Round 2 International Darts Open Tips – JP
Round 2 International Darts Open Preview
James got a couple of welcome winners on the board on Friday night and he is back with more tips today. Check out his Round 2 International Darts Open match previews are below.
Ross Smith vs. William O’Connor
I was close to backing Smith outright. He is in good form and has won seven of his last ten matches, playing with a good deal of consistency.
Willie O’Connor beat Moaning Merv 6-3 yesterday and did well to keep his concentration as King tried to disrupt the game. O’Connor has won five of his last ten matches and he is playing OK, and certainly cannot be dismissed.
Their H2H record is a commanding 6-2 to Smudger and he has won both their matches in 2024, 6-5 and 6-4. Six of their matches have required ten legs or more.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 2.00 with Ladbrokes, Boylesports, Betfair
Damon Heta vs. Callan Rydz
Rydz relied on some very good doubling to beat an injured Lee Evans yesterday. It was a 6-1, but a poor game. Rydz said afterwards that he had considered not coming and his head was f****d. He really wants to go home and sort his head out. Hardly a positive state of mind. Rydz said that he intends to play faster today as his hands were shaking so much.
Heta is in reasonable form, winning six of his last ten. Their H2H record is 2-2, and their three best of 11 leg matches ended 6-4. I would be a little surprised if Rydz was able to win four legs.
Heta is the 1.44 favourite but I’ll take him on the handicap.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: 1 point Heta to win -1.5 legs @ 1.73 generally available
Ryan Searle vs. Daryl Gurney
Superchin had an easy 6-0 win over a local qualifier yesterday, but he now needs to shift up a gear or two to beat Searle.
Heavy Metal is in decent form, winning six of his last ten matches. He has won three of his five Euro Tour matches in 2024 and while he is no Euro Tour expert, he is good for a win or two before going out.
Their H2H record is 5-2 to Searle and he has won their last four.
You have to go back to last May to find the last time Gurney won a second round match on the Euro Tour. Four of their previous matches have required a deciding leg and this could be another close match.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: 1 point over 9.5 legs @ 1.91 with Boylesports, Ladbrokes, Skybet
Krzysztof Ratajski vs. Chris Dobey
Dobey kept his good run of form going with a 6-1 win over Dylan Slevin yesterday. It was a strange game and one that Dobey may well have lost. Slevin outscored Dobey, but his doubling was atrocious. That allowed Dobey to win with a flattering scoreline. That win means Dobey has won eleven of his last twelve matches.
The same cannot be said about Ratajski. The Polish Eagle has lost seven of his last ten matches, one of them a 4-6 loss to Dobey in last month’s German Darts Grand Prix. Ratajski won ET 11 last season, but he has not got past the opening round since.
Dobey is 4-1 vs. Ratajski and hopefully he can improve on that good record. He is the 1.54 favourite to win, but as we are on him outright, I am not getting involved here.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: No bet
Danny Noppert vs. Dimitri van den Bergh
Dancing Dimitri beat the Czech qualifier 6-2 yesterday. It was an OK performance against a player who was new to the stage. Van den Bergh has won just four of his last ten matches, and since winning the UK Open, he has played nine and won three.
Noppert is luxuriating in the warm glow of another Players Championship title which he picked up on Tuesday. He is 8-2 across his last ten matches.
Noppert is 3-2 against Van den Bergh, but they have not met since 2022. All of their matches have been one sided affairs with no close finishes.
Noppert is the 1.73 favourite but I’ll take a chance on the handicap.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: 1 point Noppert to win -1.5 legs @ 2.10 generally available
Stephen Bunting vs. Michael Unterbuchner
Bunting’s form has tailed off and he has lost five of his last ten matches. He did average 106.4 against Dobey in his last match but lost 5-6.
Bunting should be too good for Unterbuchner, who was the surprise winner against the in-form Luke Woodhouse yesterday. Woodhouse had arrived late due to flight cancellations, was clearly not himself and he lost rather than Unterbuchner winning.
Bunting is the 1.20 favourite and this is a no bet for me.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: No bet
Jonny Clayton vs. Nathan Aspinall
Clayton has won six of his last ten matches but he isn’t in great form. Half of his last ten have seen sub 91 averages and only one 95+.
Aspinall played late last night and just about got over the line against Owen Bates, 6-5. It was a good match and Aspinall has now won six of his last ten. The Asp is hard to call and it is hard to bet on his matches with any great confidence.
Aspinall is the 1.61 favourite, but this match makes no appeal. No bet.
Round 2 International Darts Open Tip: No Bet
Michael Smith vs. Ritchie Edhouse
Smith is the 1.33 favourite, but he will need to be on his game as Edhouse has been playing some good stuff recently.
Smith has lost five of his last ten matches and he is not just losing to the big boys in the Premier League. He lost to Switzerland’s Stephan Bellmont on Tuesday and Ryan Miekle on Monday.
Edhouse obviously doesn’t play in the rarified air of the Premier League, but he has won 69% of his matches in 2024 and most recently won nine of his last ten.
He warmed up for this by beating Jitse van der Wal 6-1 yesterday, and he averaged 95.8. He still has far too many sub 90 averages and can’t win things as a result, but his tail is up and he is playing with confidence.
These two have played seven times and Smith has won five. Four matches ended 6-5.
Do we go for the 3.60 on Edhouse to win outright, or play in the handicap market for a bit of wriggle room? The handicap odds look quite generous.
