The Dutch Darts Championship, the final European Tour event of 2026 ahead of the European Championship, has been blown wide open by late withdrawals. The tournament takes place from October 16-18 in Maastricht, with some of the best players in the world competing.
The biggest name to drop out is Luke Humphries. Despite vowing that he would be in the Netherlands to fight for a 10th European Tour title, he has made the late decision to pull out of the event, getting a week off ahead of the trip to Dortmund. Humphries has been a force to be reckoned with as of late, winning the World Grand Prix before reaching the final of the Swiss Darts Trophy with some incredible performances, only losing at the final hurdle to Jonny Clayton.
There are also huge implications in the race to Dortmund. Joe Cullen will not participate in the European Championship for the second year on the spin after withdrawing from the Dutch Darts Championship. Currently sitting 34th in the European Tour Order of Merit, the former Masters champion is £3,500 behind Stephen Bunting in 32nd. It was last chance saloon for him to get into the major event, but he has sacrificed any chance of returning. The former two-time semi-finalist has handed a huge boost to the likes of Karel Sedlacek and Michael Smith for a late dash into the qualifying positions for the European Championship.
Humphries and Cullen will be replaced by Mike de Decker and Daryl Gurney, the two highest-ranked players to lose in the deciding round of the Tour Card Holder Qualifier. While De Decker is virtually out of the race to Dortmund, a deep run for Gurney could get him back in contention, but it is a tall order. It is, however, a brilliant opportunity that the pair of them will hope to capitalise from.
Gian van Veen is the new number one seed for the tournament. Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton lead the title charge, while Dutchmen Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert, Wessel Nijman and Jermaine Wattimena will look to impress on home soil. Also featuring are Bunting, Ross Smith, Ryan Searle, Chris Dobey and Nathan Aspinall.
