The Dutch Darts Championship 2026 is set to take place from 16-18 October at the MECC Maastricht, marking the first time the tournament has been held in Maastricht since 2018. As the 15th and final PDC European Tour event on the PDC ProTour, it features a 48-player field competing for £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner.
Jonny Clayton returns as defending champion, having defeated Niko Springer 8-6 in the 2025 final. He is joined in the field by top names including Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen, Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen, Stephen Bunting, and Wessel Nijman. The event serves as the final stop en route to the European Championship, making it crucial for European Tour Order of Merit standings, alongside the Swiss Darts Trophy.
The action begins on Friday 16 October with an afternoon session from 11:00 GMT, featuring first-round matches such as Karel Sedlacek vs Callan Rydz, Cameron Menzies vs Nick Kenny, Jeffrey de Graaf vs Mickey Mansell, Dave Chisnall vs Jonas Masalin, Andrew Gilding vs Max Hopp, Ryan Joyce vs Owen Bates, Ricardo Pietreczko vs HNQ2, and Dirk van Duijvenbode vs James Hurrell. The evening session from 17:00 GMT includes Sebastian Bialecki vs Daryl Gurney, William O'Connor vs HNQ3, Niko Springer vs Scott Williams, Niels Zonneveld vs Mike De Decker, Kim Huybrechts vs HNQ1, Cristo Reyes vs Krzysztof Kciuk, Damon Heta vs HNQ4, and Michael Smith vs Stephen Burton.
Saturday 17 October sees the second round split into two sessions. The afternoon session from 11:00 GMT features Martin Schindler vs Sedlacek/Rydz, Wessel Nijman vs De Graaf/Mansell, Luke Woodhouse vs Gilding/Hopp, Ross Smith vs Joyce/Bates, Danny Noppert vs Chisnall/Masalin, Ryan Searle vs Van Duijvenbode/Hurrell, Rob Cross vs Pietreczko/HNQ2, and Krzysztof Ratajski vs Zonneveld/De Decker. The evening session from 17:00 GMT includes Gerwyn Price vs Springer/Williams, Jermaine Wattimena vs Huybrechts/HNQ1, Stephen Bunting vs Menzies/Kenny, Gian van Veen vs Bialecki/Gurney, Michael van Gerwen vs O'Connor/HNQ3, Jonny Clayton vs Heta/HNQ4, Nathan Aspinall vs M Smith/Burton, and Chris Dobey vs Reyes/Kciuk.
Sunday 18 October will see the afternoon session from 11:00 GMT contested as Last 16 matches, followed by the evening session from 17:00 GMT featuring the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. The draw will be confirmed on Thursday at midday before the tournament starts on Friday, with the schedule confirmed shortly after. The top 16 ProTour stars enter on Saturday, facing the qualifiers.
The seeded players for the Dutch Darts Championship 2026 are: 1 Luke Humphries, 2 Gian van Veen, 3 Gerwyn Price, 4 Jonny Clayton, 5 Michael van Gerwen, 6 Danny Noppert, 7 Stephen Bunting, 8 Wessel Nijman, 9 Ryan Searle, 10 Ross Smith, 11 Chris Dobey, 12 Nathan Aspinall, 13 Jermaine Wattimena, 14 Luke Woodhouse, 15 Martin Schindler, and 16 Krzysztof Ratajski. PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit Qualifiers include Andrew Gilding, Niko Springer, Rob Cross, William O'Connor, Damon Heta, Ryan Joyce, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Niels Zonneveld, Cameron Menzies, Dave Chisnall, Kim Huybrechts, Joe Cullen, Sebastian Białecki, Cristo Reyes, Karel Sedláček, and Jeffrey de Graaf. Tour Card Qualifiers are Scott Williams, Max Hopp, Ricardo Pietreczko, Michael Smith, Nick Kenny, Callan Rydz, Stephen Burton, James Hurrell, Mickey Mansell, and Owen Bates. The Host Nation Qualifier spots are TBC, while Jonas Masalin enters as the Nordic & Baltic Qualifier and Krzysztof Kciuk as the East European Qualifier.
Historically, the Dutch Darts Championship has seen winners such as Jonny Clayton in 2025 (8-4 vs Niko Springer), Josh Rock in 2024 (8-4 vs Jonny Clayton), Dave Chisnall in 2023 (8-5 vs Luke Humphries), Michael Smith in 2022 (8-7 vs Danny Noppert), and Ian White in 2018 (8-5 vs Ricky Evans). The format for 2026 includes: First Round best of 11 legs (first to 6), Second Round best of 11 legs (first to 6), Third Round best of 11 legs (first to 6), Quarter-Finals best of 11 legs (first to 6), Semi-Finals best of 13 legs (first to 7), and Final best of 15 legs (first to 8).
