Players Championship 12: Pro Tour darts preview and betting tips

Written by: Matt Hill

Darts tipster Matt Hill (@Matt_Hill93) is back to preview today’s arrows action as the second event of a Players Championship double-header gets going from 1pm on Wednesday.

Players Championship 12 absentees and replacements

Tour Card holders not competing - Nathan Aspinall, Stephen Bunting, Rob Cross, Mike De Decker, Michele Turetta, Jules van Dongen, Tim Wolters, Martin Schindler, Dennie Olde Kalter

Non-Tour Card holders competing - Darius Labanauskas, Stefan Bellmont, Ted Evetts, Carl Sneyd, Scott Campbell, Kevin Burness, Adam Mould, Tommy Lishman, Tom Sykes

Players Championship 11 recap and thoughts

It’s rare I come away frustrated with a placed runner from these events, but that was certainly the case yesterday.

Gary Anderson hitting the frame at 16/1 wasn’t enough to prevent a loss on the day, which is always tougher to take when so many big names exit early.

We saw Luke Littler, Michael van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price all depart in round one, with Luke Humphries not too far behind also. At that stage, I was rubbing my hands with Anderson effectively the in-running favourite – and playing like one too.

Alas, Peter Wright had other ideas in their semi-final and then Cameron Menzies was inspired against Snakebite in the final, hosing up to win the title at 33/1.

Fair play to Menzies, who said afterwards that a second Pro Tour title means more than his first as it “shows the first wasn’t just luck”. There’s far more to him than good fortune though, that’s for sure.

I managed to cop on him for his first PC win at 50/1 last year and feel his current price is about right, given his consistency but also a tendency to occasionally blow up mid-game. 

That said, he’s a confidence player and if he does turn up today (he suggested in his post-winner interview that he probably wouldn’t), he’d have a fair chance of going deep again.

Looking back at my bets, it was a mixed bag in terms of performance levels. You can read yesterday's write-up HERE, if of interest.

As mentioned, Anderson was sublime but yet again, bumped into a sensational opponent in the latter stages. Dom Taylor, meanwhile, continued his run of horrendously tough R1 draws in losing 6-4 to James Wade, despite averaging over 99. 

Gabriel Clemens and Raymond van Barnevled started both of their opening matches well before suffering spectacular drop-offs, while Callan Rydz blitzed through Owen Bates in R1 with a 104 average – only to exit to Wright in round two averaging just 88.

Jim Williams and Thomas Lovely flattered to deceive, while Darius Labanauskas was on the wrong side of a narrow decider with that man Wade again. 

All in all, it wasn’t one to remember from a punting perspective and I’ve drawn lines through some of yesterday’s runners as a result.

Players Championship 12 analysis and betting tips

Five stay, three go

I’ve made the mistake of ditching fancies too quickly in this game before, so dumping a bet after one bad outing always needs to be treated with caution.

For example, there is absolutely no reason for me to get rid of either Gary Andereson or Dom Taylor from my betting card at similar prices to yesterday.

Both produced a performance level that I believe outweighed their price, so quite simply, we go again. There’s not much you can do about bad variance, other than try to ride it out where viable.

In Anderson’s case, 14/1 is the best available price and is also a four-place each way quote, so get stuck into that as a starting point.

Taylor, despite exiting early for the third tournament running, continues to be trimmed in certain places. 

This will be a head-spinner for outcome-backed bettors, but trust me when I say that the quality he is consistently producing is certain to pay dividends at some point this term, if replicated.

Think Josh Rock. Think Wessel Nijman. Think Menzies even. If you keep knocking at the door, it eventually opens – and I believe the Tower has what it takes to win a Pro Tour in 2025.

As mentioned earlier, Rydz showed his good and bad side yesterday and while it would be perfectly fair to swerve him, I still think today’s quote of 125/1 four places offers good value aligned with his A) quality and B) form. 

You know with the Geordie that it could implode at any moment, yet he also has the talent to race through into the final four and make a real mockery of his price. So he gets another chance.

Van Barneveld also merits one more go – just.

Barney was in cruise control in his opener yesterday, 3-1 up against the capable Tom Bissell, when the wheels came off spectacularly. The Dutchman missed 8 darts to go 4-1 up and ended up losing the leg and, though he responded with a 13 darter to make it 4-2, Bissell then seemed to rock him with fabulous back-to-back finishes of 100 and 136. 

The last leg was an aberration, with Barney failing to check out 74 in four visits. It was complete head loss but, crucially, it was a real outlier of a performance compared with his efforts over recent weeks.

There was some good stuff from him earlier in that contest too and if anyone is capable of re-setting and going today, it should be a man of his vast experience. One more chance at 125/1 each way seems the best play.

