2026 Czech Darts Open Betting Preview – JP
2026 Czech Darts Open Betting Preview
The Hungarian Darts Trophy was an up and down affair for James Punt, he’s hoping to do better on the Euro Tour this weekend. Check out his 2026 Czech Darts Open betting preview and tips below.
2026 Czech Darts Open
This will be the sixth Czech Darts Open and it has been won three times by Luke Humphries. Cool Hand is going for three in a row this weekend. The other two winners were Peter Wright and Jamie Hughes, neither of who are here this weekend.
Luke Littler has entered the tournament, as have Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price, but they are in the ‘I’ll believe it when I see them’ category. Anderson needs to win at least another £15k if he is to make the European Championships. Littler and Price are already safely qualified, so they do not need to play.
On The Bubble
With four Euro Tour events left, there are a number of bubble boys who are outside the list of provisional qualifiers, or not yet safe. Players like Gurney and Bunting are still outside the top 32 of the O.O.M, and the likes of Cullen, Schindler, Wade, O’Connor, Menzies, Huybrechts, Chisnall and a few others are still in need of a few grand to make sure of their places.
Players that are pre-qualified from the PDC O.O.M need to win their first match in order to have their prizemoney added to their ranking. It is getting very close to squeaky bum time for a few big names.
The first player to withdraw was James Wade. Either he is ill or isn’t that bothered about playing in the European Championship. He was a late withdrawal last weekend and he could well drop out of the top 32 on the Euro Tour O.O.M. this weekend.
Ricky Evans gets a call up from the reserve list. Jermaine Wattimena gets promoted to 16th seed, and a date with Luke Littler, should they both win their second round matches.
2026 Czech Darts Open: The Seeds
1 Luke Littler
If he turns up he wins? Maybe not. The short format is his Kryptonite. Even the very best can get off to a slow start and the first to six leg format is a great leveller. Littler has played a total of fifteen Euro Tour events in his career, and he has won five. He has played seven in 2025 -2026 and won three.
Littler has played in the last two Czech Darts Opens, reaching the semi-final in 2024 and the 3rd round last year. He has played in twelve tournaments in 2026 and won six. The ones he didn’t win were two Players Championships last week, one Euro Tour event and three World Series. All short format.
2 Luke Humphries
Won PC 28 last week but lost his opening match in the Hungarian Darts Trophy last weekend. Humphries has won two of his last six Euro Tour events, won seven of his last ten matches and is playing well, if a little shy of his best.
3 Gian van Veen
Looking a bit more like his old self and while he has lost six of his last ten matches, he averaged 97.70 in Budapest last weekend and he can have a good run. Reached the semi-final here last year.
4 Michael van Gerwen
Has lost five of his last ten matches and continues to struggle with his game. He has become much more inconsistent. His last Euro Tour title was in April last year and he hasn’t made a final in his last twelve. Hard to fancy.
5 Jonny Clayton
Lost to eventual tournament winner Ross Smith last week, but Clayton is playing well and has won seven of his last ten matches. Perfectly capable of a good run.
6 Gerwyn Price
Always the last profile to get written up , such is his record for withdrawing. However, with three hours before the tournament starts, he is still in the draw. Maybe he has decided that it is time to start getting match fit for the big money events that are on the horizon.
Price has played three Euro Tours in 2026, was runner up in one and won another. He has won ten Euro Tour titles in total and, if he is in the mood, is capable of winning another.
7 Josh Rock
Won the Austrian Darts Open in May and was runner up here last year. Rock lost in the third round last weekend and has lost five of his last ten matches. He hasn’t played his best stuff very often in the last couple of months and he looked in poor form last weekend. Also needs to cut down on the pre-match booze.
8 Stephen Bunting
Needs to start winning some matches on the Euro Tour if he is to qualify for the European Championship. Bunting hasn’t got past the 3rd round in his last eight Euro Tour events and overall, he has lost seven of his last ten matches. He is beating the journeymen players but losing to the top players. He is likely to struggle to make much progress.
9 Danny Noppert
Reached the semi-final in Budapest last weekend, without really playing that well. He lost the semi-final, as he tends to do. There is little prospect of him winning this.
