Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy Betting Preview

James Punt has already posted an ante-post preview for this event, get his two tips here. His Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips are below.

Joe Murnan vs. Jermaine Wattimena

My darting default position is to oppose Wattimena and here he is the 1.44 favourite with Murnan 3.10. Is it worth reverting to default?

Murnan has only won 36% of his matches in 2023, which suggests he is not a player to back. His recent form is very much in keeping with his seasonal trend, losing seven of his last ten matches and his last five in a row, including hitting three sub 80 averages.

I think Wattimena is safe enough here. The Dutchman is 4-0 against Murnan and he should win this at a canter. I still can’t back him.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: No Bet

Madars Razma vs. Scott Waites

Razma is in the provisional list of qualifiers for the European Championship, but only just. A win here would likely cement his place in the finals, so he will be aware that this is a big deal.

He is not in good form, losing five of his last ten and he has been very inconsistent, averaging high 90s to sub 80s. He has faced Waites four times and won three. None of those four matches saw more than nine legs.

Waites’ win rate in 2023 is just 40%. He has won six of his last ten matches but there has been nothing special in his game. He averages around 90 and doesn’t vary much either side.

Money For Waites

Razma is the 1.90 favourite and Waites 1.95 and being backed. On paper it looks like it should be a close match, but their past record says it will be anything but close.

If Razma finds his A game he should win easily, if he puts in a below par performance, Waites has a chance.

The choice for me is to back under 9.5 legs, or just a straight Razma win. I will go for under 9.5. Their only match in 2023 was a 6-2 win for Razma. He only averaged 85.7 that day, so he can beat Waites with is B game.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: 1 point under 9.5 legs @ 1.83 generally available

Andy Boulton vs. Scott Mitchell

Boulton is in very poor form, losing eight of his last ten matches, but he has played better than that sounds. He still lost them, however.

His record against Mitchell is very good at 6-1 and they have played each other five times in 2023 and Boulton has won four. Boulton has played five Euro Tour matches in 2023 and won one.

Mitchell has a better A game and he hits bigger averages more often. He reached a Challenge Tour final last month, losing to Wesley Plaisier. He has played Boulton twice in his last twelve matches, both played last month. Mitchell won the first 5-2, averaging 100, but lost the second 3-5.

Boulton is the 1.80 favourite with Mitchell 2.05. It is hard to find an angle here. No bet.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: no Bet

Gian Van Veen vs. Brendan Dolan

Gian Van Veen continues to impress. He has won seven of his last ten matches. He has only played in four Euro Tour events but reached two quarter finals and won seven of his eleven matches.

Dolan has played Van Veen twice and won one, a 6-5 win last November, before Van Veen won his tour card. He was still good then, he is just better now. They met again last month and Van Veen won 6-4. Dolan averaged 100 in that match, his A game in other words, and it wasn’t good enough.

Dolan is not in good form right now, losing five of his last six matches, but he had been in good form before this flat spot. He reached the quarter final of PC19 and hit a couple of ton plus averages, so it is hard to pin him down right now.

Like Van Veen, Dolan has played eleven Euro Tour matches in 2023 but he has only won four.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: 1 point Gian Van Veen to win -1.5 legs @ 1.80 generally available

Rowby-John Rodriguez vs. Patrik Kovacs        

Rowby-John is in poor form, losing six of his last ten matches and hitting eight sub 90 averages. Could we have a vulnerable favourite?

Kovacs is the highest ranked Hungarian player but that isn’t saying much. He only averages 83 in 2023. We last saw him in Euro Tour 11 where he lost 1-6 to Mike de Decker. He also qualified for Euro Tour 8 and lost 2-6 to Martin Lukeman.

Kovacs will have the crowd behind him and against an out of sorts Rodriguez, he might get close to a win. He did take four legs of Rob Cross in a Euro Tour match in 2021 and something similar would be nice.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: 1 point Patrik Kovacs to win +2.5 legs @ 1.67 with Betfair

William 0’Connor vs. James Wade

Finally, the crowd get to see a proper darts match. O’Connor has lost five of his last ten matches but had his chances to beat MVG in last weekend’s World Series.

The Magpie needs to reach the semi-final to put him into the provisional qualifying spots for the finals. He has played Wade twelve times and lost nine. His game is not in great shape, but he has some potential to win.

Wade last played O’Connor in Euro Tour 10 in June and that saw an emphatic 6-1 win for the Machine. They also met in the first Euro Tour event of the season and Wade won that, but only in a deciding leg.

Wade has won six of his last ten matches but he is playing with a lack of consistency. He reached the semi-final of Euro Tour 10 but he was playing well then, hitting three ton plus averages. In his last ten he has hit one, but also three sub 90s.

Wade is the 1.53 favourite, O’Connor 2.60. If Wade turns up with a sub 90 game, O’Connor can win but if he plays his usual low 90s he wins. The odds look about right. No bet.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: No Bet

Daryl Gurney vs. Jose de Sousa

Superchin is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten matches and reaching the semi-final of PC21 a couple of weeks ago. He needs some good runs to add the final touches to his return to form.

He has played de Sousa three times and only won once, a 4-0 win in this year’s World Cup. Their previous matches were played in 2019 and 2020 and De Sousa was a far better player then.

The Special One has been playing well for a couple of years now and while he still has a good A game, he just loses too many matches.

Gurney is the 1.72 favourite, De Sousa 2.25 and I’ll take my chances on Gurney to win this one.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: 1 point Gurney to win @ 1.72 with SpreadEx

Gabriel Clemens vs. Keane Barry

Clemens isn’t a Euro Tour specialist, despite the number of tournaments he has played in. Barry has only played in four Euro Tour events in 2023 but he has reached two quarter finals and won all four of his opening matches. He clearly enjoys these events more than the German.

The young Irishman has lost six of his last ten matches and has been hopelessly inconsistent. Will a return to the Euro Tour stage be enough get his head screwed back on?

Clemens is in better form, winning six of his last ten. He tends to lose his second round matches but he has lost three opening matches from nine events.

They have met four times and it is 2-2. Two matches have gone to a deciding leg, the other two 6-3. This is too tough to call. No bet.

Friday Hungarian Darts Trophy tips: No bet

-JamesPunt