As for Clemens, Williams, and Lovely, I didn’t see enough yesterday to keep them on. But Labanauskas’ 6-2 win over Kai Gotthardt and unlucky 6-5 reverse with Wade means he’s still worth a very small tickle at 300/1 four places.

Three drop-offs makes room for three additions to today's card, so without further ado...

Enigmatic Van Duijvenbode finding his best form

When I back players in these events, I’m looking for one of two things – someone who can run into a place at big odds or someone capable of going all the way.

It’s possible yesterday’s card featured too much of the former and not enough of the latter, so in Dirk van Duijvenbode, we’re adding a man more than capable of lifting the title in Leicester.

Two years ago, Dirk was unquestionably one of the best players on the planet but his career seemed to turn on the twist of an ankle, suffered memorably during his walk-on at the 2023 Dutch Darts Championship.

Since then, a combination of shoulder issues and a staggering loss of form have seen him plummet down the rankings and he now finds himself only just clinging on inside the top 32 of both the Order of Merit and Pro Tour rankings.

So, the time is now for the pumped-up Aubergenius to get things back on track – and the signs continue to be encouraging that he can do so.

In 2025, Van Duijvenbode has the 10th highest average on the floor, winning 21 of his 32 Pro Tour games so far this year. In the last five events, that win rate is even better – 12 wins from 17 outings – and four of his five defeats have been by 6-4 or 6-5 scorelines.

When Van Duijvenbode is playing well, it’s easy to spot because the 180s will be flowing and he produced 13 of those yesterday across three matches. His eventual loss, to semi-finalist Niels Zonneveld, saw him squander a 4-2 lead but really, credit should be given to his opponent who went out in 14, 14, 16 and 14 to close it out.

It feels like Dirk is on the cusp of something. A semi-final run last month was possibly the teaser and with 40/1 and four places available, I’m happy to get him on side today.

Zonneveld and Bialecki hard to ignore at prices

There may be a case of after the Lord Mayor’s show here in backing yesterday’s semi-finalist Zonneveld, but I am shocked to see 200/1 still available with four places for the young Dutchman – so a chance must be taken.

Zonneveld has floated in and out of my betting card for some time, so it was a little painful to see him cop place money yesterday. If I’m being honest though, it didn’t sting as much as some others in years gone by.

The thing with Zonneveld is, he offers real consistency while lacking some proper star quality. I never feel he’s going to quite go all the way in these tournaments, but three quarter finals last year show that it shouldn’t be a surprise to see him making the latter stages on the floor.

He’d already had two runs to the last eight this season, at PC8 and PC9, meaning he has now won a remarkable 14 of his last 18 floor matches after yesterday’s heroics.

Taking my doubts over his ability to actually win a Pro Tour out of the equation, that recent win percentage simply does not tally up with his price and you have to say he’s worth a small go today.

Another man outrunning his odds on a consistent basis is Sebastian Bialecki.

Still only 21 years of age, the Bolt is a six-time Development Tour winner and his exploits in that field during 2024 have earned him his first two-year Tour Card. 

You expect players of his age group (Littler aside) to take some time adjusting to the rigours of the Pro Tour, yet because Bialecki has been playing in the PDC system for so long, he is ahead of the curve with his development – and that is translating in his results.

He has won 19 of his 30 games on the floor in 2025, translating into a 63% win ratio. Those to fall foul of the Pole include established stars such as Danny Noppert, Peter Wright and Chris Dobey.

That record is all the more impressive when you consider he lost four of his first five on the Pro Tour this term. The subsequent seven events have seen him make the last 16 on five occasions.

Really then, 500/1 four places about the youngster is simply the wrong price. Of course, you’re playing a long game with these kind of bets but rest assured, the odds outweigh his actual win equity by a decent margin.

Matt Hill’s best bets for Players Championship 12 - April 9, 2025

1.5pts EW - Gary Anderson - 14/1 (Betfair)

1pt EW - Dirk van Duijvenbode - 40/1 (Betfair)

1pt EW - Dom Taylor - 66/1 (Betfair)

0.375pts EW - Callan Rydz - 125/1 (Betfair)

0.375pts EW - Raymond van Barneveld - 125/1 (Betfair)

0.25pts EW - Niels Zonneveld - 200/1 (Betfair

0.25pts EW - Darius Labanauskas - 300/1 (Betfair)

0.25pts EW - Sebastian Bialecki - 500/1 (Betfair)

All each-way bets are paid out at four places (i.e. semi-finalists)

Total staked - 10pts

Meet the Author

Matt Hill


Head of Content

Matt has now been operating in the sports content and betting space for the best part of a decade, including extended stints with industry giants Betfred and LiveScore.

A qualified journalist, he began his career reporting on his beloved Carlisle United FC as a teenager and still follows the Blues avidly to this day, as much as life allows.

One of the keenest punters around, Matt is never shy of an opinion and builds the bulk of his betting portfolio around antepost football markets and PDC darts events.

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