Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Jonny Clayton produced sublime performances to advance to Finals Day at the Swiss Darts Trophy, as ten seeds crashed out on a remarkable day of action in Basel. Newly crowned World Grand Prix champion Humphries was amongst the headline acts on Day Two at the St. Jakobshalle, where he […]
Luke Humphries, Gian van Veen and Jonny Clayton produced sublime performances to advance to Finals Day at the Swiss Darts Trophy, as ten seeds crashed out on a remarkable day of action in Basel.
Newly crowned World Grand Prix champion Humphries was amongst the headline acts on Day Two at the St. Jakobshalle, where he prevailed in an epic showdown against Kevin Doets.
Despite racing 3-0 ahead with 122 and 121 checkouts, Humphries was forced to survive a furious fightback from Doets, defying the Dutchman’s 105.64 average to triumph in a breathless decider.
“I was really pleased with that performance,” reflected Humphries, who averaged almost 103 and pinned 67% of his attempts at double.
“I felt like I was the better player for most of the game, but Kevin was really strong at the end there, so I had to really work my socks off.”
European Champion Van Veen also impressed on Swiss soil, producing a hat-trick of ton-plus checkouts to whitewash a shell-shocked Niko Springer in just under ten minutes.
“I finished really well,” admitted Van Veen, who followed up successive 107 checkouts with a majestic 164 on the bull.
“There wasn’t much between us in the scoring department, but in the fifth leg Niko missed a couple of chances, I took mine and I think that was the story of the match.”
Clayton, meanwhile, stole the show with an irrepressible display against Maik Kuivenhoven, averaging 108.81 and landing two bullseye finishes to kick off his title bid in style.
The Welshman will take on Rob Cross for a place in the quarter-finals, after the former World Champion halted Luke Woodhouse’s mid-match fightback to close out a battling 6-4 victory.
There will be a new champion crowned at the St. Jakobshalle on Sunday evening, as former champions Stephen Bunting and Martin Schindler crashed out on a day of upsets in Basel.
Swedish star Jeffrey de Graaf put in a clinical display of doubling to account for reigning champion Bunting, while Schindler was swept aside by Tom Bissell, who will feature at Finals Day for the first time in his European Tour career.
Michael van Gerwen was another high-profile name to exit on Saturday, as Mensur Suljovic celebrated his fourth straight victory over the Dutch superstar.
Dirk van Duijvenbode recorded a fifth successive win against James Wade to end the left-hander’s bid for back-to-back European Tour titles, and a resurgent Michael Smith now awaits the Dutchman in the last 16.
The 2022/23 World Champion delivered one of his best performances of the year to seal a 6-4 against Jermaine Wattimena, converting consecutive 116, 124 and 144 checkouts in the process.
Smith averaged just shy of 103 to cap off a quality display, which also preserves his hopes of qualifying for the Machineseeker European Championship later this month.
Czechia’s Karel Sedlacek also remains firmly in the hunt for a place in Dortmund, after claiming the scalp of Wessel Nijman to set up a meeting with sixth seed Josh Rock, who edged out Dave Chisnall in a gruelling last-leg shoot-out.
Ross Smith – the current leader on the European Tour rankings – underlined that status with a 6-4 success against William O’Connor, as the Irishman averaged 104 in defeat.
Damon Heta continued his eye-catching form on the European Tour circuit, running out a resounding 6-3 winner against former UK Open champion Danny Noppert in Saturday’s finale.
The Australian number one will now play Cristo Reyes on Sunday afternoon, after Spain’s premier player rattled off four straight legs from 4-2 adrift to complete a comeback win over Ryan Searle.
Bradley Brooks progressed in identical fashion, punishing Chris Dobey’s doubling woes with a four-leg burst to book a last 16 tussle against Bunting’s conqueror De Graaf.
Elsewhere, Krzysztof Ratajski will go head-to-head with top seed Humphries, having opened Saturday’s play with a comprehensive 6-2 victory at the expense of Swiss number one Stefan Bellmont
Finals Day at the Swiss Darts Trophy will begin from the earlier time of 1200 CEST (1100 BST), before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a blockbuster evening session, which gets underway from 1800 CEST (1700 BST).
Live coverage is being streamed 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.
Click here for match stats & results.
2026 Swiss Darts Trophy
Saturday October 10
Round Two
Afternoon Session
Krzysztof Ratajski 6-2 Stefan Bellmont
Karel Sedlacek 6-4 Wessel Nijman
Rob Cross 6-4 Luke Woodhouse
Tom Bissell 6-4 Martin Schindler
Cristo Reyes 6-4 Ryan Searle
Ross Smith 6-4 William O’Connor
Bradley Brooks 6-4 Chris Dobey
Michael Smith 6-4 Jermaine Wattimena
Evening Session
Josh Rock 6-5 Dave Chisnall
Jeffrey de Graaf 6-4 Stephen Bunting
Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-5 James Wade
Jonny Clayton 6-1 Maik Kuivenhoven
Mensur Suljovic 6-4 Michael van Gerwen
Luke Humphries 6-5 Kevin Doets
Gian van Veen 6-0 Niko Springer
Damon Heta 6-3 Danny Noppert
Sunday October 11
Afternoon Session (1200 local time, 1100 BST)
Round Three
Josh Rock v Karel Sedlacek
Jonny Clayton v Rob Cross
Jeffrey de Graaf v Bradley Brooks
Gian van Veen v Tom Bissell
Mensur Suljovic v Ross Smith
Dirk van Duijvenbode v Michael Smith
Damon Heta v Cristo Reyes
Luke Humphries v Krzysztof Ratajski
Evening Session (1800 local time, 1700 BST)
Quarter-Finals
Semi-Finals
Final
Sunday’s games played in Draw Bracket order