International Darts Open 2025: Expert preview and betting tips

Written by: Matt Hill

Darts’ Euro Tour rolls back into action this weekend with the 2025 International Darts Open, hosted at the SACHSENarena in Riesa, Germany.

This will be the tenth renewal of this particular event, having taken place annually since its 2015 inception bar having a year off in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

Martin Schindler is the defending champion, having lifted his first ever senior PDC title 12 months ago when defeating Gerwyn Price in the final 8-5.

International Darts Open - previous winners and finalists

2024 - Martin Schindler 8-4 Gerywn Price

2023 - Gerwyn Price 8-4 Michael van Gerwen

2022 - Gerwyn Price 8-4 Peter Wright

2020 - Joe Cullen 8-5 Michael van Gerwen

2019 -  Gerwyn Price 8-6 Rob Cross

2018 - Gerwyn Price 8-3 Simon Whitlock

2017 - Peter Wright 6-5 Kim Huybrechts

2016 - Mensur Suljovic 6-5 Kim Huybrechts

2015 - Michael Smith 6-3 Benito van de Pas

Betting analysis for the 2025 International Darts Open

Gerwyn Price’s Riesa love affair can continue

Generally speaking, I’m not a big sucker for players with exceptional records at particular tournaments (aside from Ally Pally). But it’s hard to ignore the stunning record of Price in this event.

The Welshman won his first ever Euro Tour event here in 2018, seeing off Simon Whitlock in the final, and has since won it a further three times. That means his record here since 2018 reads a frankly ludicrous 26 games played, 24 wins and just two losses.

He’s admitted the venue and the tournament holds a special place in his heart, and as a result, the fans in Riesa absolutely adore Price. There won’t be any grief aimed in his direction, unless he’s playing a German of course, and that is always an important factor to consider when wagering on the Iceman.

Furthermore, he comes here with his game in great nick. A strong start to the Premier League campaign means he’s well within reach of a lesser-spotted appearance at Finals Night, while an emphatic victory at Players Championship 9 on Monday shows the arrows are still flying nicely.

In an event where Luke Littler’s absence makes all sections of the outright market infinitely more appealing, I am a little surprised to see a quote of 7/1 about Price extending his glittering run here. With Luke Humphries (4/1) a worthy favourite, but not playing markedly better than Price - or even fellow market principle Michael van Gerwen (also 7/1), a strong bet on the four-time champion here looks the perfect way to start our card.

Decent draw makes in-form Cameron Menzies a bet

Beyond the big names, it’s always best to let the draw steer the bulk of your betting on these Euro Tour events. While there’s not exactly many ‘weak areas’ due to the top 16 all being seeded, there’s a plethora of unseeded players that you’d back to cause problems dependent on their relevant sections.

Of course, this is all preferential. But let’s start by grouping the seeds of each respective quarter and go from there.

Quarter one contains Humphries, the in-form Ross Smith, the ever-dangerous Damon Heta and Premier League ace Chris Dobey. That’s probably not the place you want to be landing as an unranked entrant, so any enthusiasm I may have had to get with the likes of Niko Springer, Ricardo Pietreczko, Krzysztof Ratajski, Callan Rydz or Wessel Nijman (all on my radar) has been tempered somewhat.

On the flip side, what that does is create plenty of jeopardy for the likes of Humphries and Co, so there’s every chance we’ve seen all four seeds fall by the wayside there come the semi-finals. Match betting will also be of high interest for me here.

Quarter two contains a less fearsome group of seeds. Stephen Bunting’s big stage confidence is somewhat shot from a gruelling Premier League campaign. James Wade is always dangerous but it’s debatable he does enough to warrant backing in these types of events.Jonny Clayton is in okay nick but again, is not to be feared. Danny Noppert may be the one who can capitalise here but at 33/1, his price feels about right.

So, who do we take them on with? I have landed on another man who showed some great form on this week’s Pro Tour double-header in Cameron Menzies.

Last year was a big breakthrough campaign for the eccentric Scot, who won his first Pro Tour title and enjoyed several strong runs in TV tournaments - most notably making the Grand Slam quarter-finals.

Menzies polarises opinion with his overly affectionate cuddling of opponents and chuntering away to himself throughout matches. Some think he’s a loveable ball of fun, while plenty of others suggest his antics border on gamesmanship. Personally, I can’t see him having the nastiness within him to be putting people off intentionally. Whether he should behave the way he does, however, is another matter entirely.

The big question around Menzies as a punter is whether you can find the trust to back him to lift a big TV title. The ability is there, no doubt. His averages have been inside the PDC’s top 10 for the bulk of the last 12 months. But he is prone to a meltdown.

This is an opportunity, though. His opener against a German qualifier should be routine on Friday, while a second-round clash with Wade should hold no fear either - he’s won three of their last four meetings and threw away the other, losing 10-9 in the UK Open from 9-7 up and missing five match darts to boot. 

