Preview Friday afternoon Hungarian Darts Trophy with Menzies, Nijman, Gilding and Van Duijvenbode in action

The Hungarian Darts Trophy is scheduled from September 19-21, 2025, at the imposing MVM Dome in Budapest. The tournament is the twelfth of 14 PDC European Tour events this season and is an important hurdle toward the European Darts Championship later in October.

The field features 48 players and a total prize pool of £175,000 is up for grabs, with the winner alone taking home £30,000. Title holder Michael van Gerwen won the tournament last year after a blood-curdling 8-7 victory over compatriot Gian van Veen.

Previously Dave Chisnall and Joe Cullen, among others, won the trophy in the Hungarian capital. This time, besides Van Gerwen, top names such as Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Stephen Bunting and Gerwyn Price will also appear on the oche.

Below we preview the first eight matches from the first round scheduled for Friday afternoon.
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The afternoon session at the MVM Dome will kick off with an all-English duel. Andrew Gilding starts this match as the favorite. The 54-year-old Englishman has been performing rather unevenly this year, but is still in the top 32 of the world rankings. Gilding recently reached the quarter-finals at the World Matchplay and seems to be returning to his best form heading into the important tournaments coming up this fall. With Dennant - who was called up as a reserve - he meets someone who is still in the fight to keep his PDC Tour Card at the end of this year. The 34-year-old is currently 75th in the world rankings and can scoop important prize money this weekend. For the winner, a duel against Michael van Gerwen awaits in the next round.

Next up is Cameron Menzies. The 36-year-old Scot is having a particularly good year in which he is performing very regularly. He is on the edge of the top 32 and is the best Scot after Gary Anderson and Peter Wright. Menzies - until recently the partner of Fallon Sherrock - already won a Players Championship this year and is now aiming his arrows at winning a Euro Tour. In his opening match, 'Cammy' will take on Nandor Pres. The 26-year-old Hungarian managed to qualify through the Host Nation Qualifier and is here for the second time at a European Tour tournament. On his debut last year at the Swiss Darts Trophy, he went down 6-0 against Andrew Gilding in the opening round.

Ryan Joyce against Ritchie Edhouse is an all-English duel in which it is difficult to pinpoint a favorite. Edhouse won his first major last year with the European Championship, something Joyce has not yet managed to do. Yet Joyce is certainly not to be underestimated, 'Relentless' can on a good day compete with the best players in the world. The winner of this duel will take on fifteenth-seeded Martin Schindler in the next round.

Afterwards, it is Ricardo Pietreczko's turn. 'Pikachu' already won a Euro Tour (German Darts Championship) once in 2023 and is itching for a second title. The German is blowing hot and cold this year and is just inside the top 32 in the world rankings. With Jim Williams he meets a former finalist of the BDO World Championship. The Quiff' has had a lousy year and is only 78th in the Tour Card Race. Needless to say, he can certainly use a good result this weekend. The winner will take on Josh Rock in the second round.

Kim Huybrechts fell in the last qualifying round for this tournament, but may still appear as a reserve in Budapest. 'The Hurricane' has already won two European Tour tournaments in his career, but that has been a decade and more ago. Huybrechts - like the Williams mentioned above - is another person who can certainly use a good result. The 39-year-old Belgian is also not having the best year of his career and can do good business this weekend towards qualification for one or more majors. Huybrechts meets Andrees Hyllgaardhus in his opening match. The 32-year-old Dane managed to qualify for the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier and makes his debut on the European Tour this weekend.

Luke Woodhouse starts his match against Andras Borbely as a towering favorite. 'Woody,' the world number 31, is having - albeit without any real outliers - a very good year. Is he ready for that extra step, competing for the overall victory in a ranking tournament? Possibly yes and he will certainly want to show that at the upcoming Euro Tours. Whether Borbely can give him a hard time in the first round is very doubtful. The 20-year-old Hungarian may be a talent, as he managed to qualify for the Hungarian Darts Trophy three years ago at the age of just 17. Still, Woodhouse should not have too many problems to bring this match to a successful conclusion. The winner will meet fifth-seeded James Wade in the next round.

In the penultimate match of the afternoon session, the first Dutchman in action is Wessel Nijman. Nijman has already reached the semi-finals several times on a Euro Tour this year and is slowly making his way to the top 32 of the world ranking list. Nijman starts as favorite against Darren Beverdige. The Scot is currently ranked 74th in the world and a good performance this weekend would certainly help him towards securing his PDC Tour Card.

The afternoon session in Budapest is closed by Dirk van Duijvenbode. 'Aubergenius' is at it again after a difficult 2024. Yet he is still waiting for his first real outlier this year. Van Duijvenbode already often had high averages, but still faced a stronger opponent. In the opening round he will meet Tom Bissell, an Englishman who received his PDC Tour Card early this year. Bissell is appearing at a European Tour tournament for the second time this year. At the Austrian Darts Open earlier this year he went down 6-3 in his opening match against Ricardo Pietreczko.