Preview Hungarian Darts Trophy 2024: Who will take Euro Tour glory in Budapest?

PDC
Thursday, 19 September 2024 at 18:00
michael van gerwen luke humphries
The European Tour circuit continues this Friday, September 20, through Sunday, September 22, with the 2024 Hungarian Darts Trophy. This event will take place at the MVM Dome in Budapest. In recent years, this tournament has been a structural part of the Euro Tour calendar. Read our preview here.
The Hungarian Darts Trophy is the eleventh round of the PDC European Tour. This circuit consists of a series of thirteen tournaments. The 32 best performing players eventually get to compete in the European Championship in Dortmund.

History Hungarian Darts Trophy

The Hungarian Darts Trophy is scheduled to take place for the fourth time. In 2021, Gerwyn Price managed to win the very first edition by defeating Michael Smith 8-2 in the final.
A year later, the title went to Joe Cullen, who was too strong for William O'Connor in a surprising 8-2 final. In 2023, Dave Chisnall went on to take the title by knocking off Luke Humphries in the final.
YearDateLocationWinnerResultRunner-upPrize money winner
2021Sept. 3-5László Papp Budapest Sports Arena, BudapestGerwyn Price8-2Michael Smith£25.000
2022September 2-4BOK Sportcsarnok, BudapestJoe Cullen8-2William O'Connor£25.000
2023Sept. 22-24MVM Dome, BudapestDave Chisnall8-7Luke Humphries£30.000
2024Sept. 20-22MVM Dome, Budapest.........£30.000

Participants

Leading the field of competitors is defending champion Dave Chisnall, who is seeded number one at the tournament in Budapest as he was last year. The top-16 seeded players are straight into the second round. That means familiar names such as Ross Smith, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Rob Cross, Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen may skip the first round.
The remaining 32 participants must start the Hungarian Darts Trophy from the opening round. That includes Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Wright, James Wade, Joe Cullen, Dimitri van den Bergh, Nathan Aspinall, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Wessel Nijman, Cor Dekker and Niels Zonneveld.
Top-16 seeded players:Dave Chisnall, Ross Smith, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, Danny Noppert, Josh Rock, Stephen Bunting, Damon Heta, Ryan Searle, Martin Schindler, Rob Cross, Gian van Veen, Chris Dobey, Michael van Gerwen, Ricardo Pietreczko, Daryl Gurney
Order of Merit Qualifiers:Jonny Clayton, Michael Smith, Raymond van Barneveld, Peter Wright, Krzysztof Ratajski, Ritchie Edhouse, Brendan Dolan, Luke Woodhouse, James Wade, Andrew Gilding, Joe Cullen, Callan Rydz, Dimitri Van den Bergh, Nathan Aspinall
Restanding Qualifiers: Martin Lukeman, Darren Beveridge, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Gabriel Clemens, Wessel Nijman, Lukas Wenig, Scott Williams, Keane Barry, Florian Hempel, András Csóka, György Jehirszki, Alberto Mario Bezjian, János Végső, Cor Dekker, Sebastian Białecki, Alan Soutar, Niels Zonneveld, Jim Williams
In 2023 Dave Chisnall took the title at the Hungarian Darts Trophy by defeating Luke Humphries in the final
In 2023 Dave Chisnall took the title at the Hungarian Darts Trophy by defeating Luke Humphries in the final

Favourites

Luke Humphries remains the biggest favourite for the overall victory at this tournament as well. Last year "Cool Hand Luke" was already close to the title in Budapest, but then he lost to Dave Chisnall 8-7 after a thrilling final. This campaign however, Humphries has not been as successful on the Euro Tour as in previous years. In 2022, Humphries captured four Euro Tour titles, and last year the Englishman reached the final of a Euro Tour tournament no less than six times. This season the tally only stands at two, one of which was won. High time for the best dart player of the moment to assert his class on the Euro Tour stage.
The reigning world champion could face his biggest rival Michael van Gerwen early in the tournament, though. Should they both win their first match, they will face each other in the last sixteen. Van Gerwen already showed good form this week by winning a Players Championship tournament. It was his first Pro Tour title since May 2023, which was then also at a Euro Tour tournament.
And what can Gerwyn Price do at the Hungarian Darts Trophy? The puzzle pieces will have to come together at some point for the man who has the fourth highest annual average of any Tour Card holder. However, Price has yet to get further than two World Series titles in 2024.
Defending champion Chisnall is among the big outsiders, but does have an incredibly tough draw. He starts his tournament against the winner of the match between Michael Smith and Jonny Clayton. Peter Wright also has to start right away. The two-time world champion opens against Joe Cullen. 'The Bullet' is in a part of the draw where he could be a semi-finalist. Moreover, Bunting showed good form this week by reaching a Players Championship final.
*** Luke Humphries
** Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price
* Peter Wright, Dave Chisnall, Stephen Bunting

TV and live stream

The Hungarian Darts Trophy will be broadcast on PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Hungarian Darts Trophy 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 this Euro Tour tournament, a total of £175,000 in prize money will be divided among the 48 participants. They will receive at least 1250 pounds in starting money. The top-16 seeded players who enter the Hungarian Darts Trophy 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 Hungarian Darts Trophy eventually goes home with the top prize of 30,000 pounds.

Format

First round: Best of 11 legs
Second round: Best of 11 legs
Third round: Best of 11 legs
Quarterfinals: Best of 11 legs
Semifinals: Best of 13 legs
Final: Best of 15 legs

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