European Championship 2023: Darts betting tips, preview and predictions for the ITV4-televised major in Germany
The European Championship takes place in Dortmund from October 26-29 - live on ITV4 - and our expert Chris Hammer brings you his preview and best bets.
Darts betting tips: European Championship
2pts Gerwyn Price and Luke Humphries to reach the final at 14/1 (Sky Bet)
1pt Stephen Bunting to win quarter one at 11/1 (Sky Bet)
0.5pts e.w Stephen Bunting to win the European Championship at 66/1 (Boylesports, Betway 1/2 1,2)
1pt Gian van Veen to win quarter two at 10/1 (Sky Bet, bet365, Betway)
0.5pts e.w Gian van Veen to win the European Championship at 66/1 (Sky Bet, 1/2 1,2)
The hectic winter of darts majors cranks up another notch this week with the European Championship in Dortmund, where Ross Smith is bidding to defend his title.
The Englishman upset the odds this time last year when landing his maiden major at the expense of Michael Smith, who was still painfully seeking his own elusive crown.
Bully Boy is now of course the world champion but heads into this latest major as eighth seed and a fairly chunky 10/1 following an inconsistent season, while the betting is instead dominated by Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, and Luke Humphries.
As usual, I'll go through the draw quarter-by-quarter...
Quarter one
- (1) Dave Chisnall v (32) Chris Dobey
- (16) Martin Schindler v (17) Stephen Bunting
- (8) Michael Smith v (25) Raymond van Barneveld
- (9) Peter Wright v (24) Gabriel Clemens
Odds to win the quarter: Smith 2/1, Wright 9/2, Chisnall 11/2, Dobey 13/2, Bunting 11/1, Schindler 16/1, Van Barneveld 16/1, Clemens 20/1
Dave Chisnall is the top seed having impressively banked £126,000 on the European Tour Order of Merit thanks largely to winning three titles and defeating Luke Humphries in all of those finals.
Chizzy's very recent form has dipped since his high hopes of World Grand Prix glory were ended in the very first round - even though he averaged 102.64 in that game - and you have to wonder if he can reproduce his consistently high level of performances of September.
First up it's a tough clash with Chris Dobey but in his mini section, Stephen Bunting has been playing the best darts recently, averaging over 100 in seven of his last 15 matches and only dipping below 95 once.
He faces home favourite Martin Schindler, who knocked him out of the second round at the World Gand Prix but pressure can get to the diminutive German so I'll side with the Bullet to progress through his opening two matches.
Bunting is a big price at 11/1 to go on and reach the semi-finals but on current form, he's playing significantly better than the big two of Michael Smith and Peter Wright.
Bully Boy's average since the start of September is 95.41 compared to Bunting's 97.77 while Snakebite's is 93.63 having failed to reverse a largely disappointing 2023.
Verdict: Bunting the value to win the quarter
Quarter two
- (4) Gerwyn Price v (29) Keane Barry
- (13) Nathan Aspinall v (20) Ryan Searle
- (5) Rob Cross v (28) Dimitri Van den Bergh
- (12) Danny Noppert v (21) Andrew Gilding
Odds to win the quarter: Price 6/5, Cross 5/1, Noppert 7/1, Aspinall 7/1, Van den Bergh 12/1, Searle 12/1, Gilding 16/1, Barry 40/1
I can't really see past Gerwyn Price in this quarter of the draw and we'll probably see him contesting his second European Championship final on Sunday night.
The Iceman was bitterly disappointed not to land the World Grand Prix title earlier this month when being blown away by Luke Humphries in the final - despite claiming he was the better player - but he dusted himself down to produce an array of stellar performances last week.
Across the four Players Championship events in Barnsley, he averaged over 100 in five of his 11 matches and only dropped below 96 twice, so he's clearly warming up nicely for a commanding campaign in Dortmund.
In this quarter, only Rob Cross has got close to Price's levels since September and performed very well in Barnsley last week, losing out to Ryan Joyce in one of the four finals.
Verdict: Price to win the quarter but Cross the biggest threat
Quarter three
- (2) Luke Humphries v (31) Brendan Dolan
- (15) Krzysztof Ratajski v (18) Joe Cullen
- (7) Dirk van Duijvenbode v (26) James Wade
- (10) Jonny Clayton v (23) Jose de Sousa
Odds to win the quarter: Humphries 1/1, Clayton 13/2, DVD 7/1, Cullen 15/2, Wade 12/1, Ratajski 16/1, De Sousa 20/1, Dolan 28/1
Luke Humphries is 5/1 third favourite to lift his second major trophy in a row and nobody can really argue with those odds considering his upward curve is showing no sign of reaching a plateau any time soon.