10 Ryan Searle
Had his third, third round defeat in a row last weekend. He made the final of the International Darts Open back in May, but he has failed to get beyond the third round in twenty two of his last twenty five Euro Tour events.
Heavy Metal played well enough last weekend, hitting two 97 averages, but he is just getting used to losing in Europe. Searle has won six of his last ten matches, and he should be doing better in these events.
11 Gary Anderson
It seems like Anderson’s run to last week’s final in Budapest has inspired him to have another tilt. If he is to qualify for the European Championships, he needs at least another £15k (runners up money), or better still win it and qualify for the European Championships and the Grand Slam of Darts. The motivation is high.
I have my doubts as to whether he can win. He ran out of steam in last weekend’s semi-final but was let off the hook by Aspinall, winning 7-6. He was then pumped by Ross Smith. Anderson averaged 89.77 across those two matches.
12 Chris Dobey
Reached the quarter final last weekend and played well, but he has never won a Euro Tour title and reached just one final. His overall form is six wins from his last ten but he has lost ten quarter finals in various events in 2026 and he is hard to fancy for stage event tournament wins.
13 Wessel Nijman
Has won seven of his last ten matches, but his last four have seen averages of 89, 90, 87 and 89. That is concerning and he would appear to be best watched for the time being.
14 Ross Smith
Picked up his second Euro Tour title last weekend. He bookended his weekend with ton plus averages but was only OK in his other three wins. He is a more confident player these days, more comfortable at the business end of tournaments and he tops the European Championship O.O.M.
Smudger has made the final in three of the last seven Euro Tour events, and reached one other semi-final, so he really has got his mojo going in his trips to Europe. He is now a six time Euro Tour finalist and can be considered a Euro Tour specialist.
15 Nathan Aspinall
He too can be described as a Euro Tour specialist. The Asp has won four titles in his last eighteen events and only just missed out on the final last weekend, losing in the deciding leg of his semi-final with Gary Anderson. He is playing well and consistently and another good run is very possible.
16 Jermaine Wattimena
We baked him last week and he lost his third-round match to Van Veen. He played OK in that match and he has won eight of his last ten matches. The Machine Gun was runner up in ET10 and picked up another Players Championship last month. Not without a chance, but is now in the same quarter as Littler.
Best of the Rest
There are plenty of unseeded players in good form, but we have only seen one player winning a Euro Tour title from a first round start in 2026. That was when Nijman was still an unseeded player. There have been three unseeded runners up, but those players starting in round two have the advantage and better record.
Luke Woodhouse
Has won seven of his last ten matches and is playing well and with good consistency. Lost 5-6 to Rob Cross in last week’s second round but hit a ton average. Won the Baltic Sea Darts Open in May and has picked up a Players Championship title in 2026. A much better player than he was a couple of years ago and perfectly capable of another big run.
Rob Cross
Another of last week’s selections. Cross lost his third-round match to Dirk van Duijvenbode and it was a poor effort. He has been in good form overall, and has won eight of his last ten matches. Cross has reached a final and two more semi-finals and he has to be on the long list.
2026 Czech Darts Open: The Draw
First Quarter
Luke Littler will very likely play Niko Springer in round two. Springer has a reputation as a good underdog, he likes playing the top players but is 0-2 vs. Littler. He did take him to a deciding leg in a Players Championship match last year.
The other seeds are Wattimena, Bunting and Noppert. All very good players and he has good H2H record vs all three. Of the first-round entries, Ratajski is a quality player and recent Euro Tour winner, but is 0-6 vs Littler.
Luke Woodhouse is deserving of seeded status but is 0-2 vs Littler. Kevin Doets is also in the first round and is another quality player with a losing H2H record against Littler.
Luke Littler has got a group full of talented players, but nobody he fears. What he doesn’t like is the format. Littler is the likely semi-finalist, but he faces quite a few banana skins to get there.
Second Quarter
MVG is the top seed, but he is hard to fancy. He will face the winner of the Van Duijvenbode vs. Super Mario match. Van Gerwen has lost his last match to both. If he gets past that, MVG faces Nijman, who got his first win against him in ET5. That said, Nijman’s very recent form has been poor.
Damon Heta faces Sedlacek for the right to play Jonny Clayton. Heta has played OK lately but lost a recent match to Clayton in the recent world series event in Australia.
