Preview Friday night Hungarian Darts Trophy: Nathan Aspinall, Joe Cullen and Van Veen v Springer headline stacked session

From Friday, September 19 to Sunday, September 21, the Hungarian Darts Trophy 2025 is on the calendar at the MVM Dome in Budapest. This is the 12th of a total of 14 Euro Tour tournaments and is one of the last chances for some players to qualify for the European 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.

Below we give a preview of the eight matches from the first round that are scheduled for Friday night.
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Jermaine Wattimena takes on Thibault Tricole to open up. Wattimena is having a reasonable season on the European Tour. The Machine Gun' managed to reach the last 16 twice and earlier this month he reached the quarterfinals of the Czech Darts Open. The Dutchman is ranked 28 on the European Tour order of Merit, so with one good run this weekend in Hungary, he could secure himself participation in the European Darts Championship. His opponent Tricole played only three Euro Tour tournaments this year. Of those, he managed to win his first match twice, but both times he then went down in the second round. Wattimena is the favorite, and with a starting spot for the European Championship at stake, he may be extra motivated.

Next up is Ryan Searle and Robert Owen. Searle managed to reach the last sixteen four times on the Euro Tour this year, and once he reached the quarterfinals. Heavy Metal' is now 24th on the European Order of Merit and seems sure of a place at the European Darts Championship. Owen is having a rather colorless year. He played the UK Open in March, where he made it to the last 16 but lost 10-8 to James Wade. Furthermore, we have not seen the Welshman on TV. This will be his first Euro Tour tournament this year, but despite that he could still give Searle a tough time.

In the third match of the evening, Daryl Gurney and Leon Weber will take on each other. Gurney managed to reach the last sixteen several times this year on the European Tour. His best result came recently at the Flanders Darts Trophy, where he reached the semifinals. However, there he lost to eventual winner Luke Littler. Weber also had a good weekend at the same tournament. By beating Jermaine Wattimena and Dave Chisnall, among others, he reached the last 16, where he eventually lost to James Wade. On paper, Gurney will be the favorite, but if the German can bring his game from the Flanders Darts Trophy, he could still surprise.

Raymond van Barneveld takes on Hungarian qualifier Nandor Major. The stakes are high for Van Barneveld. 'Barney' is currently in 35th place on the European Tour Order of Merit, which puts him just outside the boat for the European Darts Championship. However, Krzysztof Ratajski and William O'Connor, who are ranked 32 and 33, will not be present this weekend. This would allow Van Barneveld to get back on the right side of the line with 1 or 2 wins, and with Major as his opponent, he has an ideal draw. The Hungarian managed to qualify through the Host Nation Qualifier by winning 6-0 over Patrik Kovacs in the deciding match. It does not mean Major's debut on the European Tour, as he was already present once at the Poland Darts Masters in 2023. However, there he immediately went down 6-0 against Luke Humphries.

Richard Veenstra takes on the young Englishman Cam Crabtree. Veenstra has already played 4 Euro Tour tournaments this year, but never made it past the first round. With Crabtree, 'Flyers' has not met an easy opponent again this weekend. 'Shazam' leads the Development Tour Order of Merit, ahead of names like Beau Greaves and Jurjen van der Velde. He has already won 4 of the 20 tournaments played this year, and also reached the semi-finals of a Players Championship tournament once. So Veenstra will have to play well if he wants to win his first opening match on the Euro Tour this year.

Then it's time for Joe Cullen against Lukas Wenig. Cullen is in the same boat as Van Barneveld. He is one spot above the Dutchman with exactly the same amount of prize money earned. So also for 'Rockstar', with one good run in Budapest he can assure himself of participation in the European Darts Championship. He will first have to deal with Wenig. The German has already played four times on the Euro Tour this year, but without great success. He only managed to win his opening match once and then went down in the second round against James Wade. Cullen, like Van Barneveld, will be keen to go far this weekend, and on paper also seems the favorite to survive at least the first round.

In the penultimate match of the evening, it is time for Gian van Veen faces German talent Niko Springer, perhaps the match of the first round. Van Veen has been impressing all year on both the European Tour and Players Championship tournaments. At the Czech Darts Open two weeks ago he made it to the semifinals, where he eventually lost to Josh Rock. A week earlier he also reached the quarterfinals in Antwerp. His best result came at the German Darts Grand Prix, where he lost the final to Michael van Gerwen. Springer is known as a big talent in Germany, and like Van Veen already reached the final once on the Euro Tour this year. 'Meenzer Bub' did so during the Dutch Darts Championship in Rosmalen, where he eventually lost 8-6 to Jonny Clayton. If both players can reach their level, this promises to be a spectacle, where both Van Veen and Springer can walk off the stage as winners.

The final match from the first round at the Hungarian Darts Trophy is between Nathan Aspinall and Hungarian qualifier Levente Sarai. Aspinall leads the European Tour Order of Merit after already winning two tournaments this year with the European Darts Trophy and the European Darts Open. He also reached the final of the International Darts Open. Sarai qualified through the Host Nation Qualifier and already has experience on the stage. In 2022, the Hungarian played one match on the European Tour, but it was lost 6-1 against Boris Krcmar. Normally, Sarai should be no match for 'The Asp'.