2025 Belgian Darts Open (Day 1) Betting Tips

• Gian van Veen To Win & Most 180s: 5/4 at Bet365

Gian van Veen played in all 13 European Tour events in 2024 and made two quarter finals and a final in Hungary. The young Dutchman has continued to impress so far this year and had a fantastic run to the QF of the UK Open in Minehead last week. In truth, van Veen is just a world-class dart player and it's extremely rare to be at that point so early in a career.

James Hurrell has had a difficult start to 2025 and has lost his last three matches, including a disappointing defeat 6-4 to Darren Beveridge in round 2 at the UK Open. He only managed to qualify for one Euro Tour last season and that was also in Wieze but he lost in the first round.

Gian van Veen is one of the biggest scores on the tour and he proved that in Minehead when he beat Damon Heta with a 109.90 average and nine 180s. I think it's only a matter of time before the Dutchman wins his first Euro Tour title and I think he comes through this match fairly comfortably.

• Matthew Dennant Most 180s: 7/5 at SpreadEX

Ricardo Pietreczko is a former European Tour champion after winning the 2023 German Darts Championship. You would have thought that would have been the springboard for him to become the next German superstar, but it hasn't quite happened for him as most expected.

There's no doubting his ability and he still made a semi-final and a final during last year's Euro Tour but there are clear question marks over his attitude at times. He showed that at the World Championship, averaging 78.46 in a 4-0 defeat to Nathan Aspinall in a very strange performance.

Matthew Dennant has been around the PDC for a long time and I played him a lot during my Youth Tour days. He's never quite reached his potential but has finally got himself on the main PDC Tour and looks to have had a steady start to the season. He's qualified for two Euro Tours already for 2025 and that's a big boost for his confidence.

I wouldn't be surprised to see an upset in this match but the value is in the 180 market. Pietreczko has never been a frequent maximum hitter so I expect Dennant to hit more than him in this contest.

• Over 9.5 Legs: 11/8 at Spreadex

Ryan Searle was one of the most consistent performers during the 2024 European Tour and made eight quarter-finals or better in thirteen events played. He was bang in form heading into the UK Open after winning PC04 in Rosmalen but was stunned in the 5th round losing 10-0 to Luke Humphries. It will be very interesting to see how he reacts to that here as he became only the 4th player in UK Open history to be whitewashed in a best of 19 match.

It was no surprise to anyone to see Darryl Pilgrim gain his Tour Card at Q School in January. He's been a classy operator for a while now and has showcased his talent on the Challenge Tour and the Modus Super Series stage over the last few years. He hit a 9 darter in PC10 last season in Hildesheim after gaining the opportunity to play on the Pro Tour through his Challenge Tour rankings.

This looks set to be a very interesting match but it all depends on how Searle reacts to his defeat in Minehead. Pilgrim has the talent to push 'Heavy Metal' all the way here and I think it may go the distance in Wieze.

• Cameron Crabtree to Win: 1/1 at Betfred

Five-time World Champion Raymond van Barneveld has become a little inconsistent nowadays after a glittering career.

He still has an undoubted ability but unfortunately doesn't show it as often as he used to and that was evident at the UK Open where he averaged just 83.04 in a 10-6 loss to Dimitri Van den Bergh. The match he won against Graham Usher, he also averaged just 86.51 and will need more than that tonight.

Cameron Crabtree is one of the emerging young stars in the PDC after gaining his Tour Card at Q School in January. Still just 21 years old, he'll be making his debut on the European Tour in Wieze and what an exciting opening match he has.

He won't be scared of playing Barney and I think he'll relish this opportunity. Crabtree played well at the UK Open averaging 99.94 and 93.92 in 6-1 victories against Wesley Plaisier and Andy Baetens. Victories against two dangerous opponents like that will certainly give him confidence going into tonight.

Once again I'm relying on momentum with this pick as Crabtree has been by far the better player over the last few weeks.

The only concern is it's his debut and the Euro Tour stage is never easy to play on, especially when the crowd will be firmly in the Dutchman's corner.

Crabtree has played on the Modus Super Series stage with a crowd and the recent UK Open and although it's a much bigger setting here, he still has the experience of big time darts.