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2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: HUMPHRIES MAN TO BEAT BUT DON’T RULE OUT SCHINDLER SHOCK

The 2024 European Championship is here with the top players from the 13 European Tour events set to battle it out to become champion.

Peter Wright won the event in 2023 and will be back to defend his title as he looks to put behind him what has been a disappointing 2024 so far.

The top 32 players in the European Tour Order of Merit will fight it out over four days of action, all of which will take place at Dortmund’s Westfalenhallen.

BetMGM has you covered with all the key information, where to watch the action and which players might provide some value for the tournament, including a 15/1 first-round accumulator.

When is the European Championship and how to watch

  • Location: Westfalenhallen, Dortmund
  • Dates & times: 24th-27th October
  • How to watch: Live on ITV4
  • Format: Matchplay

European Championship Tips

Tip 1 – Luke Humphries to win the European Championship @ 11/4

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is once again difficult to look past Luke Humphries as we head into a major.

The world number one is enjoying an extraordinary 12 months and, though he fell just short of retaining his World Grand Prix title earlier in the month, Humphries impressive record has seen him win five majors and make three more finals since last year’s Grand Slam of Darts.

Humphries’ immense run of form continued at the Czech Darts Open, a tournament he won following a magnificent showdown with Luke Littler at the semi-final stage.

Having already averaged 106 in seeing off Gian van Veen, Humphries went into overdrive when beating the Nuke 7-4 with a staggering 108.56 average.

This set up a final against Kim Huybrechts and ‘Cool Hand’ didn’t let up – his 8-1 thrashing of the Belgian saw him claim the title and meant he dropped only 11 legs in the whole tournament.

His form looks ominous for the rest of the field in this one. Last year Humphries made the quarter-final only to lose against James Wade but, so good has his form been, that he has only failed to make at least the last eight once since then.

He could meet Littler once again in the semis and does have a tricky first-round draw against two-time major winner Nathan Aspinall but it seems impossible not to back the world champion to go all the way once more and 9/1 for another Humphries premier event triumph looks good value.

Tip 2 – Martin Schindler to win the European Championship E/W @ 40/1

Seeded first for this event, Martin Schindler has blossomed on the European Tour this term.

Having won his first PDC title in April at the International Darts Open, ‘the Wall’ then became the first German to win a second PDC title and only the ninth player to win two European Tour titles in one season when he won the Swiss Darts Trophy.

On paper, it is a big ask for the world number 21 who is yet to make a semi-final in a major or to make it past the first round of the European Championship. His qualification as number one seed, though, gives Schindler a kinder draw than many with a winnable match against Dirk van Duijvenbode in store in round one.

The hope for the German is that he brings his European Tour form to this event. His nine-darter at the Hungarian Darts Open was the first hit by a German and he has claimed some notable scalps this year too, triumphing over Chris Dobey, Joe Cullen and Ryan Searle – players he could face here in his half of the draw.

Schindler’s 40/1 odds suggest he isn’t fancied despite his top seeding – and it’s true there are stronger players in the field – but his tour form makes him difficult to ignore completely.

15/1 European Championship First Round Acca

We’ve put together a treble for the first round of the European Championship, coming in at a tasty 15/1. Here’s a breakdown of the three legs…

Leg 1 – Ryan Searle King of the Oche vs Raymond van Barneveld @ 4/1

Ryan Searle takes on Raymond van Barneveld for the first time since November 2023 on Thursday evening, with the pair having contrasting records in majors.

Searle has yet to taste victory in a premier event, with the closest he has come being the final of the Players Championship Finals in 2021. For Van Barneveld, things are a little different; his six individual PDC major titles include the world championship and two UK Opens.

Barney’s last individual major, however, was the Premier League in 2014 and – although he has added the World Cup of Darts title twice since then alongside compatriot Michael van Gerwen – the Dutchman is indisputably in the twilight of his career.

Indeed, his best performance on the European Tour this season was a quarter-final appearance, something which Searle managed on six occasions in addition to a semi-final and a final.

‘Heavy Metal’ has the better average this season too, with his 96.10 edging out Van Barneveld’s 94.15, and the Englishman also has the upper hand in the recent head-to-head.

The 10-4 win for Searle in the 2023 World Matchplay saw him hit the most 180s and achieve the highest checkout. We’re backing him to do that again here, with Searle to be ‘King of the Oche’ (win the match, hit the most 180s and the highest checkout) an enticing [4/1](/sports#event/1021913568 to kick-start our acca.

Leg 2 – Jonny Clayton to beat Chris Dobey @ 27/25

We’ve got a close-looking contest in round one as Jonny Clayton takes on 2023 Masters champion Chris Dobey in Friday’s session. The pair are ranked as 15th and 18th seeds respectively, underlining that both would have hoped for a more productive 2024.

Dobey’s Masters title remains his sole major victory and his first-round exit from the World Grand Prix this month means he still is yet to make a semi-final this year. Clayton’s phenomenal, four-major 2021 seems something of a distant memory with the Ferret also yet to make it past the last eight of a major in 2024.

Looking at the head-to-head between these two, it is the Welshman that has the edge. Despite ‘Hollywood’ winning their most recent match back in September, that was just one of two wins for the Newcastle thrower in the last nine meetings with Clayton.

Neither man has won a European Tour event so far this season, so both will be hoping for a strong performance to give an underwhelming year a boost. We’re going with Clayton to edge a tight one here at 27/25.

Leg 3 – Mike De Decker most 180s vs Josh Rock @ 4/7

Following his stunning World Grand Prix win, Mike De Decker arrives in Dortmund having finished 27th in the European Tour order of merit.

The Belgian shocked the sport with his win in Leicester, beating Humphries in the final to clinch his maiden major title having never before made it past round five of one.

He now looks to make his mark on the European Championship and faces Josh Rock first up in Germany on Friday. The pair have met three times previously, with De Decker winning all three including a 6-1 victory on the European Tour last time round.

That match remarkably saw no 180s thrown but the gap in maximums in 2024 so far sees us heading for the 180s market in this one.

Having thrown 450 180s this year, De Decker has hit 142 more than the man from County Antrim and as such the final leg of our acca is a 4/7 shout that ‘Real Deal’ hits the most maximums in the match.

15/1 First round acca

Ryan Searle King of the Oche vs Raymond van Barneveld Jonny Clayton to beat Chris Dobey Mike De Decker most 180s vs Josh Rock

Odds correct at time of publication but subject to change

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