Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Preview

You can check out James Punt’s ante-post preview by clicking here. Below you can check out his Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday tips.

Florian Hempel vs. Jake Jones

Jones is a pro tour rookie having won his card in January, but he has won just eight of his 30 matches after that. He is averaging 86 over the last 12 months and making his Euro Tour debut.

Hempel is a bit more experienced having played in two previous Euro Tour event and winning one of his three matches. He too won is tour card in January but has only played twenty pro tour matches, winning nine. His 12 month average is 90 and his game is just that bit better than Jones in most area’s. Hempel was runner up in this year’s German Super league in April, losing 10-11 in the deciding leg to Martin Schindler.

Hempel is well respected and we have seen a couple of ton plus averages in recent matches, such as his 103 when beating Merv King 6-4 last month.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Tips: 1 point Hempel to win -1.5 legs @ 1.67 Boylesports, Ladbrokes, Betfred

Luke Humphries vs. Madars Razma

Two pro tour regulars go H2H in the first round. They have met five times with Razma winning three, but Humphries has won their only match this year and two of the last three.

Razma was struggling for form on the pro tour and choose not to play in the latest block of matches last month. He may have been distracted by the imminent arrival of his new baby, but he had won just two matches at Super Series 4, losing five in a row. He played better in the Euro Tour qualifiers that followed but he returned home after that and missed Super Series 6. Razma warmed up for this by playing on the Nordic Baltic tour, winning two events but the scoring was low, and it is hard to say in what kind of form he is in.

UK Open runner up Luke Humphries is in decent form, winning seven of his last ten although his scoring was below his seasonal average of 96 for many of those.

Humphries is the 1.33 favourite to win, the 1.30 favourite to have the most 180’s but as we are on him outright, there is no need to be playing such short odds. No bet.

Adrian Lewis vs. Bradley Brooks

A clash of the generations with the two-time PDC World Champion against the PDC Youth World Champion. Lewis is not in great form, losing five of his last ten matches while Brooks has won nine of his last ten. However, that was at Development level with match averages mostly in the 80’s. That is his problem, his scoring is too light, too often. He can hit high 90 averages but it is usually sub 90 and he hasn’t hit a ton plus in his last 100 matches.

Lewis is not the force of old and he dips into the 80’s too often, but generally he scores better than Brooks so he should be getting to the doubles first. They have met twice with one win each.

If Lewis has an off day and Brooks finds his A game, we might see a surprise, but the chances are slim. Lewis should be expected to bring his experience and bigger fire power to bare.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Tips: 1 point Adrian Lewis to win -2.5 legs @ 1.83 with Ladbrokes

Steve Beaton vs. John Michael

Steve Beaton was one of the players who really struggled last year. He did not enjoy the players championship being played in five tournament blocks and his win rate dropped to 48% from 61%. It has recovered to some degree (55%) this year, but he is usually a steady 60% plus man. The clock is ticking on his long career so it might just be time taking its toll. He comes here on the back of four straight defeats, all 5-6.

John Michael is only winning 42% of his matches this year, averaging 87. He had to go to Q school to get his card back in January and since then he has played 36 and won just 11. He has his moments, but he is not a player to be feared. They have met just once but that was ten years ago and a 6-3 win for Beaton.

Neither player is in form and that makes predicting the outcome harder. Beaton is the better player but no where near his best. Losing four matches in the deciding leg is a concern but he should be able to overcome a 1.5 leg handicap against a journeyman.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Tips: 1 point Steve Beaton to win -1.50 legs @ 1.73 with Boylesports

Simon Whitlock vs. Darren Webster

It is nearly four years ago since these two last met, in the World Championship when Webster gave Whitlock a proper doing, winning 4-1. In the intervening years Websters career has stalled and fallen away while Whitlock has refused to go away, despite his advancing years. Webster has been a bit of nemesis for Whitlock, beating him three times at Ally Pally and the only time Whitlock has won on stage against Webster was on the Euro Tour in 2017.

Has Webster still got what it takes to beat Whitlock once again? It is looking increasingly less likely. Whitlock is still enjoying his darting life whilst Webster has looked very frustrated when we occasionally get to see him these days. Injury set him back and he hasn’t been the same player for a couple of years now. He was winning 63.5% of his matches back in 2017 but it is now less than 40%. Webster is averaging 88 in 2021 and only occasionally do we see him averaging above 95. In his last 50 matches he has been under 90 58% of the time. He has won five of his last ten and did average 100 in one of those, his first ton plus for over 12 months.

Simon Whitlock has won seven of his last ten and his win rate in 2021 is just 54% and he is averaging just under 93. Of his last 50 matches, 40% have seen sub 90 averages and that won’t do, but he does hit the high notes more often than Webster.

Whitlock is the 1.36 favourite which is a bit short given their H2H record, but he should be better than the 2021 version of Webster.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Tips: 1 point Simon Whitlock to win -1.5 legs @ 1.65 with Ladbrokes

Daryl Gurney vs. Vincent van der Voort

Finally, with the last match of the day, we get something looking like a competitive match.

Daryl Gurney is the 1.70 favourite and he has a decent H2H record against the big Dutchman, winning five of their nine previous meetings and four of their last five. Form wise, there isn’t much between them. Gurney has won seven of his last ten, Van der Voort six. Superchin is averaging 94.4, Vincent 92.6 and their 2021 win rate is 59% for Gurney and 62% for Van der Voort.

Daryl Gurney is showing regular flashes of his best form and when he gets going on the maximums he can pile on the pressure and that can be too much for the best players never mind Van der Voort.

Of their nine matches only two, both floor events, went to a deciding leg. The rest have all been fairly one sided affairs. I’ll take Superchin to cover the handicap.

Hungarian Darts Trophy Friday Tips: 1 point Daryl Gurney to win -1.5 legs @ 2.20 with Ladbrokes

-JamesPunt