5 legs @ 2.05 with Boylesports
Ross Smith vs. Joe Cullen
Another of our outright selections, Ross Smith, is in good form, winning eight of his last ten matches. He has won a Euro Tour and a Players Championship title in the last month. All is good in Smudger’s world.
Joe Cullen was beaten 3-6 by Smith in the very Euro Tour event he went on to win. Cullen has won six of his last ten matches and he is hitting a lot of low to mid-90 averages. He has struggled in his second-round matches in 2026, playing five and losing four. He even lost to Dave Chisnall in the Baltic Sea Darts Open.
Their H2H record is 9-9 and, on the Euro Tour, it is 3-3. Smith has won their last two matches, the only two they have played in the last two years.
Smith is the 1.60 favourite, Cullen 2.50 but I am going to have a rare foray into the 180s market. Both are ranked top 15 for 180s per leg, and their last two matches produced 14 maximums from 17 legs, or 0.82 per leg.
