2024 European Championship Darts: Day Two Preview
Day one of the 2024 European Championship Darts saw shocks galore as number one seed Martin Schindler, 2022 champion Ross Smith and number four seed Dave Chisnall were all beaten.
Now on day two the rest of the first round ties are set to take place, featuring the defending champion, the world champion and the Premier League winner.
Here’s all you need to know ahead of day two of the 2024 European Championship Darts.
Wright looks to go back to back, Humphries bids for first title
Peter Wright won the European Championship Darts in 2020 and 2023, and now bids for a hattrick. He starts his campaign against Jermaine Wattimena, who has been solid this year on the European Tour.
It’s the 11th straight time Snakebite will play at this event, while Machine Gun will take to the European Championship stage for the first time since 2019.
Wright leads the head to head on TV between the pair 2-1, including a 6-0 whitewash at this stage of the 2018 edition of the event. He’s also won the last seven meetings between the two, so can he keep up that record? Or will Wattimena knock out the defending champion?
The winner will play the victor of a battle between two former European Championship Darts winners, as Rob Cross takes on James Wade.
Voltage will play at this event for the eighth consecutive year, having won in both 2019 and 2021. It is a 16th appearance for The Machine, who’s best performance came in 2018 when he lifted the title. He’s also been runner up twice, both in 2020 and 2023, losing to Wright on both occasions.
Wade has won four of their five previous clashes on TV, including at this stage of the European Championship in 2022, coming through in a last leg decider. Will that trend continue, or will Cross come through and move into round two?
It is a weird experience coming into the 2024 European Championship Darts for world champion and world number one Luke Humphries, as this one of the two ranked TV titles he did not win in the previous 12 months. He faces Nathan Aspinall in one of the ties of the first round.
Cool Hand will make his fourth straight appearance at the European Championship, with his best effort being a quarter final last year. This will be Aspinall’s sixth straight trip to the Euros, having made a semi final in 2021.
The Asp leads their head to head record in ranked majors on TV, beating Humphries in the Grand Slam semi final and the World Matchplay in 2022. Will it be three in a row, or third time lucky for the world number one?
Awaiting the winner will be either Chris Dobey or Jonny Clayton, in another excellent first round encounter. Dobey will be playing in this event for the third straight year, having reached a semi final and quarter final at the previous two editions. Clayton will be taking part for the seventh time in eight years, with his best performance a last four appearance in 2020.
The ranked TV record between the pair is 1-1, but Clayton won both of their meetings on the European Tour this year. Will that fire The Ferret to victory? Or will Hollywood continue his good record at this tournament?
Littler goes for first ranked TV title, De Decker aims for double
In a year in which has achieved so much, it’s staggering that Luke Littler hasn’t yet won a ranked TV title. The Nuke, who won the Premier League in May, goes up against former UK Open champion Andrew Gilding.
Littler has won two Euro Tour titles this year to qualify on debut, including hitting a magical nine darter in his first final against Rob Cross. Goldfinger will compete for the third straight year at the European Championship Darts, but has yet to win a game.
The Nuke has won both games the pair of played, including in the third round of the World Darts Championship last year. Will it be a hattrick for Littler, or can Gilding overturn the form book?
Either Ricardo Pietreczko or Damon Heta will face the winner of this game. Pikachu has qualified for the Euros for the second straight year, exiting in the second round 12 months ago. The Heat will play in the tournament for a fourth straight time, but has only ever won one of his previous games.
The head to head ranked TV record is 1-1. Heta was victorious in 2018 at the Players Championship Finals, while Pietreczko won their clash at last year’s Grand Slam. Will the pressure of being the only German left in the field help Pikachu, or can The Heat fire his way to victory?
World Grand Prix champion Mike De Decker is also in action this evening, as he faces another young star in Josh Rock. De Decker is making his European Championship debut, while Rock returns to this event for the third straight year, having won on this stage just once.
This will be the first time the two meet in front of the big cameras, but Rocky leads their overall head 2-1. Will the Northern Irishman defy De Decker? Or will The Real Deal continue with the form that saw him lift the title in Leicester earlier this month?
The winner will take on either Danny Noppert or Joe Cullen. Noppy returns to this event for the fifth straight year, having reached at least the quarter finals in each of the last three. The Rockstar is playing in the tournament for a ninth straight year, making the last four in both 2018 and 2021.
This will also be the first time the pair clash on TV, and haven’t played each other since 2022, when Noppert won both of their meetings on the Euro Tour.
Another bumper night of darts begins at 7pm local time, 6pm in the UK.
2024 European Championship Darts Day Two Schedule of Play
Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
Friday 25 October (1900 CEST, 1800 BST)
Round One x8
Danny Noppert v Joe Cullen
Chris Dobey v Jonny Clayton
Rob Cross v James Wade
Ricardo Pietreczko v Damon Heta
Peter Wright v Jermaine Wattimena
Luke Littler v Andrew Gilding
Luke Humphries v Nathan Aspinall
Josh Rock v Mike De Decker