DISCUSSION | German Darts Grand Prix 2026 - Is it time to stop protecting absent big names? Aspinall and Noppert thrive and concerns for German darts

The stars did not mainly descend on the German Darts Grand Prix this past weekend but what instead came in their place were a number of top darting stars who have long shown consistency or form at previous junctures.

Nathan Aspinall will no doubt take some solace from winning the German Darts Grand Prix, one of multiple players to complain about passport queues he now will be almost there when it comes to Dortmund qualification and won't have to play as many.

A weekend where he admitted himself that he had doubts about his motivation towards the game in an interview with DartsNews, he went on to silence his own self perception.

Having survived a match dart in his opening round, he saw off Martin Schindler and won six straight legs to dispatch the German number one. He then backed it up with victory over Andrew Gilding which was a bit of a war of attrition 6-4. He then demolished Kevin Doets who himself had been one of the early stars of the weekend 7-2 with a 106.40 average before taking down Danny Noppert in a blockbuster salvo.

Noppert himself had seen off Krzysztof Ratajski and priorly Jonny Clayton beforehand to set up that tie with Aspinall which he lost 8-5. But it was a weekend with a lot of talking points from the leading two down to the German demise and even the Blade X dartboard. As well as the big names continuing to get protection not to turn up anyway.

It was an interesting weekend but one that was a bit like a ProTour in that it showed that in reality it did not need the big names in order for it to flourish.

It kind of brings a wider issue to me on the European Tour and one likely felt by those like Noppert and even Ratajski, Zonneveld and Michael Smith who attend or try to qualify in Smith's case most of these tournaments but aren't given that protection that the big names are given who get a free pass and often don't even play anyway.

Humphries, Littler and co can be semi forgiven for the fact that they have Premier League duty and are picking and choosing their calendar a bit more but for me it's a bit embarrassing that they are often seen like Price at the boxing, Aspinall, Littler and Humphries at Cheltenham or even exhibitions and not playing these tournaments.

Fans expect the big names and the PDC put in this level of protection to make sure they are there for them not to be which is always very interesting to me.

Nathan Aspinall like alluded to will no doubt love the fact that he now has to play less and avoid the passport queues, while Noppert continues like Aspinall to confound the fact that he was skipped from the Premier League. With Rock not at his best in particular, both will look at it and think it's time to prove a point and both have.

It is good to see Krzysztof Ratajski too back at it and in great form especially after health issues last year while Doets, Zonneveld both lead a charge of Dutch players ready to take MVG's crown and join Van Veen at the top of the sport. Both are less uncertainties but now rock steady.

The German Darts Grand Prix once again delivered a perfect Easter weekend of darts. With Nathan Aspinall, the tournament also crowned a deserving winner. Before the event, I didn’t expect too much from Aspinall, as his start to the season had been rather inconsistent. However, he improved from match to match and showed that he remains a serious contender in 2026. His scoring in Munich was outstanding, even if his doubling was not always consistent.

You have to feel for Danny Noppert, though. He fell short in a European Tour final for the fourth time. Once again, he produced a strong and typically solid tournament, but in the end, he lacked a bit of luck.

I was also impressed by the Dutch players Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld. Both delivered excellent performances, and Doets in particular finally made a deep run on the European Tour, even if he ran out of steam towards the end. Andrew Gilding also deserves mention among the positives. Coming in as a replacement, he reached the quarter-finals, defeated Wessel Nijman in the first round, and even produced a “moonwalk” – what more could you want from “Goldfinger”? Marcel Hausotter also impressed, showing great composure against Raymond van Barneveld and then going toe-to-toe with Jonny Clayton. A very strong performance, making him the only German player who truly convinced me, alongside Niko Springer’s display against Michael van Gerwen.

I still have some concerns about Martin Schindler. Although he won his opening match against Brendan Dolan, the performance itself was not particularly convincing. In his last-16 defeat, he offered little resistance and once again averaged below 85. Still, it was important prize money for Germany’s number one. Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright had both impressed earlier in the week at the Players Championship events, but in Munich, they were eliminated without much impact in their opening matches.

Another loser of the weekend was the Winmau Blade X. Once again, there were simply far too many bounce-outs on the new board. This is something that urgently needs to be addressed, as these bounce-outs are significantly affecting matches, and the criticism is growing louder.

By nature, it’s easy to see things through rose-tinted glasses when attending an event in person, experiencing the entire spectacle up close and having the opportunity to speak directly with the players. Nevertheless, I have to draw an honest conclusion: the German Darts Grand Prix 2026 did not truly deliver this year.