Menzies can consistently outscore the Machine and frequently seems to ruffle the veteran’s feathers somewhat, which plays to our advantage on this occasion. 

Beyond that, I’m happy to take on Bunting or Ryan Searle in round three, while I’m not sure I’d have him a dog against Clayton or Noppert. Not by much, anyway.

So if we estimate Menzies as roughly a 12/1 chance to make the last four of what is an open event, I’m more than happy to get some of the 50/1 outright available in the book.

The other that took my eye in this section was Jermaine Wattimena, but sadly, the Dutchman has just burnt my fingers once too often in recent times. Look out for him dumping Menzies out on Saturday, then!

Reigning champ Martin Schindler can give a strong defence

Section three features both my main fancy in Price and some other big names, including Van Gerwen, recent Euro Tour winner Nathan Aspinall and Tuesday’s Pro Tour winner Josh Rock, so it’s not a section I’m mad keen to get stuck into - though there is one flier in there which I’ll mention later.

Instead, quarter four takes up the bulk of my remaining attention. Again, the seeds here have a more opposable look to them. Rob Cross is seeded three and always merits respect, though he’s lost two of his three Euro Tour games this year. Dimitri Van den Bergh has badly lacked consistency for some time now, while Dave Chisnall and Peter Wright simply would not be seeded if we were going on raw form.

As a result, I’ll take two chances in this section. The main one is undoubtedly Martin Schindler, the reigning champion. Quotes of 66/1 earlier this week looked overpriced pre-draw and given the section he’s landed in, I’m still happy to put the Wall forward at 50s, available right across the board.

Like Price, he’s returning to a happy hunting ground. A maiden Euro Tour success and on home turf too, I’m sure he’s buzzing to defend his title in Riesa and most crucially, he found a good bit of form on the floor earlier this week when marching towards the Pro Tour semi-finals on Tuesday.

That run included a marvellous victory over Gary Anderson, producing a 108 average to stop the charging Flying Scotsman in his tracks. It’s always good to see your selection find a bit of form at the right time.

He starts his campaign with a solid test against Thomas Lovely, which should ultimately cause no issues but can sharpen him up for a second round clash with Cross. Voltage got the better of him 6-5 in the Euro Tour almost a year to the day, with Schindy missing match darts there, so there’s every chance he feels he has a score to settle there.

As mentioned, there’s little else to fear in this section for someone of Schindler’s ability and, with that all-important home crowd firmly behind him, he’s another I’ll happily chance at 50/1.

Ritchie Edhouse and Willie O’Connor worth small investment at three figures

My second dart in that bottom section is at the bottom is Ritchie Edhouse, at a monstrous 100/1.

Madhouse had a memorable 2024, topped unquestionably by a remarkable European Championship success.He also became a real force in the lesser events, making two semi-finals on the floor and a further two quarter-finals on the Euro Tour.

It’s fair to say his momentum has calmed somewhat, probably since a frustrating early World Championship exit to Ian White – but we saw enough earlier this week to make me think Edhouse is re-finding a bit of that dangerous form.

He won four of his six floor matches across Monday and Tuesday, posting averages between 95 and 100 in each. That ruthless consistency is what made Edhouse a real problem for the top players last year and most importantly, he has a draw here to make that improved form count.

Czech qualifier Petr Krivka should pose no serious problems and Peter Wright remains extremely vulnerable, so I’d be surprised not to see Edhouse in round three. Beyond that, it may be Chisnall - or equally, Luke Woodhouse or Matt Campbell, who will themselves fancy upsetting their respective seed. In an ideal world, Schindler and Edhouse will meet in the quarters and give us a guaranteed semi-finalist. If only life was that simple, eh…

My final dart is speculative in the upmost, but its hard to see how Willie O’Connor rates as a 100/1 shot on recent form.

The Magpie is a two-time Euro Tour finalist and a veteran of the PDC circuit, yet may be currently in the richest vein of form he’s enjoyed as a professional. He’s played seven games this week across the Pro Tour and Euro Tour Qualifier events and averaged over 100 in five of them. The latest two of those were efforts of 107, which quite frankly, is good enough to beat anybody in Riesa this weekend.

Of course, you’re taking a leap saying he can continue to produce that level on the big stage but I really do think at 100/1, I’m willing to take a small chance in finding out.

He’s no bigger than 8/11 to beat Andrew Gilding, which is the correct price in my opinion, but tells you all you need to know about how well he’s playing. A second-round encounter with Michael van Gerwen would likely see him a bet too, so that’s one to have on your radar come Saturday.

Matt Hill’s best bets for the 2025 International Darts Open

3pts win - Gerwyn Price - 7/1 (Betfred)

0.5pts EW - Martin Schindler - 50/1 (general)

0.5pts EW - Cameron Menzies - 50/1 (general)

0.25pts EW - Ritchie Edhouse - 100/1 (Unibet/ LiveScore)

0.25pts EW - Willie O’Connor - 100/1 (Betfred/ StarSports)

Total staked - 6pts


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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