Jonny Clayton will open his defence of the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship against Damon Heta or Maikel Verberk, with the draw and schedule for this weekend’s event now confirmed.
The final European Tour event of 2026 will take place at the MECC Maastricht from October 16-18, as the race for European Championship qualification culminates on Dutch soil.
The top 32 players on the European Tour rankings following the conclusion of this weekend’s event will qualify for the £750,000 event, which will be held in Dortmund later this month. Friday’s opening round in Maastricht will see 16 matches take place across the day, as Dutch star Niels Zonneveld takes on Belgian number one Mike De Decker.
Michael Smith, meanwhile, has been pitted against Stephen Burton in a crucial contest, as the 2022/23 World Champion aims to secure his spot in Dortmund.
Smith is currently outside of the European Championship qualification places, but a strong showing in Basel last weekend preserved his hopes of sealing his spot in the 32-player field.
Karel Sedlacek is just £2,000 adrift of the qualification cut-off following his run to the Swiss Darts Trophy quarter-finals, and Czechia’s number one will face Callan Rydz in his opener.
Dirk van Duijvenbode will play James Hurrell on his return to home soil, while 2025 runner-up Niko Springer goes head-to-head with a resurgent Scott Williams in one of Friday’s standout ties. The top 16 players on the PDC Werner Rankings Ladder will enter the tournament in round two on Saturday, as Dutch number one Gian van Veen prepares to headline.
Top seed Van Veen will open his challenge against Poland’s number two Sebastian Bialecki or Northern Ireland’s former World Cup winner Daryl Gurney, with both men harbouring slender hopes of European Championship qualification.
Reigning champion Clayton, fresh from his exploits on Swiss soil, also faces a tough assignment against Australian number one Heta or Dutch debutant Verberk on Saturday evening.
Gerwyn Price marks his return to European Tour action with a showdown against Springer or Williams, while Dutch superstar Michael van Gerwen will play William O’Connor or Richard Veenstra for a place at Finals Day.
Stephen Bunting currently occupies the final provisional place in the 32-player field for Dortmund, and the Liverpudlian has been handed a difficult opener against Cameron Menzies or Nick Kenny in Maastricht.
Martin Schindler also faces a fight to book his place at the European Championship, and the German number one begins his challenge against Sedlacek or Rydz.
Jeffrey de Graaf or Mickey Mansell await Wessel Nijman – a two-time winner on the European Tour in 2026 – while Ross Smith, who will finish top of the yearly European Tour rankings, kicks off his campaign against Ryan Joyce or Owen Bates.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Danny Noppert will meet 2023 champion Dave Chisnall or Finland’s Jonas Masalin, as Smith and Burton lock horns for the right to take on Nathan Aspinall, who celebrated victory in April’s German Darts Grand Prix.
Following the conclusion of Saturday’s action, the last 16 will return to the stage on Sunday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session.
Live coverage of the Dutch Darts Championship will be streamed on Viaplay in the Netherlands and on DAZN for viewers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with additional coverage available on CANAL+ SPORT 5 and via the CANAL+ streaming service in Poland.
Coverage will also be broadcast on PDCTV (excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and through bookmakers’ websites worldwide.
NB: From the original field of entries, Luke Humphries and Joe Cullen have withdrawn from the event, and have been replaced by Mike De Decker and Daryl Gurney from the Reserve List.
2026 Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship (ET15)
Tournament Draw Bracket – Second Round Onwards
Players seeded based on PDC Ranking position
(1) Gian van Veen v Sebastian Bialecki/Daryl Gurney
(16) Rob Cross v Ricardo Pietreczko/Heine Uuldriks
(8) Ryan Searle v Dirk van Duijvenbode/James Hurrell
(9) Ross Smith v Ryan Joyce/Owen Bates
(4) Michael van Gerwen v William O’Connor/Richard Veenstra
(13) Luke Woodhouse v Andrew Gilding/Max Hopp
(5) Danny Noppert v Dave Chisnall/Jonas Masalin
(12) Jermaine Wattimena v Kim Huybrechts/Jimmy van Schie
(2) Gerwyn Price v Niko Springer/Scott Williams
(15) Krzysztof Ratajski v Niels Zonneveld/Mike De Decker
(7) Wessel Nijman v Jeffrey de Graaf/Mickey Mansell
(10) Chris Dobey v Cristo Reyes/Krzysztof Kciuk
(3) Jonny Clayton v Damon Heta/Maikel Verberk
(14) Martin Schindler v Karel Sedlacek/Callan Rydz
(6) Stephen Bunting v Cameron Menzies/Nick Kenny
(11) Nathan Aspinall v Michael Smith/Stephen Burton
