The 2026 European Darts Trophy (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2026 Elten Safety Shoes European Darts Trophy) was a professional darts tournament that took place at the Lokhalle[de] in Göttingen, Germany, from 13 to 15 March 2026.[1] It was the second of fifteen PDC European Tour events on the 2026 PDC Pro Tour.[2] It featured a field of 48 players and £230,000 in prize money, with £35,000 going to the winner.
Nathan Aspinall won the 2025 edition, having defeated Ryan Joyce 8–4 in the final.[3] However, Aspinall did not enter the tournament, and therefore did not defend his title.
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.[6]
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. World number one and back-to-back world champion Luke Littler did not participate, having not entered a European Tour event in Germany since the German Darts Grand Prix in April 2025. The seedings were confirmed on 5 February.[7][8] The remaining 16 places went to players from four qualifying events – 10 from the Tour Card Holder Qualifier (held on 11 February),[9] four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held on 28 February),[10] one from the Nordic & Baltic Associate Member Qualifier (held on 6 February),[11] and one from the East European Associate Member Qualifier (held on 24 January).[12]
Kevin Doets(pictured in 2024) defeated Jonas Masalin 6–0 with a three-dart average of 117.12, the highest in tournament history and the joint-fifth highest in European Tour history.
The first round (best of 11 legs) was played on 13 March.[15]Kevin Doets recorded a career-high three-dart average of 117.12 in a whitewash win over Finnish debutant Jonas Masalin. Surpassing Michael van Gerwen's 115.13 mark in 2016 as the highest average in the tournament's history, it was also the joint-fifth highest average in European Tour history.[16] Speaking after the match, Doets stated that he "started to feel comfortable" after Masalin missed darts to level the match at 1–1. "I’m in a really good place right now, I’m very confident, and I think I’m going to win tomorrow as well," he added.[15] Eight-time European Tour winner Dave Chisnall trailed Jeffrey de Zwaan 5–0 but won the next six legs to complete a 6–5 comeback victory, surviving three missed match darts from De Zwaan. "It was a weird game," said Chisnall afterwards. "That last leg was a bit weird, we both didn’t score well. But I took the finish, and I’m happy."[15] Host nation qualifier Paul Krohne earned his first win on the European Tour by defeating Cameron Menzies 6–4. The other host nation qualifiers were unsuccessful: Dragutin Horvat and Florian Preis were whitewashed by Luke Woodhouse and Ricky Evans, respectively, while Florian Hempel lost 6–3 to Richard Veenstra.[16]Ryan Joyce, the runner-up the previous year, lost 6–3 to Lukas Wenig.[17]
The second round (best of 11 legs) was played on 14 March.[19] Despite third seed Michael van Gerwen averaging 107, Niels Zonneveld eliminated the three-time champion in a 6–2 victory, averaging 104.46 himself. Gerwyn Price began his campaign by defeating Joe Cullen 6–2 with an average of 106.70. "If I can build on that and get better, I think this tournament is mine," said Price afterwards.[20] Niko Springer achieved another deciding-leg win, beating fifth seed Stephen Bunting 6–5 in a match marred by whistling from the Göttingen crowd, which resulted in referee Huw Ware warning the crowd about their behaviour.[21] Springer was the only German player to reach the third round, following the eliminations of Paul Krohne, Lukas Wenig, and eleventh seed Martin Schindler.[22]Karel Sedláček and Cam Crabtree entered the second round as replacements for Luke Humphries and Jonny Clayton. Crabtree, who flew from Washington D.C. to participate, was beaten 6–4 by Kevin Doets, while Sedláček lost to Mensur Suljović by the same scoreline.[19]
Wessel Nijman(pictured in 2025) won his maiden European Tour title in his first final.
The third round, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final were played on 15 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 Gerwyn Price and Wessel Nijman reach the final. Danny Noppert missed a match dart to eliminate Price in the third round, allowing the Welshman to take a 6–5 victory. He then defeated Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–3 and Damon Heta 7–5 to secure his place in the final. Nijman achieved his highest three-dart average on stage in his third-round meeting with Gian van Veen, averaging 112.87 on his way to a 6–1 win. He followed that with a 106.05 average to defeat Josh Rock 6–2, missing double 12 for a nine-dart finish in the third leg of the match, and proceeded to average 110.41 in his 7–1 victory over Niels Zonneveld in the semi-finals. Elsewhere, Richard Veenstra reached his first European Tour quarter-final, losing 6–2 to Zonneveld.[23][24][25] In the final, Price looked to become the second player to win ten European Tour titles, after Michael van Gerwen, while Nijman was pursuing his maiden European Tour title in his first final.[26][27] The pair had met in the second Players Championship final of 2026, where Nijman won 8–7.[28]
Nijman opened the final with a 116 checkout to win the first leg, soon taking a 3–0 lead. At 3–1, Price missed double 18 for a 156 checkout to find a break of throw, which Nijman capitalised on to extend his advantage to 4–1.[25] He then converted checkouts of 97 and 145 to lead 6–1. Following Price's second leg of the match, Nijman completed the next leg in 11 darts to move one away from victory. He secured an 8–3 win with a 150 finish on double 18, finishing the match with a three-dart average of 100.80, hitting 73 per cent of his attempts at double.[23]
Nijman won the European Darts Trophy, the first European Tour title of his career.[27] His 100.80 average in the final completed a run of five consecutive averages above the 100 mark. Winning the £35,000 top prize, he entered the world's top 20 on the PDC Order of Merit.[26] "I think there are no words to describe how I'm feeling right now," commented Nijman after the victory. He added that he "needed to prove to other people that [he] can play like this on the big stage", and said that winning the title was a "big step" towards his goal of reaching the world's top 16, ensuring his seeding status at major tournaments.[26] Speaking in defeat, Price believed he "ran out of gas in the end". He concluded: "Every time I play against Wessel, he plays brilliantly against me. He's been brilliant all year, he played fantastic darts today, but I will get my own back one day."[23]
Draw
The draw was announced on 12 March.[13] 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 five reserve players are indicated by 'Alt'. Players in bold denote match winners.[29]
Wessel Nijman (NED)
