2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tips – JP
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Preview
James Punt was in sensational form last night, firing in seven winners from eight bets and he was just one leg away from a full house. Check out his 2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 preview and tips below.
R1 Reflections
It was 10 winners from 13 bets in the notoriously tricky first round yesterday, and a 6.90 point profit. Hopefully we can add to the tally today.
The seeded players join the fray in round two. Will we see the repeat of last week’s round 2 bloodbath?
Martin Schindler vs. Karel Sedlacek
A huge match for both players. Sedlacek’s 6-4 win over Wiggy in the first round moved him into the provisional qualifier list for the European Championship. Schindler sits two places behind him in 31st place. Whoever wins this match, will qualify. The loser will have to sweat it out.
Sedlacek’s performance yesterday was a mix of good and bad. His scoring was good, his doubles bad. It was a classic nervy performance, but he got the win. It was a win built around hitting seven 180s. That just about made up for missing 17 doubles. He was also helped by Rydz being just about as bad on his doubles.
Sedlacek has won eleven of his last twelve matches, and nervous or not, he must be feeling really happy about his game. He is a PDC title holder now and deserves to be playing in the Majors.
Clinging On
Schindler has been hanging on to his provisional spot on the qualifier list. He lost in last week’s first round, which put him in a perilous position, and it all comes down to this match. It is a mini cup final. Schindler has lost six of his last ten matches His game is almost there. He is playing some great darts but is still prone to poor performances. He now needs a good one, under pressure.
Their H2H record is 4-1 to Schindler and he won their only match in 2026, 6-5 in ET7. They have met three times on the Euro Tour, and Schindler has won them all.
Sedlacek is the 1.73 favourite, Schindler 2.20. Sedlacek has done the hard bit by getting into a qualifying position, Schindler is trying to hang on. I guess Sedlacek will be a little less nervous, and that might help his doubling.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Karel Sedlacek to win @ 1.73 generally available
Wessel Nijman vs. Jeffrey de Graaf
An all-Dutch affair? De Graaf is now a Swedish national, but Dutch born, so he shouldn’t get too much abuse from the huge crowd.
De Graaf beat Mickey Mansell 6-2 in a high quality match. He averaged 100.12 and Mansell stuck right with him for most of the match. It was much tougher than 6-3 suggests. He has won seven of his last ten matches, and last week he made the third round for only the third time in his career.
Nijman has been off his game for a while, but off is a relative term. His B game is good. He has lost five of his last ten matches overall and lost five of his last ten on the Euro Tour. He has still hit six 97+ averages in his last ten.
Their H2H record is 2-1 to De Graaf, all played on the floor. De Graaf is the 3.00 outsider, and while Nijman is the better player, he is low on confidence right now. The value lies with the outsider.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Jeffrey de Graaf to win : 3.00 with BET365, Skybet
Luke Woodhouse vs. Andrew Gilding
Gilding beat Max Hopp 6-5 in a poor match, both averaging in the 80s. Woodhouse is a step or two up the ladder from Hopp. Gilding has averaged under 90 in four of his last ten matches, excluding the Grand Prix, and lost six of them.
Woodhouse is not in the same hot form that saw him win two PDC titles in May. He has lost five of his last ten matches but he is playing a lot better than Gilding is right now.
Their H2H record is 6-6, and in 2026, 2-1 to Woodhouse. They have met twice on the Euro Tour this season, Woodhouse winning the first 6-3 and Gilding the most recent 6-4. Neither were good matches. Woodhouse has won three of their last four, which is a fair refection of his improvement as a player.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Luke Woodhouse to win -1.5 legs @ 2.05 with Boylesports
Ross Smith vs. Ryan Joyce
Joyce enjoyed a 6-0 win over Owen Bates yesterday. He played very well, Bates was rubbish. Joyce is very good at winning his first-round matches and he has won 70% of his second round matches as well, picking up nice money, regularly. Joyce is in good form winning seven of his last ten matches.
