Belgian Darts Open Saturday Preview

It was a mixed afternoon for James Punt’s selections and he is back in action again this evening. Check out his 2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday preview and tips below.

Nathan Aspinall vs. Martijn Kleermaker

Kleermaker only averaged 85.9 against Ross Smith yesterday but was the 6-4 winner. Smudger had treble problems and just struggled to get going and when he did, he was playing catch up from 0-4. There was little to suggest that Kleermaker is going to have much more impact on the tournament.

He is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten and he was a quarter finalist in PC10 a few weeks ago, but it was one of those runs where the draw opened up for him. He didn’t face a form player until the quarter final in Dirk van Duijvenbode and he lost that 2-6.

Close H2H

Nathan Aspinall has won six of his last ten but lost four of the last six and his last three saw sub 90 averages. He is not in great form. These two have only met twice, both last year and it is one win apiece. Both were close, 6-4 and 6-5.

Neither player inspires much confidence. Aspinall is the 1.33 favourite and Kleermaker 3.50. Aspinall is worth taking on, but taking him on with Kleermaker? I’m happy to leave this alone. No bet.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Luke Humphries vs. Bradley Brooks

Brooks beat Richard Veenstra 6-3 yesterday, which was a bit of a surprise. Veenstra is a very consistent player but he doesn’t seem to do it on stage. Brooks has lost six of his last ten senior level matches. He has now played five Euro Tour matches in 2023 and won two. He lost his previous second round match 6-2 to Damon Heta.

Humphries was the runner up last weekend, losing his second final of the year, and he is still very strong on the Euro Tour. Two finals from four starts in 2023, four tournament wins in 2022, along with a semi-final and two quarter finals. He didn’t play in this event last year as he had the luxury of taking time off while retaining the number 1 seed.

Their H2H record is a comprehensive 7-0 to Humphries. They have played three best of 11 leg format matches and all required less than ten legs.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point Luke Humphries to win -2.5 legs @ 1.88 with Unibet

Dave Chisnall vs. Ricky Evans

Rapid Ricky Evans lived up to his name yesterday, dispatching local hero Kim Huybrechts 6-0. Evans averaged 99.1. He has hit a bit of form, winning seven of his last ten matches but consistency is still lacking scoring wise. A big win like last night will do him good but he needs to back it up. The last time he had a 6-0 win on the Euro Tour (vs. Ratajski last year) he followed it up with an 84.7 and 2-6 defeat by Rob Cross.

Dave Chisnall has picked up two Euro Tour titles already in 2023. His win rate is a very healthy 70% and he has won five of his six opening matches. He has won seven of his last ten matches and has 10-4 H2H record with Evans. They haven’t met since 2020 and all 14 matches were best of 11 legs and nine required less than 10 legs. The odds for under 9.5 legs are a bit cramped at 1.67.

Chisnall is the 1.33 favourite with Evans 3.45. It is a no bet match for me.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Dirk van Duijvenbode vs. Raymond van Barneveld

Beware the injured darts player? Or just avoid like the plague. Dirk has turned up but whether he is fit to play is unknown. He had to skip practice this week which suggests it is marginal but he will still get £2500 for losing, so why not have a go.

Barney’s form is blowing hot and cold. He has won six of his last ten matches and he has hit everything from a 113.5 average to an 86.9.

The H2H record is 5-0 to Barney and he is 2.40 to make it 6-0. Without knowing how fit Dirk is, it is probably better to pass on this one, but Barney could be a steal. That said, Dirk averaged 97 in defeat in a leg brace against Bunting last week, and something like that would be too much for Barney. Before his ridiculous accident last weekend he was in great form and if he is not in pain, he should still be hard to beat.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Peter Wright vs. Gabriel Clemens

Wright’s struggles continue. He has lost six of his last ten matches. He has played eleven Euro Tour matches and won just five. Snakebite reached the quarter final last weekend but his averages of 87.5, 102.7 and 90.0 sum up where his game is, all over the place. His last ten saw two ton + averages and a 99, but one sub 80, and four sub 90.

Clemens isn’t really a Euro Tour specialist. He just rarely has any deep runs and so far in 2023 he has played nine ET matches, won just four, and lost all three second round matches. This is his best chance to finally make it to Sunday. He has won six of his last ten matches and had a confidence boosting 6-0 win over Graham Usher last night.

Wright There For Taking

Wright is there for the taking, unless he finds his A game, which is happening about a third of the time. Their H2H record is 4-2 to Clemens which is a bit of a surprise as he tends to struggle against the big names.

They haven’t met since 2021 so Clemens hasn’t been taking advantage of Wright struggles in 2023. Their last four matches have all been in TV events and they were 2-2 in those. Clemens knocked Wright out of the 2021 World Championship and that is the biggest stage of all.

Clemens is the 2.06 marginal outsider and just about worth backing. Sod’s law means Wright will now turn up and hit a ton plus, but his form says he is more likely to shoot a sub 90.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: 1 point Gabriel Clemens to win @ 2.06 with Unibet

Michael van Gerwen vs. Jose De Sousa

The H2H record is the thing to consider. MVG is 10-3 up and has won their last five meetings. They have played four times on the Euro Tour and MVG has won three, but the one time Jose beat him was in a final.

Since then it is 8-1 to MVG. It is fair to say that Van Gerwen is not a fan of The Special One, having called him boring and called him Billy Big Bollocks. I have no idea about the size of Jose’s love stones but he’ll need to show more balls to win tonight.

MVG is the 1.30 favourite to win and while he isn’t at his best, he likes to beat De Sousa. They played last month in ET 3 and that was a 6-1 win, his biggest margin of victory over Jose. Their matches are usually closer than that and I’m struggling to enthuse about this match for betting purposes.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Michael Smith vs. Dimitri van den Bergh

Two Premier League stars going head-to-head again. Smith is in great form, winning eight of his last ten matches and picking up the night win in Thursdays PL, averaging a sensational 110 average in the final. It was Smith at his finest.

He has won five of his six second round matches in 2023 but this will be one of the harder ones. Their H2H record is 8-5 to Smith and he has won all four of their matches in 2023, all 6-3 or 6-4.

Dimitri has lost five of his last ten matches, four of his last five and five of his last seven. His scoring is erratic and he has been losing despite hitting some decent numbers, like a 1-6 defeat to Searle last weekend when averaging 105.

We are on Smith to win the tournament and that is enough interest in what is a potential banana skin for him.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

Josh Rock vs. Chris Dobey

Dobey was less than impressive in a 6-3 win over the rank outside Dalibor Smolik last night, but it was job done and now he can try and make the final day’s play. Dobey has lost five of his last ten matches but is playing better than that sounds. His seasonal average is a very handy 95.73, so he can punch hard.

Josh Rock has won seven of his last ten matches, he has won four of his five second round matches and was runner up in ET5 two weeks ago. He was poor last week, averaging 92, and 91. A reaction to losing the final the week before or a dip in form? Two matches cannot be called a dip in form and he should be better this week.

Rock is the 1.83 favourite and Dobey 2.10. The odds look right and there is no H2H form to go on. No bet.

2023 Belgian Darts Open Saturday Tip: No Bet

-JamesPunt