The usually wonderful and unique Easter weekend atmosphere did flare up at times, but overall it fell well short of expectations. The reasons for this are partly obvious — though I still expected more. Of course, it doesn’t help that Germany’s European Tour results are currently as weak as they have been for quite some time. The country’s leading figure, Martin Schindler, continues to battle through a very difficult start to the season, as he also confirmed in an interview with our editorial team. Niko Springer initially caused a stir with his performance against Michael van Gerwen, but was then eliminated rather quietly by Michael Smith. Once again, the final session passed without German representation.

However — and this should certainly not be overlooked — there was one bright spot. One player who unleashed the full force of the Zenith Munich crowd over the weekend: Marcel Hausotter. And I can only say: what a fantastic character. At just 34 years of age, “Hausi” is already something of a long-standing figure in German darts, a permanent fixture on the Berlin scene and well beyond. And on Saturday, the moment finally arrived: after 22 years in darts and three previous appearances on the European Tour stage, the popular Berliner celebrated his first European Tour match victory.

The scenes afterwards will stay with me for quite some time. Like a Duracell bunny, Hausotter bounced through the press area before the interviews, pacing back and forth while speaking with us media representatives in a refreshingly open, emotional, and entertaining way. On what was otherwise an unusually low-energy weekend, Hausotter provided one of those special European Tour stories — perhaps the only one this time, but a memorable one nonetheless.

The German Darts Grand Prix certainly didn’t disappoint over the Easter weekend. Despite the absence of a number of big names, there was plenty of excitement to be had in Munich.

For me, Danny Noppert’s performance stood out the most, in both a positive and a negative sense. Positively because he played well throughout the weekend and deservedly reached the final, negatively because he once again failed to cap it off with a title. His fourth Euro Tour final and once again he couldn’t quite pull it off. He had recently stated in Wieze that he would very much like to win a Euro Tour event, so I really would have liked to see him succeed. Nevertheless, I think Aspinall was simply the deserved winner. He played better in the final and actually made it tense for himself by starting to miss doubles; otherwise, the result could have been much more one-sided.

Another Dutchman who certainly deserves a mention is Niels Zonneveld. I don’t know what he eats before the European Tour tournaments, but he managed to reach the quarter-finals for the third event in a row. Whereas he had reached the semi-finals on the previous two occasions, he was knocked out in the quarter-finals this time. But with these results, he has effectively already secured his place in the World Matchplay and the European Darts Championship at the start of 2026. And that is a tremendous achievement for the current world number 38.

Kevin Doets also had a very successful weekend, reaching the semi-finals. He made a particularly strong impression in his quarter-final against Dirk van Duijvenbode, throwing 10 180s and recording an average of over 107. That was reminiscent of his first-round match against Jonas Masalin at the European Darts Trophy, where he threw a record average of 117.12.

To be perfectly honest, I found the Germans a bit of a let-down in front of their home crowd this weekend. Qualifier Marcel Hausotter perhaps pulled off the biggest upset by beating Raymond van Barneveld 6-4. But to be fair, it’s not really that big a surprise these days. Springer managed a fine 6-1 victory over Michael van Gerwen in the second round, and Schindler also reached the final day. But on Sunday, they both fell a bit short, with Schindler in particular disappointing with an average of just 83. All in all it was just another entertaining darts weekend in Germany.

Another Euro Tour in 2026, another different winner. Once more, the PDC shows off its wide range of talented darters constantly challenging for titles week in, week out.

The award this time out goes the way of Nathan Aspinall, and deservingly so. The passion seen on the oche throughout the final session showed just how much this meant to him. His decision to not defend his title in Gottingen was met with perplexed eyes, but these have been altered as ‘The Asp’ takes home a fourth Euro Tour title. He is still winning tournaments at the highest level against the best in the world, again showcasing that maybe his exclusion from the Premier League was the wrong one.

Danny Noppert again just misses out on a Euro Tour title, but the signs remain good that he will stick around at the top of the sport for a while to come. While other big names faltered and got themselves entangled in battles, ‘The Freeze’ kept his cool throughout to deliver another deep run. There would be obvious frustrations that he was unable to see it out, and rightly so. However, the positive signs are still there for the whole of the darting world to see. It now feels like a matter of time until he finally tastes glory.

Away from the finalists, the German Darts Grand Prix was a purely dramatic tournament. The last-leg deciders made for fascinating viewing along with big names crashing out in the early stages. Michael van Gerwen and Gian van Veen suffered this fate, but instead of a tight battle were thrashed by Niko Springer and William O’Connor respectively. This proves that it does not matter how much calibre and class follow you on stage, it could be blown away completely if their opponent is at the races.

Moving back to the last-leg deciders, and Ricardo Pietreczko was one of these names engulfed in a brace of them. This was just a side issue for the main and concerning story about his throw. The lingering concerns of dartitis have crept in which made for some tough viewing at times. However, he continued to bravely battle on and won the hearts of the German fans packed in the Kulturhalle Zenith. He would fall to Aspinall at the second stage, someone who knows that feeling all too well.