Evil Charlie
Sedlacek came through the local qualifier yesterday and was a class above his rivals. Evil Charlie averaged a healthy 94.51 across his five matches and he is no stranger to the Euro Tour. He has been playing some great stuff, four ton plus averages in his last ten matches. However, he lacks the consistency to go deep, but he is a dangerous opponent. Sedlacek has won three of his first-round matches in Prague.
Chris Dobey reached the quarter final last week and that’s good for him on the Euro Tour. He’s a great player but not a title winner. He will face the winner of the Keane Barry vs. Rob Cross match.
Cross is playing well, but he has been putting in too many stinkers of late. Three of his last six matches have seen sub 93 averages and he has got found out. His A game is great, his B game, not good enough. He is a toss up to beat Dobey, should he beat Barry.
I fancied Clayton to win his quarter last week, and he didn’t. I still fancy him to win his quarter this week. Against Dobey or Cross, Clayton has a decent chance, but is Cross a better bet when it comes to making a final? The odds will decide it.
Third Quarter
Humphries is the top seed in the bottom half of the draw. In this quarter he is joined by Aspinall, Rock and Searle in the second round. Humphries has won his last five matches with Rock. Against Searle it is closer. Humphries leads by 11-9 overall and 3-2 on the Euro Tour. Aspinall has won only one of his last seven matches vs. Humphries.
Of the first-round entries, Gurney plays Greaves for the right to play Humphries. Given his recent form, I’d have to give that to Beau Greaves. Those two met in last year’s UK Open, with Humphries winning 10-7. The other first rounders make little appeal.
Humphries has to be fancied to make the semi-final. Aspinall is playing well enough to be considered as an alternative.
Fourth Quarter
Gian van Veen is in a tough quarter here. He is joined by last week’s two finalists, Anderson and Smith. Gerwyn Price is the other seed. Price has withdrawn from eight of the previous eleven Euro Tours, but his name is still on the list a few hours before the tournament starts.
As for that matter, so is Anderson’s. He too has missed eight events, but he needs more prize money if he is to make the European Championship, while Price is safely through. Anderson is also not qualified for the Grand Slam. Winning a Euro Tour title would kill two birds with one stone.
Toss Up
Van Veen would be delighted if Price stayed away as he has lost seven of their last ten matches. Price vs. Anderson would be a bit of a toss-up. Ross Smith is now a two-time Euro Tour winner in 2026. He lost another final and lost it to Gerwyn Price. Ross Smith is the form player, but this is a tough group. He has very close H2H record with the other seeds.
This is a tough group. Van Veen isn’t quite back to his best. Price is a Euro Tour specialist but with suspect motivation. Anderson made last week’s final but is here only because he really has to be. That leaves Ross Smith as the best option. In form, loving the Euro Tour and he plays well against his main rivals.
2026 Czech Darts Open Selections
Obviously, Luke Littler dominates the market and is the 2.63 favourite. I can’t argue with that, but he will face stiff opposition every step of the way and in a format which is a bit of a leveller. He also doesn’t really care for the Euro Tours, too close to Germany. Value he is not.
Luke Humphries is the 8.00 second favourite and he has won two of his last six Euro Tour events. He is one of the few players that can beat Littler and has won four of their last five matches. He lost his opening match last weekend and needs to up his game.
Tough Quarter
Price is the 15.00 third favourite and in the bottom half of the draw. He is in a very tough quarter. Anderson looks a bit short at 17.00. Nijman’s recent form makes his odds of 17.00 look a bit tight. It is 26.00 bar those and there are fancy prices about some big names. Van Veen is 29.00, Rock 41.00, Cross 41.00, Noppert 81.00 and so on.
It is hard looking tournament, but if Littler doesn’t win it, you are getting good odds on who ever does. I feel that if Littler wins a couple of matches, he will win the whole thing.
Tricky Draw
It is hard to make a convincing argument for many of the players. The draw is a very tricky one, not easy for anyone, and we have the looming figure of Littler dominating the market. He is the best player and should win, but that is reflected in his odds.
The only player I will back this weekend has reached three of his last seven Euro Tour finals and won two. At 29.00, Ross Smith makes some sense, even if he is in the group of death.
