James Hubbard’s Betting Tips for the Dutch Darts Masters (Finals Day)

• Jermaine Wattimena to win: 20/21 at BoyleSports
• Rob Cross over 2.5 180s: 11/10 at Bet365

Jermaine Wattimena continued his recent resurgence, winning six of the last seven legs to overcome Luke Humphries 6-3. The Dutchman averaged 98.86 and hit 4 180s during a very dominant display. Humphries was clearly not on top form and Wattimena took advantage to produce a shock in front of his home crowd. A wonderful 2024 season has edged Wattimena close to a return to the top 32 in the world rankings and although he will be slightly disappointed losing to Peter Wright in the World Championship 3rd round, it already looks like he's put that behind him.

Rob Cross was solid in his first match, defeating Richard Veenstra 6-3 with a 95.27 average. He's now up to world number 4 even after an early exit in the World Championship against Scott Williams. His ranking automatically gained him a pick for the Premier League but his form has certainly been worrying over the last few months. Early exits in the Players Championship Finals, World Championship, and last week in Bahrain is concerning.

Cross always hits 180s, and hit 4 in his first-round match, so that's the value bet for me here. If Wattimena continues his resurgence tonight then he'll win, but it is all about the Dutchman, and if he's slightly off it, Cross can take advantage. The partisan crowd may well play a part tonight also which is why I'm edging towards the Dutchman in this match.

• Over 9.5 legs: 21/20 at Betfred
• Michael van Gerwen to win: 13/8 at Betfred

Luke Littler produced another 100+ average on the big stage, in a 6-4 victory over Dimitri van Den Bergh. The Belgian had opportunities in enough legs and it was close to being a smash-and-grab victory for Dimitri, but 3 maximums in the last two legs saw 'The Nuke' through. He still doesn't look massively comfortable since switching to a fresh set of darts which shows how high of a standard we expect of him, considering he still averaged 101.07.

Michael van Gerwen dusted off the rustiness on his return to the sport, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-1 in a comfortable victory. A 95.53 average and a 50% checkout rate was enough to get the job done. As the reigning Dutch Masters champion, I'd be surprised if he let this title go easily, especially in front of his Dutch fans.

This is the first meeting between these two titans of the sport since the World Championship final in January. I can see MVG wanting to lay down a marker tonight in front of his home crowd and I think that could be the deciding factor in this contest.

Littler wouldn't have played many times in front of a crowd so heavily in favor of his opponent so it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

I expect it to be close because it's difficult to run away with a best-of-11 match. Littler will no doubt outscore the Dutchman, but I just think as the defending champion, and with it being in Holland, MVG will scrape his way through.