Gian van Veen vs Ryan Searle (World Grand Prix) Odds and Bets 01.10.2026

Gian van Veen and Ryan Searle meet in the second round of the World Grand Prix after coming through very different opening matches in Leicester. Van Veen dispatched Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-0, whereas Searle had to survive four match darts before edging William O’Connor 2-1.

Gian van Veen vs Ryan Searle date, time and event details

How Gian van Veen and Ryan Searle are playing

Gian van Veen form

Van Veen did not need anything close to his best to beat Dirk van Duijvenbode 2-0. He took the opening set 3-0 and edged the second 3-2, finishing with an 85.79 average, one 180 and six successful checkout doubles from 19 attempts.

Those numbers look ordinary, but I thought the manner of the result was more significant than the average. Van Veen himself highlighted how well he found his opening doubles, which is particularly encouraging in a tournament where failing to get away can destroy an otherwise strong leg.

His wider form is much stronger than that 85.79 suggests. Van Veen recently reached the semi-finals of the World Series of Darts Finals, beating Chris Dobey, Karel Sedlacek and Van Duijvenbode before losing 11-8 to eventual champion Ross Smith.

He also produced a 101.54 average in Antwerp earlier in September after making an adjustment to his set-up. The world number three therefore arrives with plenty of evidence that his ceiling remains much higher than we saw in round one.

Ryan Searle form

Searle had a far more stressful opening night. He eventually beat William O’Connor 2-1, winning the deciding set 3-2 after surviving four match darts.

His average was only 84.69, below O’Connor’s 91.03, but Searle deserves credit for staying alive when the match looked to be slipping away. He also finished efficiently, taking six of his ten opportunities at the finishing double.

There have been encouraging signs in his recent performances too. At the World Series Finals he beat Rob Cross 6-2 before losing 10-7 to Josh Rock, while his last-five average entering this match sits at roughly 94.2.

Searle is also naturally one of the heavier scorers on tour. With his 34-gram darts and deliberate rhythm, he is capable of producing sustained bursts of treble-20 scoring. My slight concern is that the World Grand Prix can interrupt that rhythm because every leg begins with the extra problem of finding a starting double.

Key factors in my Van Veen vs Searle prediction

Van Veen looked more comfortable with the double-start rule

Neither player produced a spectacular average in round one, but I preferred what I saw from Van Veen.

He won six of eight legs against Van Duijvenbode and never dropped a set. More importantly, his starting doubles were working well. In this tournament I attach considerable weight to that because missing two or three darts at the beginning of a leg can effectively hand your opponent a 100-point head start.

Searle survived his opener, but the fact he needed a final-set decider after losing the second set 3-0 makes his route through less convincing.

There is very little between their recent averages

The last-five figures are almost identical: Van Veen is around 94.1, with Searle at approximately 94.2.

That is important because it shows this is not simply a world number three facing a player operating several levels below him.

Their checkout figures are similarly close, at roughly 40.6% for Van Veen and 41.0% for Searle. Searle also has a slight edge in recent 180 production.

For that reason, I would not want to take an aggressive handicap at a short price.

Van Veen’s big-stage form is stronger

This is where I think the favourite starts to separate himself.

Van Veen reached the World Series Finals semi-final less than two weeks before this tournament, putting together wins over Dobey, Sedlacek and Van Duijvenbode. His 2026 season has also kept him at number three in the PDC Order of Merit.

Searle remains dangerous, but his recent sequence has been more mixed. He has alternated good wins with defeats rather than putting together the sort of sustained televised run Van Veen managed in Amsterdam.

Searle has a favourable recent head-to-head

This is the main reason I would not dismiss the underdog.

Searle beat Van Veen 6-3 at the International Darts Open in May, and across their recorded meetings the Englishman has held a narrow overall advantage.

That latest win also came with Searle averaging close to 99, so there is clear evidence that his game can trouble Van Veen.

The counterpoint is that Van Veen thrashed Searle 10-2 at the 2025 European Championship. Their head-to-head therefore tells me Searle is dangerous rather than proving he has a consistently favourable match-up.

Gian van Veen vs Ryan Searle statistics

Recent head-to-head

Searle won their most recent meeting 6-3 on 24 May 2026 at the International Darts Open.

That result deserves consideration because it is recent and Searle played very well, but I would not make it the central argument for Thursday’s match. The European Tour uses conventional straight-start 501, while this World Grand Prix encounter requires both players to double in.

Van Veen also has a significant televised win over Searle on his record, beating him 10-2 at the 2025 European Championship.

Gian van Veen vs Ryan Searle odds