Baltic Sea Darts Open 2026: Schedule, Field, Draw, and Predictions

The Baltic Sea Darts Open 2026 is due to take place between 29-31 May, 2026 at the Wunderino Arena in Kiel, Germany and is the eighth of fifteen PDC European Tour events.

It will feature 48 players as well as £230,000 in prize money with £35,000 going to the winner. Gerwyn Price is the defending champion having defeated Gary Anderson 8-3 in the 2025 final.

Luke Humphries is set to lead the field as top seed. Gian van Veen, Michael van Gerwen, Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price among others will be the top seeds in Kiel. This comes after the International Darts Open in Riesa this weekend.

The draw will be confirmed on Thursday 28th May at around 12pm BST/ 1pm CET.

The schedule will be confirmed at around the same time as the draw on the Thursday.

Samuel Gill, Head Editor for DartsNews.com sees MVG winning the title.

I see Michael van Gerwen winning the title as I don't see Humphries or Clayton playing given they were in the Premier League Darts play-offs the days before.

I see MVG still playing so pick him automatically. Others who I see doing well would be Gerwyn Price, Ross Smith, Martin Schindler and Wessel Nijman.

*** Michael van Gerwen

** Gerwyn Price, Ross Smith

* Martin Schindler, Wessel Nijman

Lucas Michael, Editor for TennisUpToDate.com sees Stephen Bunting likely to claim the title.

The usual names are back in action at the Baltic Sea Darts Open with another European Tour title set to be battled out.

Luke Humphries seems to be getting back to his best, especially on the outer ring. His scoring has been a sight to behold in recent times, and he will go into this tournament as the favourite. Reigning champion Gerwyn Price seems to be going the other way after a brilliant start to the year. Both players are looking for a second Euro Tour title in 2026.

Both Gian van Veen and Michael van Gerwen have not shown their best form on the Euro Tour this year. After Premier League disappointment, the duo will be fired up for the tournament. Whether they can show their best form is another story.

Josh Rock’s Premier League debut has also come to an end, but he seems to be finding his best darts once more. His title charge in Austria was very impressive. He will fancy his chances once more for a third Euro Tour title. The likes of Jonny Clayton, Nathan Aspinall and Wessel Nijman all have solid chances of lifting the title.

For who I think will come out on top, Stephen Bunting catches my eye. I reckon the field may open up and he will capitalise and show his best darts enroute to the title.

*** Stephen Bunting

** Luke Humphries, Nathan Aspinall

* Josh Rock, Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price

Pieter Verbeek, Editor for DartsNieuws.com doesn't see a lot of the big names bothering playing.

A European Tour event scheduled directly after the Premier League Darts play-offs? Then you can almost guarantee that several top names will be missing. For now, Luke Humphries, Jonny Clayton and Gerwyn Price are still listed in the field for this tournament, but in my opinion there is a strong possibility that those names will eventually withdraw. Luke Littler, the other Premier League semi-finalist, will definitely not be in Kiel.

And if we look back over the past eighteen months, Nathan Aspinall is the player who has benefited most often from the absence of many top stars. Before 2025, ‘The Asp’ had never won a European Tour title, but he has now already collected four Euro Tour crowns.

Michael van Gerwen will not be involved in the Premier League play-offs and can therefore head into the Baltic Sea Darts Open fully rested. Perhaps ‘Mighty Mike’ can add another ranking title to his tally there. The same applies to players such as Gian van Veen, Josh Rock and Stephen Bunting. And of course, after all of his ProTour success in 2026, Wessel Nijman also has to be considered one of the outsiders for the title.

*** Nathan Aspinall

** Michael van Gerwen, Josh Rock

* Gian van Veen, Stephen Bunting, Wessel Nijman

Nicolas Gayer, Editor for DartsNews.DE sees Luke Humphries winning if he plays.

If he does not withdraw from the tournament despite it taking place directly after the Premier League Darts Play-Offs, I expect Luke Humphries to claim his second European Tour title of the year in Kiel.

After a somewhat inconsistent and complicated few weeks and months, Humphries now appears to be rediscovering his absolute best form. Looking at his most recent performances at the time of writing, you have to go back nine matches to find an average below the 100 mark — a run that includes absurd figures of 112, 110, 109, and 107. “Cool Hand Luke” is currently flying through darts arenas, and in my opinion he will lift the trophy into the northern German night sky.

Alongside Humphries, I am particularly looking forward to Max Hopp’s first European Tour appearance of the season. Hopp has been in strong form since his return to the Tour, but in 2026 in particular he has arguably been playing the best darts of his career. I am very curious to see how he can translate that form onto the televised stage. Given that he is highly accustomed to the TV spotlight and has a wealth of experience to draw on, I can well imagine Hopp announcing his return with a strong weekend in Kiel.

Favourites:

*** Luke Humphries

** Wessel Nijman, Kevin Doets

* Nathan Aspinall, Jonny Clayton, Ryan Searle

Mats Leering, Editor for DartsNieuws.com sees Wessel Nijman as winning the title.

My prediction depends very much on whether Premier League players such as Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price, and Jonny Clayton, who are currently still on the list of participants, will actually turn up to play. Given that the Premier League Finals Night is being played on the Thursday evening before, there is a good chance that they will pull out after all.

Should they actually take part, all three are among the favourites for the title. But to be honest, I have my doubts, so I’m looking at other names.

Naturally, there are also a number of Dutch players among the favourites. At the moment, so many are in such good form that it is difficult to choose. But Wessel Nijman and Kevin Doets have been showing for weeks now that they are in top form, which means they could well win here too. Michael van Gerwen also seems to be regaining his form more and more and should therefore not be ruled out as a contender.

Another name you haven’t really heard much about in terms of titles or finals for a while is Stephen Bunting. Yet I have a feeling he might well make a big impression here. Another outsider who I’ve thought has been playing well for weeks is Chris Dobey. Names such as Ross Smith, Nathan Aspinall, and Danny Noppert are also high on my list of contenders.

Favourites:

***Wessel Nijman

**Stephen Bunting, Chris Dobey

*Kevin Doets, Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert

Bram Coenen, Editor for DartsNieuws.com also picks Humphries for the title.

We have already seen six different winners on the European Tour this year, and there is certainly a realistic chance that we could get another ‘new’ winner at the Baltic Sea Darts Open. The tournament takes place shortly after the conclusion of the Premier League Darts play-offs, so it is possible that some of the top players may decide to withdraw. That makes predicting a winner even more difficult.

If top seed Luke Humphries does compete, he is my clear favourite to win the tournament. ‘Cool Hand Luke’ showed his excellent form again last week by winning a Players Championship event. Humphries seems to be peaking at exactly the right moment, with the Premier League climax approaching and both the World Cup of Darts and the World Matchplay coming up soon.

Besides Humphries, we also cannot ignore the Dutch players, who have been outstanding on the Pro Tour this year. Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert, Wessel Nijman and Kevin Doets have all impressed with strong performances. Remarkably, even second seed Gian van Veen is currently going through a slightly weaker spell. Can he rediscover his best form at the Baltic Sea Darts Open?

Finally, I would like to mention a perhaps slightly surprising name: Andrew Gilding. He has been performing brilliantly on the Players Championship circuit in recent weeks. The question is whether he can carry that form into Kiel as well.

*** Luke Humphries

** Wessel Nijman, Kevin Doets

* Danny Noppert, Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Andrew Gilding