The PDC European Tour visits Switzerland for the first time this weekend! 🇨🇭 The draw and schedule for the inaugural Swiss Darts Trophy has been confirmed! 👉 bit.ly/24ET12Draw
Preview Swiss Darts Trophy 2024: who will win historic first edition in Basel?
PDCFriday, 27 September 2024 at 08:12
We have already arrived at the penultimate Euro Tour tournament of 2024. And not just any one, as the Swiss Darts Trophy 2024 is the first PDC ranking tournament ever to be held in Switzerland. Read our preview here.
The St. Jakobshalle in Basel has been given the honor of hosting this event. The Swiss Darts Trophy is the twelfth Euro Tour tournament of the year. Earlier this season, Euro Tour tournaments were played in Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. Later this year, another event will be completed in the Czech Republic.
Darts in Switzerland
Switzerland has produced a number of sports icons with Roger Federer (tennis), Fabian Cancellara (cycling), Vreni Schneider (alpine skier) and Simon Ammann (ski jumper), but on the darts front it is still quiet in the Alpine country.
In 2017, Switzerland participated in the World Cup of Darts for the first time, but after two participations, they disappeared from the lineup again. In the last three editions, the Swiss led by Stefan Bellmont were there again. 'Belli' is currently considered the best dart player from Switzerland.
Bellmont does not currently hold a Tour Card, but has had the opportunity to make several appearances on the Pro Tour as a substitute. Bellmont did manage to win a tournament on the PDC Challenge Tour in both 2022 and 2024. However, Bellmont is missing from the first Swiss Darts Trophy because he failed to make it through the Host Nation Qualifier.
Perhaps the creation of a PDC tournament could provide a new darts boost, bringing in another influx of talent.
Participants
Swiss fans will get to see most of the dartstoppers at the Swiss Darts Trohpy. The biggest absentee is Michael van Gerwen, who cannot attend due to illness. Furthermore, Gary Anderson will also not be there in Basel.
Big names like Luke Humphries, Luke Littler, Michael Smith, Rob Cross, Dave Chisnall, Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright did travel to Switzerland. Seven Dutchmen and two Belgians are also competing. Gian van Veen, Danny Noppert, Raymond van Barneveld, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Wessel Nijman, Jermaine Wattimena and Richard Veenstra are the Dutch participants, while Dimitri van den Bergh and Mike de Decker from Belgium are also taking part.
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, Luke Littler, 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
Tour Card qualifiers: Mike de Decker, Cameron Menzies, Wessel Nijman, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Karel Sedlacek, Jermaine Wattimena, Madars Razma, Richard Veenstra, Ryan Meikle, Graham Hall, Anton Östlund, Nandor Pres, Jim Williams, Ian White, 4x Host Nation Qualifiers
Favorites
In recent weeks we have stayed true to Luke Humphries as the top favorite each time, but this time we are going with Luke Littler. 'The Nuke', unlike Humphries, took a week off and missed the Euro Tour tournament in Hungary and the two Players Championship tournaments in Leicester.
Humphries and Littler could face each other very early in the tournament. Should they both win their opening match, they will meet in the last sixteen on Sunday afternoon. Also in the same piece of the draw is Peter Wright, who must first win against Richard Veenstra to force a tie with Humphries.
So for another favorite, we have to start looking at other parts of the draw. That's when Dave Chisnall comes to the fore, leading the placing list in Basel. 'Chizzy' already has a successful month under his belt with a Euro Tour and Players Championship title.
Our three outsiders are also from England. Will Ross Smith and Chris Dobey finally add a Euro Tour title to their record? Or will Michael Smith manage to make his mark towards the busy autumn season?
*** Luke Littler
** Luke Humphries, Dave Chisnall
* Michael Smith, Ross Smith, Chris Dobey
TV and live stream
The Swiss Darts Trophy will be broadcast on PDC TV. As usual with Euro Tour tournaments, the Swiss Darts Trophy consists of three tournament days. The afternoon sessions start on Friday and Saturday at 12:00, while the evening sessions then start at 18:00. On Sunday, the sessions start at 11:00 and 17:00.
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 end 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 Swiss 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 Swiss Darts Trophy ultimately 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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