2026 European Darts Open
Darts tournament
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The 2026 European Darts Open (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Open) is a professional darts tournament that is taking place at the Ostermann-Arena in Leverkusen, Germany, from 10 to 12 July 2026.[1] It is the tenth of fifteen PDC European Tour events on the 2026 PDC Pro Tour. It features a field of 48 players and £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner.
| 2026 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament information | |||
| Dates | 10–12 July 2026 | ||
| Venue | Ostermann-Arena | ||
| Location | Leverkusen, Germany | ||
| Organisation(s) | Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) | ||
| Format | Legs | ||
| Prize fund | £230,000 | ||
| Winner's share | £35,000 | ||
| High checkout | |||
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Nathan Aspinall is the defending champion, having defeated Damon Heta 8–6 in the 2025 final.[2]
Prize money
As part of a mass boost in prize money for Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events in 2026, the prize fund for all 2026 European Tour events rose to £230,000, of which the winner will receive £35,000.[3]
| Stage (num. of players) | Prize money | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | (1) | £35,000 |
| Runner-up | (1) | £15,000 |
| Semi-finalists | (2) | £10,000 |
| Quarter-finalists | (4) | £8,000 |
| Third round losers | (8) | £5,000 |
| Second round losers | (16) | £3,500* |
| First round losers | (16) | £2,000* |
| Total | £230,000 | |
- 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.[4]
Qualification and format
The top 16 players on the two-year PDC Order of Merit will be seeded and will enter 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 13 May.[5] The remaining 16 places will go to players from four qualifying events – 10 from the Tour Card Holder Qualifier (held on 20 May),[6] four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 17 May),[7] one from the Nordic & Baltic Associate Member Qualifier (held on 15 May),[8] and one from the East European Associate Member Qualifier (held on 4 July).
Gary Anderson, Ryan Searle, and Gerwyn Price withdrew and were replaced by Robert Owen, Max Hopp, and Dominik Grüllich. Luke Woodhouse, Damon Heta, and Krzysztof Ratajski moved up to become the 14th, 15th, and 16th seeds, respectively.[9]
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Summary
First round
The first round (best of 11 legs) was played on 10 July.[10] Host nation qualifier Jan Schmidt produced a comeback from 5–1 down to defeat Cameron Menzies in a deciding leg. "I really came here believing that I’m capable of winning on the European Tour, and I took this belief on to the stage," Schmidt said afterwards.[10] Fellow German qualifier Dragutin Horvat achieved his first win on the European Tour since 2023 by beating Mario Vandenbogaerde 6–2. The two other host nation qualifiers, Jaimy Van de Weerd and Daniel Klose, lost their respective matches to Dirk van Duijvenbode and Niels Zonneveld.[10] Aside from the host nation qualifiers, two other German players were victorious in the first round; Niko Springer registered a three-dart average of 105.21 in a 6–2 win over Darius Labanauskas, and Max Hopp earned a 6–3 victory against 2018 world champion Rob Cross.[11] Sebastian Białecki and Karel Sedláček both survived four match darts from their opponents, winning deciding legs against William O'Connor and European Tour debutant Rhys Griffin, respectively.[12][13]
Joe Cullen took a 5–1 lead before eventually winning 6–4 against Charlie Manby, who converted ton-plus checkouts in defeat. Kevin Doets overturned a 3–1 deficit to defeat Dominik Grüllich 6–4. Robert Owen missed double 12 for a nine-dart finish in his match against Andrew Gilding, but the Welshman recovered to claim a 6–5 victory, hitting eight maximums in the process. Mickey Mansell defeated Czech qualifier Michal Šmejda 6–1, while Ryan Joyce beat Finnish qualifier Mio Varila by the same scoreline. Samuel Price, another European Tour debutant, was beaten 6–1 by Kim Huybrechts. Maik Kuivenhoven was a 6–3 winner against Daryl Gurney, while Bradley Brooks defeated Lukas Wenig 6–2.[10][13]
Draw
The draw was announced on 9 July.[9] Numbers to the left of a player's name show the seedings for the top 16 in the tournament.
