An attractive line-up can be expected for the final games of the second round of the Swiss Darts Trophy 2024 on Saturday evening. Among other things, two Germans will be guests at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, but the finalists of the last Darts World Cup will also be there.
It is the first time that the PDC is organizing a tournament in Switzerland. Previously this year, European Tour tournaments were played in Belgium, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary. Another tournament will be held in the Czech Republic later this year.
The evening session begins with the meeting between Martin Schindler and Anton Östlund. The latter was responsible for Dirk van Duijvenbode’s elimination in the first round on Friday evening.
We also get to see a “city derby” in Basel. Stephen Bunting and Michael Smith both come from the English village of St. Helens and will decide among themselves who will advance to the round of 16.
Gerwyn Price has lost in the second round in each of his last four European Tours. ‘The Iceman’ gets the chance to end this negative run against James Wade. ‘The Machine’ has already had one match at the Swiss Darts Trophy. Wade won in the first round against Dimitri van den Bergh.
Richard Veenstra is the first Dutchman we will see on Saturday evening. “Flyers” almost squandered a 5-0 lead against Peter Wright on Friday evening and ultimately secured a hard-fought 6-5 victory. He met the reigning world champion Luke Humphries, who himself went straight into the second round.
Teenager Luke Littler can also demonstrate his skills on the oche. He will face Swiss qualifier Bruno Stöckli, who surprisingly won 6-3 against Krzysztof Ratajski on Friday afternoon.
Raymond van Barneveld made a strong impression at the Swiss Darts Trophy on Friday. Thanks to an average of 102.47, he beat Joe Cullen 6-2. The 57-year-old from Hagen will face Ricardo Pietreczko in the second round, who was eliminated from the Hungarian Darts Trophy last week. This week Pietreczko competed at the Pro Tours in Leicester but was unable to break even with an average of just 68. Van Barneveld has a good chance of at least reaching the final day in Basel. With a win over Pietreczko, “Barney” can also take a big step towards qualifying for the European Championship later this year.
Nathan Aspinall is another player who needs a good result in the European Championship qualifying race. In fact, “The Asp” is currently outside the virtual field of participants. After his 6-3 win over Marcel Walpen, Aspinall will face Dave Chisnall, who has already won two PDC titles this month.
In the last match of the evening it is Wessel Nijman’s turn. After his strong 6-0 win over Luke Woodhouse, the Dutchman can attempt a surprise against Chris Dobey.
TV und Live-Stream
The Swiss Darts Trophy will be broadcast on DAZN. As is usual with the European Tour tournaments, the Swiss Darts Trophy consists of three tournament days. On Friday and Saturday afternoon sessions begin at 1:00 p.m. and evening sessions begin at 7:00 p.m. On Sunday the sessions start at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
The first round will be played on Friday. Then the 16 qualifiers from the Order of Merit and the winners of the various qualifying tournaments will compete. The top 16 seeded players will enter the tournament in the second round on Saturday. The highlight of the tournament follows on Sunday with the third round, which takes place in the afternoon. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place on Sunday evening.
Distribution of prize money
This Euro Tour tournament will see prize money totaling £175,000 shared among the 48 participants. You will receive at least 1250 pounds as entry fee. The top 16 seeded players who enter the Swiss Darts Trophy from the second round will receive £2,500 anyway.
You must – like the 16 Order of Merit qualifiers who start in the first round – win their first game so that the prize money counts towards the world rankings and the other rankings. The winner of the Swiss Darts Trophy will ultimately go home with the top prize of £30,000.
Format
First round: Best of 11 legs
Second round: Best of 11 legs
Third round: Best of 11 legs
Quarterfinals: Best of 11 games
Semifinals: Best of 13 Legs
Final: Best of 15 stages
Schedule Swiss Darts Trophy 2024
Saturday September 28th
Second round
Evening session (from 7:00 p.m.)
Martin Schindler versus Anton Ostlund
Stephen Bunting vs. Michael Smith
Gerwyn Price vs. James Wade
Luke Humphries vs. Richard Veenstra
Lukas Littler against Bruno Stöckli
Ricardo Pietreczko vs. Raymond van Barneveld
Dave Chisnall vs Nathan Aspinall
Chris Dobey vs Wessel Nijman
By Alfred Ulferts
