Despite the absence of the top two players in the Rankings, a strong field has still come together for the tournament and there are some very good looking matches to be played in the two Sessions on Saturday.
Poor doubling from Cameron Menzies and a failure to see out a 5-4 lead by Kai Gotthardt made it a difficult start to the weekend, but both could have easily swung the other way.
Hopefully better fortune is to come this weekend.
Danny Noppert & Ross Smith double: These two players should have the high scoring power to beat the opponents in the Second Round, although Ross Smith is goign to have clean up on some of the doubling issues he had in his UK Open defeat last weekend.
Prior to that, Smith had been playing well on the floor and he can bounce back against Dave Chisnall, who put in a huge effort to recover from 0-5 down to win his First Round match 6-5.
Danny Noppert is becoming one of the most consistent players in darts and he can match the scoring power of Ricky Evans, while also showing off the superior doubling at key times.
Wessel Nijman win & Chris Dobey over 2.5 180s double: It was harder than Wessel Nijman needed it to be, but winning the First Round match should have given him a lot of confidence.
You can never dismiss Mike De Decker, but he is not producing the same consistency as the Dutchman and it was Wessel Nijman who won both matches between the pair in 2025.
Chris Dobey vs Luke Woodhouse has the makings of a match that could go down right to the wire and that should give the big maximum hitting Dobey ample time to hit at least three in that contest.
Josh Rock & Michael van Gerwen double: Two Premier League participants look capable of coming through awkward, but winnable Second Round matches in the Evening Session.
Neither Josh Rock nor Michael van Gerwen have been in strong recent Premier League form, but they are playing opponents that are a step down from the elite in the Premier League.
Josh Rock will have to deal with the crowd being behind his opponent, but going out first in the Evening Session may not be the worst time and he should be able to squeeze through.
The same can be said for Michael van Gerwen who is not playing as consistently as earlier this season, but who can put together a few minutes of very high level darts to pull away from his compatriot.
MY PICKS: Danny Noppert & Ross Smith @ 1.81 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Wessel Nijman to Win & Chris Dobey Over 2.5 180s @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Josh Rock & Michael van Gerwen @ 1.96 Bet365 (1 Unit)
European Darts Trophy: 1-2, - 1.18 Units (3 Units Staked, - 39.33% Yield)
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