2026 European Championship Saturday Tips – JP
2026 European Championship Saturday Preview
James Punt landed a couple of winners on Friday night. Check out his 2026 European Championship Saturday preview and tips below.
Gerwyn Price vs. Cameron Menzies
These two have met nine times, Price winning six. In 2026 it is 1-1. The standout stat from their past form is that they don’t have many close matches. All of their nine matches have been best of eleven legs, and eight have seen less than 9.5 legs.
Today’s match will be their first longer format match, but I expect a familiar theme. Price made short work of Rob Cross in round one, winning 6-2. It was a good performance, but strangely flat, probably down to a soporific crowd.
Menzies beat the in-form Niels Zonneveld 6-3 in round 1, but clearly the Dutchman hadn’t had time to come back down the mountain after his big win last Sunday. Menzies has won six of his last ten matches, but since he won PC29 a month ago he has played six matches, lost four and averaged 89.83. That is unlikely to make much impression on Price.
Menzies took Luke Humphries to a deciding leg at this stage last year, and he can be annoyingly unpredictable at times, but I expect him to lose properly today.
Price is the 1.30 favourite to win, Menzies is the 3.80 outsider. Price has played seven second round matches in the European Championship and all have ended with under 16.5 legs.
2026 European Championship Saturday Tip: 1 point under 16.5 legs @ 1.80 generally available
Stephen Bunting vs. Kim Huybrechts
Huybrechts was the star of the opening night, averaging 103.81 in a 6-1 thumping of a pretty decent version of Ryan Searle. He had only arrived at the venue an hour before the match, having been a very late call up after Luke Humphries withdrew. I doubt he will be that good again. He has lost six of his last ten matches and his last ton plus average before Thursdays match was nearly two months ago.
Bunting was rather lucky to beat Danny Noppert 6-5 in round one, checking out 160 to steal the match. He has won five of his last ten matches and hasn’t been playing well. He has been winning matches despite not playing well, and that he has won five of his last ten is flattering.
H2H
Their H2H record is 7-5 to Huybrechts. Bunting won their only match in the last three years 6-5 in June this year. They have played one best of nineteen leg match, Bunting winning 10-8 back in 2023.
Bunting has lost his last five second round matches in the European Championships, his only win was on debut in 2014. Huybrechts has won two of his four European second round matches, but his last win was back in 2012! Ancient history.
Bunting is the 1.57 favourite, Huybrechts 2.63. That seems very short for a Bunting win. He isn’t playing well, is lucky to have reached round two, and his luck will run out. Huybrechts really doesn’t deserve to be here, but why not make the most of the opportunity?
2026 European Championship Saturday Tip: 1 point Kim Huybrechts to win @ 2.63 with BET365
Ross Smith vs. Damon Heta
Smith was a bit lucky that Sedlacek had another bad day on the doubles in round 1. Smudger averaged just 91.83 and kept the Curse of the Number 1 seed at bay, for now.
Heta beat James Wade 6-5 and beating Wade is always a good result. It was only a 91.48 average and Wade was the better player, but doing the right things at the right time and all that.
Their H2H record is 10-4 to Smith, but they have not played since January 2025.
Smith is a former Champion here but has won just one of his three second matches. Heta has won just one first round match and never made the third round.
Smith is the 1.53 favourite, Heta 2.63. They have never played a best of 19 leg match before but they have had five matches that went to a deciding leg.
2026 European Championship Saturday Tip: 1 point over 16.5 legs @ 1.80 generally available
Gian Van Veen vs. Luke Woodhouse
Woody did well to hit a nine darter in the second leg of his first round match and be able to just carry on like it hadn’t happened. He is such a better player these days, because he has sorted his head out. He has a very good mental attitude to the game now.
Woodhouse averaged just under a ton in his 6-3 win over van Duijvenbode, and three of his last four matches have seen 97+ averages.
Van Veen laboured to a 6-4 win over Captain Weird. He is in good form, winning seven of his last ten matches.
These two have met three times, once every year for the last three, and Woodhouse has won the lot, two of them 6-5 and the other 7-5. Another close match looks more than likely, and hopefully Van Veen can break his duck against Woodhouse.
