Preview Dutch Darts Championship 2024: Will Michael van Gerwen manage to win in his backyard?

The Euro Tour is visiting the Netherlands from Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 26 for the Dutch Darts Championship. A home tournament for Michael van Gerwen, who lives just a fifteen-minute drive from the Autotron in Rosmalen.

This event is on the Euro Tour calendar for the fourth time. However, the PDC has not yet managed to find a permanent venue for the Dutch Darts Championship, as it has been held at a different playing location each time.

History of Dutch Darts Championship

The tournament was played for the very first time in 2018. In Maastricht, Ian White and Ricky Evans managed to reach the final of the Dutch Darts Championship. It was White who walked away with the final victory after an 8-5 win over 'Rapid Ricky'.

After an unscheduled edition in 2019 and the two corona years, the event returned to Zwolle in 2022. Danny Noppert made it to the final then, but in front of his own audience, 'The Freeze' lost to Michael Smith 8-7 after an exciting match.

In 2023, the tournament traveled even further north to the Netherlands, as it took place in Leeuwarden. Again there was no Dutch winner, as Dave Chisnall claimed the title by beating Luke Humphries 8-5 in the final.

Participants

Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Rob Cross and Nathan Aspinall have chosen not to participate in the Dutch Darts Championship for this reason. Furthermore, Gary Anderson and Krzysztof Ratajski are also absent in Rosmalen.

The Dutch darts giant Michael van Gerwen will be present. Well-known Dutch names such as Dirk van Duijvenbode, Raymond van Barneveld, Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen will also make their appearance in front of their own audience. Of course, there are still some international top players to watch in the Autotron. Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price, Stephen Bunting, Peter Wright, Jonny Clayton and James Wade did sign up for the Dutch Darts Championship.

Top-16 seeded players: Dave Chisnall, Damon Heta, Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock, Ross Smith, Ryan Searle, Stephen Bunting, Martin Schindler, Peter Wright, Chris Dobey, Ricardo Pietreczko, Gian van Veen, Daryl Gurney, Jonny Clayton

Order of Merit Qualifiers: Dimitri van den Bergh, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Joe Cullen, Ryan Joyce, Raymond van Barneveld, Andrew Gilding, James Wade, Gabriel Clemens, Luke Woodhouse, Brendan Dolan, Mike de Decker, Jose de Sousa, Callan Rydz, Kevin Doets

Tour Card Holder Qualifiers: Madars Razma, William O'Connor, Cameron Menzies, Mickey Mansell, Ryan Meikle, Niels Zonneveld, Dom Taylor, Owen Bates, Jeffrey de Graaf, Haupai Puha, Jermaine Wattimena, Ritchie Edhouse, Teemu Harju, Jiri Brejcha, Moreno Blom, Damian Mol, Christian Kist, Marvin van Velzen

Favorites

Certainly in the absence of the aforementioned names, Michael van Gerwen is the biggest favorite to win the Dutch Darts Championship. It would mean for 'Mighty Mike' his first Euro Tour title of the season.

His biggest challenger may be Gerwyn Price. The Welshman has often thrown good matches and averages this season, but has not yet been able to translate his form into titles. Perhaps 'The Iceman' can change that in Rosmalen.

Behind the former world champions follows a group of outsiders, including Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting and Chris Dobey. All are players who are in good form, and may be able to provide a surprise winner this weekend.

*** Michael van Gerwen

** Gerwyn Price

* Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey

TV and live stream

The tournament will be broadcast by PDCTV as usual. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Dutch Darts Championship consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start daily at 12:00, while the evening sessions start at 18:00.

The first round will take place on Friday. The 16 Order of Merit qualifiers and the winners from the various qualifying tournaments then make their appearance. The top-16 seeded players enter the tournament on Saturday in the second round.

Sunday will see the conclusion of the tournament, starting with the third round in the afternoon session. Sunday evening will be followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.

Distribution of prize money

At the Dutch Euro Tour tournament, a total of £175,000 in prize money will be divided among the 48 participants. They will receive at least £1250 in starting money. The top-16 seeded players who enter the Dutch Darts Championship from the second round will receive 2,500 pounds anyway.

They do - like the 16 Order of Merit qualifiers starting in the first round - have to win their first match in order for the prize money to count toward the world rankings and the other rankings. The winner of the Dutch Darts Championship 2024 will ultimately go home with the top prize of 30,000 pounds.