Luke Humphries is the top seed at this weekend's Hungarian Darts Trophy at the MVM Dome in Budapest.
Humphries, reinstalled as world No.2 following his triumph in Wednesday's Players Championship event in Leicester, kicks off his quest for a second European Tour (ET) title of the year against Dirk van Duijvenbode or Czech challenger David Pisek.
Cool Hand is one of 16 seeds toeing the oche in round two on Saturday, taking on 16 of Friday's first-round winners in the 11th European Tour event of the calendar.
World No.1 and world champion Luke Littler skips this event as does Gerwyn Price, otherwise it is a strong field.
Two-time ET winner in 2026, Wessel Nijman, fellow Dutch aces Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen plus a stack of other top players are railed against Humphries with eyes on the £35,000 first prize.
Also in the field is Beau Greaves, the shining light of the women's game who has become the first woman to qualify for a European Tour event.
Hungarian Darts Trophy Tips Summary
Best Bet - Wessel Nijman to Win @ 15/2
Alternative Bet - Jermaine Wattimena to Win @ 33/1
Alternative Bet - K Barry to beat M Schindler @ 6/5
Hungarian Darts Trophy Prediction
Best Bet: Wessel Nijman to Win @ 15/2
It's hard to look past Wessel Nijman these days - in any competition that isn't a major.
The classy Dutchman has yet to reach the quarter-finals of a big TV event, but take the cameras off him, lower the pressure and he is a different beast.
Nijman has won 11 Pro Tour titles, 10 of them over the last 12 months, producing sky-high averages in the process.
On the floor he has bolted up in six Players Championships since February and is miles clear in that Order of Merit.
And on the continent he has won a pair of European Tour titles, the European Darts Trophy in Gottingen in March and the Slovak Darts Open in Bratislava in June.
Nijman is seeded 12 in Budapest, faces Dave Chisnall or Andres Borbaly in round two, and looks like the man to beat.
Alternative Bet: Jermaine Wattimena to Win @ 33/1
From the bottom half of the draw take Jermaine Wattimena to carry on where he left off in Leicester.
Wattimena won PC27 in Leicester on Tuesday, beating Luke Littler among others to do so, and that has to give this talented thrower any amount of confidence.
Wattimena reached the final of the previous European Tour event in Leverkusen in June, the European Darts Open, so is peaking nicely for a big autumn.
Alternative Bet: Keane Barry to beat Martin Schindler @ 6/5
If you are looking for a possible upset in round one, then Keane Barry to topple Martin Schindler would represent a minor one.
Barry is a player who conserves his best form for second-tier events, proved when they last met in PC21 in June when the Irishman won 6-5.
This looks like a coin-toss affair so take the bigger price about Barry.
Key Hungarian Darts Trophy Stats
- The Hungarian Darts Trophy is the 11th of 15 events on the European Tour
- This is the sixth running of the Hungarian Darts Trophy and the fourth to be staged at the MVM Dome in Budapest
- Dave Chisnall and Michael van Gerwen were the first two winners of the title at the MVM Dome with Germany's Niko Springer landing the odds 12 months ago, beating Danny Noppert 8-7 in the final; all four men are in this week's field
- The top 16 seeds - headed by world No.2 Luke Humphries in the absence of Luke Littler - will meet the 16 winners from round one in round two on Saturday; all matches are best-of-11 legs until the semi-finals (best-of-13) and final (best-of-15)
- Beau Greaves, the top-ranked woman in the world, qualified for the Hungarian Darts Trophy, and will become the first woman to play on the European Tour
- The top 32 players from the 15-event European Tour qualify for the year-ending European Championships. Wessel Nijman, who has won two of the previous 10 events, tops the rankings from Ross Smith and Krzysztof Ratajski
Read more darts betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
