Michael van Gerwen will look to end his barren run with victory at the Elten Safety Shoes Dutch Darts Championship, with the draw and schedule now confirmed.
The three-time world champion endured a disappointing first-round exit at the World Grand Prix against Ryan Joyce before suffering another early setback with a second-round defeat to Mensur Suljovic at last weekend’s Swiss Darts Trophy.
With the final European Tour event of 2026 taking place at MECC Maastricht from October 16-18, the race for European Championship qualification reaches its climax on Dutch soil, with ‘The Green Machine’ determined to end his title drought in front of his home crowd.
Van Gerwen’s last big tournament success came at the Nordic Darts Masters in June, where he defeated Luke Humphries in the final.
His last major TV title before that came on home soil at the 2025 World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam.
Van Gerwen will open his campaign against William O’Connor or Richard Veenstra on Saturday.
The stakes are also high in the race to qualify for the £750,000 European Championship, which takes place in Dortmund later this month. The top 32 players in the European Tour rankings following this weekend’s tournament will secure their place in the prestigious event.
Friday’s opening round in Maastricht features 16 matches, including an all-Dutch clash as Niels Zonneveld takes on Belgian No 1 Mike De Decker.
Michael Smith, meanwhile, has been pitted against Stephen Burton in a crucial contest, as the 2023 world champion aims to secure his spot in Dortmund.
Jonny Clayton will open his defence against Damon Heta or Maikel Verberk.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Laura Turner and Chris Murphy review Van Gerwen’s limp loss to Dirk van Duijvenbode at the World Matchplay and suggest he’s becoming like Manchester United!
Schedule of Play – SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Friday October 16
Round One
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Karel Sedlacek v Callan Rydz
Cameron Menzies v Nick Kenny
Jeffrey de Graaf v Mickey Mansell
Dave Chisnall v Jonas Masalin
Andrew Gilding v Max Hopp
Ryan Joyce v Owen Bates
Ricardo Pietreczko v Heine Uuldriks
Dirk van Duijvenbode v James Hurrell
Evening Session (6pm)
Sebastian Bialecki v Daryl Gurney
William O’Connor v Richard Veenstra
Niko Springer v Scott Williams
Niels Zonneveld v Mike De Decker
Kim Huybrechts v Jimmy van Schie
Cristo Reyes v Krzysztof Kciuk
Damon Heta v Maikel Verberk
Michael Smith v Stephen Burton
Saturday October 17
Round Two
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Martin Schindler v Sedlacek/Rydz
Wessel Nijman v De Graaf/Mansell
Luke Woodhouse v Gilding/Hopp
Ross Smith v Joyce/Bates
Danny Noppert v Chisnall/Masalin
Ryan Searle v Van Duijvenbode/Hurrell
Rob Cross v Pietreczko/Uuldriks
Krzysztof Ratajski v Zonneveld/De Decker
Evening Session (6pm)
Gerwyn Price v Springer/Williams
Jermaine Wattimena v Huybrechts/Van Schie
Stephen Bunting v Menzies/Kenny
Gian van Veen v Bialecki/Gurney
Michael van Gerwen v O’Connor/Veenstra
Jonny Clayton v Heta/Verberk
Nathan Aspinall v M Smith/Burton
Chris Dobey v Reyes/Kciuk
Sunday October 18
Afternoon Session (12pm)
Round Three
Evening Session (6pm)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sky Sports remains the home of darts with the Grand Slam of Darts (November 14-22) and World Darts Championship (December 11-January 3) all live. Stream darts and more through NOW with no contract.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