Cool Hand's four titles this season - including the prestigious World Grand Prix earlier this month - could have been a lot more had he not lost six finals, while his average of 98.22 in all competitions in 2023 is third only to Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price.
Since the start of September he's second on the average list (98.78) behind Anderson (100.32) and on current form, he's comfortably clear of anyone else in this quarter.
In fact you have to scroll down to 17th to find Dirk van Duijvenbode on 95.39 while Joe Cullen and Jonny Clayton are outside the top 30 with 93.89 and 93.88 respectively.
Obviously experienced major contenders like this trio - not to mention James Wade - can always find their A-game without warning but right now Humphries is full of confidence and on a crest of a wave.
Verdict: Humphries to win the quarter but Clayton his biggest threat
Quarter four
- (3) Michael van Gerwen v (30) Madars Razma
- (14) Ricardo Pietreczko v (19) Ross Smith
- (6) Damon Heta v (27) Gian van Veen
- (11) Josh Rock v (22) Daryl Gurney
Odds to win the quarter: MVG 1/1, Rock 6/1, Smith 8/1, Heta 9/1, Van Veen 10/1, Gurney 16/1, Pietreczko 20/1, Razma 33/1
Michael van Gerwen may well be the hot favourite to come through this quarter but the name everyone has been talking about the most recently is Ricardo Pietreczko.
The German sensationally beat MVG in a deciding leg to reach the final of the last European Tour event of the season earlier this month before pinning all eight of his attempts at a double to stun Peter Wright and clinch his maiden PDC title.
In fact on that memorable night in Hildesheim, he actually hit 15 doubles out of 17 across the semi and final, landing five 100+ checkouts in the process!
Pietreczko picked up where he left off in Barnsley last week by winning nine of his 13 matches during four Players Championship events, in which he reached one semi-final and a quarter-final.
His averages have been fluctuating from the mid 80s up to the 100s so consistency needs to be worked on but don't be surprised to see him shock defending champion Ross Smith in the opener and giving MVG problems in the second round.
However, as much as Pietreczko tempts the eye at 20/1 in this quarter, I don't want to be too distracted from Gian van Veen, who has enjoyed a superb season and could be ready to make a major breakthrough this winter.
The Dutchman's seasonal average of 96.79 is the fifth best on the PDC circuit and although he does lack experience of the major stage, he's had a couple of quarter-final runs on the European Tour in 2023 and shows no fear for whoever he plays.
Van Veen, who also reached a Players Championship final back in August, won eight of his 12 matches in Barnsley last week and beat the likes of Rob Cross, Stephen Bunting and Ryan Searle en route to a semi-final.
He posted four 100+ averages and certainly has the ability and form to go on a lengthy run in Dortmund.
Verdict: Van Veen the value to spring a surprise and a title outsider
European Championship: Daily schedule & results
Thursday October 26
Evening Session (1845-2300 CEST, 1745-2200 BST)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
TV Channel: ITV4
- Danny Noppert v Andrew Gilding
- Nathan Aspinall v Ryan Searle
- Dave Chisnall v Chris Dobey
- Rob Cross v Dimitri Van den Bergh
- Gerwyn Price v Keane Barry
- Peter Wright v Gabriel Clemens
- Michael Smith v Raymond van Barneveld
- Martin Schindler v Stephen Bunting
Friday October 27
Evening Session (2000 local time, 1900 BST)
First Round (Best of 11 legs)
TV Channel: ITV4
- Damon Heta v Gian van Veen
- Krzysztof Ratajski v Joe Cullen
- Josh Rock v Daryl Gurney
- Jonny Clayton v Jose De Sousa
- Dirk van Duijvenbode v James Wade
- Luke Humphries v Brendan Dolan
- Michael van Gerwen v Madars Razma
- Ricardo Pietreczko v Ross Smith
Saturday October 28
Afternoon Session (1300-1700 CEST, 1200-1600 BST)
Second Round (Best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: ITV4
- 4x matches
Evening Session (1900-2300 CEST, 1800-2200 BST)
Second Round (Best of 19 legs)
TV Channel: ITV4
- 4x matches
Sunday October 29
Afternoon Session (1300-1700 CET, 1200-1600 GMT)
TV Channel: ITV4
Quarter-Finals (Best of 19 legs)
- 4x matches
Evening Session (1900-2300 CET, 1800-2200 GMT)
TV Channel: ITV4
Semi-Final (Best of 21 legs)
- Two matches
Final (Best of 21 legs)
- One match
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