The 2026 Belgian Darts Open (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Lecot Belgian Darts Open) was a professional darts tournament that took place at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium, from 20 to 22 March 2026.[1] It was the third of fifteen PDC European Tour events on the 2026 PDC Pro Tour. It featured a field of 48 players and £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner.
Pre-qualified players from the Orders of Merit who lose in their first match of the event shall not be credited with prize money on any Order of Merit.[7]
Qualification and format
The top 16 players on the two-year PDC Order of Merit were seeded and entered the tournament in the second round, while the next 16 highest-ranked players from the one-year PDC Pro Tour Order of Merit automatically qualified for the first round. The seedings were confirmed on 12 February.[8][9] The remaining 16 places went to players from four qualifying events – 10 from the Tour Card Holder Qualifier (held on 18 February),[10] four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 19 March),[11] one from the Nordic & Baltic Associate Member Qualifier (held on 7 February),[12] and one from the East European Associate Member Qualifier (held on 25 January).[13]
Belgian qualifiers Kim Huybrechts(pictured in 2019) and Andy Baetens were victorious in the first round. They reached the third round and the quarter-finals, respectively.
The defending champion Luke Littler(pictured in 2025) won his opening match, but was eliminated by Niels Zonneveld in the third round.
The second round (best of 11 legs) was played on 21 March.[20] World champion Luke Littler won his opening match 6–2 against Boris Krčmar, averaging 104.70 in the process. "My first European Tour event was here. I want to win it again, and performances like that will put me up there," commented Littler afterwards.[21] Belgian duo Kim Huybrechts and Andy Baetens progressed to the third round with respective 6–4 victories over Premier League players Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting; their compatriot Mike De Decker, the 16th seed, squandered a 5–3 lead and lost 6–5 to Niels Zonneveld, who set up a third-round meeting with Littler.[22] Dirk van Duijvenbode attempted to overturn a 4–0 deficit against world number two Luke Humphries, missing darts to send the match to a deciding leg and allowing Humphries to take a 6–4 win. Third and fourth seeds Michael van Gerwen and Jonny Clayton were also victorious, securing wins over Mickey Mansell and Sebastian Białecki.[21]
Luke Humphries(pictured in 2025) won his ninth European Tour title.
The third round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played on 22 March. The third round and quarter-finals were contested over the best of 11 legs, the semi-finals over the best of 13 legs, and the final over the best of 15 legs.[23] The final day saw Jonny Clayton and Luke Humphries reach the final. In the third round, where six of the eight matches went to a deciding leg,[24] Luke Littler suffered a 6–5 loss to Niels Zonneveld, who won the decider with a 147 checkout. This marked Littler's first defeat in a ranking event since October 2025, and his first-ever defeat at the Belgian Darts Open after a streak of 12 matches unbeaten, including title wins in 2024 and 2025.[25] "It's such a relief. I showed some really good nerve there. I'm so happy," commented Zonneveld after the win.[26] Clayton followed a 6–5 victory over Ross Smith by beating first-time quarter-finalist Andy Baetens 6–1. In the semi-finals, Zonneveld missed four match darts to eliminate Clayton, who won 7–6 to advance to the final. Humphries secured his place in the final by defeating Jermaine Wattimena, Chris Dobey and Michael van Gerwen.[23][24] Clayton and Humphries had contested the night six final of the 2026 Premier League earlier in the month, where Clayton won 6–1.[27]
Clayton claimed the opening leg of the final, but the Welshman soon found himself behind as Humphries won the next six legs to lead 6–1, converting checkouts of 142 and 130 during his run. Clayton then staged a comeback, winning four of the next five legs, including a 126 checkout on the bullseye. He trailed 7–6, one leg away from a decider, but Humphries completed the next leg in 13 darts to secure an 8–6 victory.[25] He finished the match with a three-dart average of 97.37.[28]
Humphries won the tournament, his ninth European Tour title and first in Belgium. The victory extended his run of winning a European Tour title every year since 2022, and placed him in joint-second on the all-time list of European Tour winners alongside Gerwyn Price and Peter Wright, and behind Van Gerwen.[26][29] Speaking after the match, Humphries said he "felt the nerves" when attempting to close out the match, saying: "I did [feel the nerves] in the end there because Jonny [Clayton] is one of the most underrated darts players in the world. He's always there and you can't shake him off."[26] "I'm just dedicated and working so hard to push every darts player and be the best version of myself," added the world number two, before joking that he was going to "keep trying to be the second-best player in the world".[30] Speaking in defeat, Clayton praised his opponent, calling Humphries "a great asset to darts". He remarked: "When you've got to face the likes of Luke [Humphries] week in, week out, it's difficult, but I'm still a part of it, so I'm proud of myself."[23]
Draw
The draw was announced on 19 March.[14] Numbers to the left of a player's name show the seedings for the top 16 in the tournament. The figures to the right of a player's name state their three-dart average in a match. The three reserve players are indicated by 'Alt'. Players in bold denote match winners.[28]
Luke Humphries (ENG)
