2026 European Darts R1 Preview – JP
2026 European Darts Open R1 Preview
Check out James Punt’s 2026 European Darts Open R1 betting preview below. His outright preview and tips are here.
Afternoon
The afternoon session has more of the less competitive matches, but it always worth having a look to see if there is any angles or underrated outsiders.
Ryan Joyce vs. Moi Varila
Joyce has a very good first round record on the Euro Tour in 2026. He has played eight first round matches and won six, his last six in a row. He has drawn the Nordic Baltic qualifier, Moi Varila, and Joyce really should justify odds of 1.16. He is in decent form, winning six of his last ten matches, but not at his best.
Varila is making his Euro Tour debut. He has won on the Nordic Baltic tour this season and while he is lacking in consistency, his A game is good enough to win legs, if probably not a match at this level. The bookies haven’t priced up any side markets for this. No bet.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: No Bet
Karel Sedlacek vs. Rhys Griffth
Sedlacek tried…and failed to qualify for the Matchplay. He was right up there, but crumbled in the final run in. He ended up £10k short. He qualified for seven Euro Tour events and that gave him a platform to win good money, but he only reached the third round once and lost in three first rounds. His recent form sees six defeats from his last ten matches.
Rhys Griffth is in poor form, losing seven of his last ten matches. His A game is good but it has been rarely sighted in 2026. This is his Euro Tour debut, and a bad time to make it given his form.
Maybe now that Sedlacek’s stress from trying to qualify for Blackpool is over, he can relax a bit more and play his game.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Sedlacek to win -1.5 legs @ 1.70 with Bresbet
Mario Vandenbogaerde vs Dragutin Horvat
Super Mario is the 1.44 favourite and has won six of his last ten matches. He is playing OK but has a seasonal win rate of just 47%. On the Euro Tour, he has played twelve first round matches since 2020 and won six. In his last eight, seven have seen over 9.5 legs, the other was 6-3. He hasn’t really dominated players.
Horvat is an experienced Euro Tour player having played in 21 Euro Tour events, losing 15 first round matches. Of those defeats, Horvat lost seven of them 3-6.
A tricky one. Mario to have another close match, or Horvat to lose 3-6? I’ll be greedy and back the correct score.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 0.5 point Mario Vandenbogaerde to win 6-3 @ 5.50 generally available
Andrew Gilding vs. Rob Owen
Gilding is not at his best but has won six of his last ten matches. He has played eight first round matches in 2026 and won six, and gone on to reach three quarter finals, so he is at home on the Euro Tour stage.
Rob Owen is an infrequent visitor to the Euro Tour, only playing in two events in the last twelve months. He won both his first round matches 6-5, beating Cullen and Searle. Overall, he has played nine first round matches and lost five.
Their H2H record is 6-3 to Gilding and he is the 1.62 favourite to improve on that. Gilding has won their last six in a row, including 6-2 and 6-4 wins in 2026.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Andrew Gilding to win -1.5 legs @ 2.02 with Livescorebet
Cameron Menzies vs. Jam Schmidt
Menzies is he 1.20 favourite to beat the local qualifier and given that he is in top form, he should do just that. We are on him outright and that is enough interest for me. No bet.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: No bet
Mickey Mansell vs Michal Smejda
Smejda is the Eastern European qualifier and is up against the plodding but effective Mickey Mansell. Mansell is the 1.22 favourite. He has played three first round matches in 2026 and won two, including a 6-2 win over Rob Cross in ET5. It is a match with no betting appeal.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: No Bet
Lukas Wenig vs Bradley Brooks
The market has this as the most open of the afternoons matches with Brooks the 1.91 favourite, Wenig at 2.00.
Brooks has won six of his last ten matches, showing no consistency but hitting two tons to go with four sub 90s. He has played just one Euro Tour event in 2026, beating Andrew Gilding 6-4 in the first round.
Wenig is a more frequent Euro Tour visitor but is not in good form, losing six of his last ten matches. He doesn’t have the same sort of A game that Brooks does, but he is a decent player.
However, he does struggle on the Euro Tour. In the last 12 months he has played in six events and lost five first round matches. He has had a lot of tough draws it must be said, but he has got used to losing.
2026 European Darts Open R1 Tip: 1 point Bradley Brooks to win @ 1.91 with Hills
Dirk van Duijvenbode vs Jaimy Van de Weerd
Two big names in darts. Jaimy Van de Weerd is making his debut and came through the local qualifier to get his place here.
Dirk is not in good form, losing five of his last ten matches, but he is the 1.17 favourite to win this. He should, but he has lost four of his last five first round matches on the Euro Tour this year. He does OK against the cannon fodder and this is a no bet for me.