Ross Smith tops the O.O.M. for a reason. He has won two titles and was runner up in two more. He has won seven of his last ten matches and is playing well, if not with great consistency.
Dominant H2H
Their H2H record is 7-1 to Smith. He has won their last seven in a row and Joyce hasn’t beaten Smudger since 2018. Their last match was in the quarter final of ET13 a few weeks ago, and Smith won 6-5. That was the first time that they had played a deciding leg since 2018.
Smith is the 1.40 favourite, Joyce 3.00. Joyce is a decent price, but that H2H record is hard to ignore. They have never had a 6-4 result, and it is about time they had.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 0.5 point Ross Smith to win 6-4 @ 6.00 with SpreadEx
Danny Noppert vs. Dave Chisnall
I don’t know how Chisnall manages to win so many matches by playing so badly. He beat the Finn, Jonas Masalin, 6-4 yesterday, and averaged 90.83, which is right about were his seasonal average is these days. Six of his last ten matches have seen sub 90 averages. On the Euro Tour, his second round record is played nine and lost seven in 2026.
Noppert has won five of his last ten matches overall and won nine of his fourteen second round matches.
Their H2H record is 6-5 to Chisnall, but they have only played twice in the last two years, both winning once. With a big home support, Noppert should walk this one. He is the 1.54 favourite, which seems a touch generous to me, but I’ll take him to cover the handicap.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Noppert to win -1.5 legs @ 1.85 with Boylesports
Ryan Searle vs. Dirk van Duijvenbode
It is Dirk’s party, and there will be no Heavy Metal allowed. The big crowd, bigger than you get at Ally Pally, was lapping everything Dirk did up yesterday. James Hurrell didn’t turn up and lost 1-6. T
o be honest, Dirk wasn’t that good. He ended up with a 94.24 average but was lower for much of the game. He has won seven of his last ten matches, but is playing with no great consistency, half of his matches seeing sub 90 averages.
Dirk has played seven second round matches in 2026 and won five. One of his defeats was to Searle, a 4-6 loss at the European Darts Grand Prix. That was in Germany, this is in the Netherlands. That should be the difference.
Searle is not in good form, losing six of his last ten matches, and on the Euro Tour he has lost six of his thirteen second round matches, which is more than I thought.
Their H2H record is 8-5 to Dirk, but Searle has won their last three. Their five best of eleven leg matches have all been over 9.5 legs.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point over 9.5 leges @ 1.95 with Boylesports
Brendan Dolan vs. Heine Uudricks
The Dutch qualifier played an amazing game with Ricardo Pietreczko yesterday, winning it 6-5 with both players averaging around the ton mark. It was very high quality and it sent the crowd nuts. The question is, can he get close to that kind of performance again?
Probably not, otherwise he would be a Tour Card holder, winning things. His seasonal average is 83.93 which should put things into perspective.
Dolan is a late, late call up from the reserve list. He takes Rob Cross’ place as he had to return to England for personal reasons. Dolan gets at least £3.5k for his troubles, and the realistic chance of more. Yes, the crowd will be on his back, but get an early lead, and he can put them to sleep. It is not like this will be his first time on a big stage after all.
Dolan is the 1.67 favourite and that is good enough for me.
2026 Dutch Darts Championship R2 Tip: 1 point Brendan Dolan to win @ 1.67 generally available
Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Niels Zonneveld
Zonneveld beat Mike de Decker 6-4 last night and averaged 98.51. He hit seven 180s and was 75% on the doubles. Now the hell did De Decker win four legs? Zonneveld has been in great form and has home advantage. Maybe I should have backed him outright after all. He has won seven of his last ten matches and is playing some very good darts.
Ratajski is a very consistent, steady player, who always gives his best. He has won just three of his last ten matches, however, but he isn’t playing as bad as that sounds. He has played some of the top players playing well against him. It might just be about to happen again.
Their H2H record is 2-2, but they last played in 2023.
Zonneveld is the 1.91 favourite and I am a big fan right now.