One final mention, away from darts, was how well-behaved the crowd were. Certain darters have shared their displeasure, and sometimes rightly so, with the booing and whistling sometimes overshadowing a cracking game of darts at times. However, on this Easter weekend in Munich, the fans behaved magnificently. While supporting their home heroes, they paid total respect to their rivals, showing what a proper Euro Tour crowd should look like.

It turned out to be a particularly intriguing weekend in Munich. The absence of Luke Littler proved to be a blessing for the tournament, while several other top names had also opted to skip the event, including Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson and Gerwyn Price. On top of that, leading contenders such as Wessel Nijman, Gian van Veen, James Wade and Michael van Gerwen were all eliminated early at the fourth European Tour event of the season, opening the door for others to make a serious push for the title.

In the end, it was Andrew Gilding, Nathan Aspinall, Kevin Doets, Niels Zonneveld, Michael Smith, Krzysztof Ratajski, Danny Noppert and Jonny Clayton who reached the quarter-finals. A strong and diverse line-up, yet notably without a clear standout favourite among them. For Noppert in particular, it looked like a golden opportunity to claim a European Tour title, having already secured a major and a Players Championship title earlier in his career.

Noppert ultimately made it all the way to the final but fell short against Aspinall. ‘The Asp’ had gone ten years without lifting a European Tour trophy, but has now remarkably claimed four titles in the space of roughly 13 months. It is a success story many can appreciate, as the Englishman is anything but a background figure and consistently brings intensity and presence to the stage.

For Doets, it was a breakthrough weekend. The Dutchman reached the final session of a European Tour event for the first time and advanced to the semi-finals. He is now in a strong position to qualify for major events later this year, including the World Matchplay, World Grand Prix and the European Championship. The same applies even more so to Zonneveld, who is virtually assured of a place in those three majors already. In fact, there is a realistic chance that as many as eight Dutch players will feature across those events, with Van Veen, Van Gerwen, Noppert, Jermaine Wattimena, Nijman and Dirk van Duijvenbode also firmly in contention. That would mean a quarter of the field coming from the Netherlands, a notable achievement.

Belgian darts, however, appears to be facing a more difficult period. At present, no Belgian player is projected to qualify for either the World Matchplay or the World Grand Prix. Dimitri Van den Bergh has dropped out of the top tier of the world rankings, while Mike De Decker is also slipping down the order and still has the added pressure of defending his 2024 World Grand Prix title later this year.

There is, however, one Belgian on the rise. Kim Huybrechts has recently started working with Belgian darts icon Erik Clarys, and that partnership already appears to be paying dividends. His performances have improved significantly. At the start of the season, Huybrechts was at risk of losing his Tour Card, but those concerns have now eased. ‘The Hurricane’ has firmly re-entered the conversation for major qualification. He reached the last 16 in Munich and is also set to feature in the next two European Tour events. Do not be surprised to see Huybrechts back on the major stage multiple times later this year.

With the German Darts Grand Prix, the fourth event of the 2026 European Tour took place last weekend. After earlier victories by Luke Littler, Wessel Nijman, and Luke Humphries, we once again had a different winner — and perhaps a somewhat surprising one.

Although Nathan Aspinall is a well-established name at the top level, he has struggled in recent months and has been searching for confidence. After winning his opening match in Munich, he even admitted that he was not really enjoying his darts at the moment. But how quickly things can change. Following his victory in the final against Danny Noppert, we suddenly saw a delighted Aspinall again, clearly having rediscovered his love for the game. The question now is whether he can carry this form and renewed confidence into the upcoming major tournaments.

From a Dutch perspective, the standout performer was Noppert, who reached the final. After claiming five Players Championship titles, ‘The Freeze’ is eager to finally secure a European Tour title, but for now he will have to wait a little longer.

Fellow Dutch players Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld also made their mark in Munich, reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals respectively. A disappointment, however, was the early exit of Michael van Gerwen. The 36-year-old remains inconsistent, and with several major tournaments approaching, he will need to find greater stability.

There were also positives from a Belgian perspective. Kim Huybrechts produced a strong performance to keep the Belgian flag flying high. In recent months, he has worked intensively with former Belgian number one Erik Clarys, and that hard work now appears to be paying off. Huybrechts eventually fell in the third round to Jonny Clayton, but posting a 100+ average was certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

Attention now turns to the European Darts Grand Prix in two weeks’ time. Littler and Humphries will once again be absent, but Gary Anderson — the defending champion in Sindelfingen — is expected to make his first European Tour appearance of the season.