What time does Gian van Veen vs Ryan Searle start on Sunday at the 2026 Dutch Darts Championship?
PDC
From Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October, Maastricht hosts the Dutch Darts Championship 2026. It is the fifteenth and final tournament of this season’s PDC European Tour.
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With Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton among those competing, an exciting weekend of darts is in store.
The Dutch Darts Championship brings the European Tour season to a close. In Maastricht, players will compete not only for the year’s final European Tour title, but also for vital places in the European Tour Order of Merit. The top 32 players in the standings qualify for the European Championship, which takes place in Dortmund from 22 to 25 October.
Ross Smith has already secured top spot in the standings and will begin the European Championship as the top seed. Several other players still have plenty to play for in Maastricht, as they look to secure their place in the European Championship.
Michael van Gerwen is one of many Dutch players competing at the Dutch Darts Championship.
Many top players set to compete in Maastricht
The 48-player field includes 16 seeded players, who enter the tournament in the second round. Luke Humphries is the top seed, followed by Gian van Veen and Gerwyn Price. Jonny Clayton, who won the Swiss Darts Trophy in Basel last Sunday, is seeded fourth.
Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert, Wessel Nijman and Jermaine Wattimena are also among the seeded players. Other players, including Dirk van Duijvenbodd, Niels Zonneveld and Jeffrey de Graaf, qualified through the ProTour Order of Merit. Kim Huybrechts is also in the field. The tournament is particularly important for “The Hurricane”, who is still fighting for a place in the European Championship.
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Other familiar names in action on the opening day include Rob Cross, Damon Heta, Cameron Menzies, Joe Cullen and Dave Chisnall. Scott Williams, Max Hopp and Michael Smith are among those who qualified through the Tour Card qualifier.
Big names begin their campaigns on Saturday
The Dutch Darts Championship gets under way with the first round on Friday 16 October. The 32 unseeded players will compete across the afternoon and evening sessions.
The 16 seeded players do not begin their campaigns until Saturday. They will face Friday’s winners in the second round. That means players such as Van Gerwen, Van Veen, Nijman, Humphries, Price and Clayton will play their opening matches on Saturday 17 October.
Sunday 18 October is devoted entirely to the tournament’s conclusion. The afternoon session features all eight third-round matches. The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will then be played in succession during the evening session.
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Read also
How to watch the Dutch Darts Championship in the UK
Darts fans in the UK can watch the Dutch Darts Championship live on PDCTV.
A PDCTV subscription is required to watch the matches. The platform also carries other PDC events, including the Players Championship tournaments.
Dutch Darts Championship 2026 TV schedule
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| Date | Round | Time (GMT) |
| Friday 16 October | First round | 12:00–16:00 (afternoon session) |
| Friday 16 October | First round | 18:00–22:00 (evening session) |
| Saturday 17 October | Second round | 12:00–16:00 (afternoon session) |
| Saturday 17 October | Second round | 18:00–22:00 (evening session) |
| Sunday 18 October | Third round | 12:00–16:00 (afternoon session) |
| Sunday 18 October | Quarter-finals, semi-finals and final | 18:00–22:00 (evening session) |
Schedule Dutch Darts Championship
Sunday October 18
Afternoon session (13:00 CET, 12:00 BST)
| Gian van Veen | (96.72) 6-1 (86.35) | Brendan Dolan | L16 |
| Ryan Searle | (92.7) 6-4 (91.14) | Ross Smith | L16 |
| William O'Connor | (94.2) 4-6 (98.01) | Luke Woodhouse | L16 |
| Danny Noppert | (100.44) 6-3 (99.17) | Jermaine Wattimena | L16 |
| Gerwyn Price | (94.87) 4-6 (95.59) | Niels Zonneveld | L16 |
| Wessel Nijman | (97.04) 6-3 (89.93) | Cristo Reyes | L16 |
| Damon Heta | (102.5) 6-4 (104.09) | Martin Schindler | L16 |
| Stephen Bunting | (92.3) 6-1 (90.98) | Nathan Aspinall | L16 |
Evening session (19:00 CET, 18:00 BST)
| Gian van Veen | v | Ryan Searle | Quarter-final |
| Luke Woodhouse | v | Danny Noppert | Quarter-final |
| Niels Zonneveld | v | Wessel Nijman | Quarter-final |
| Damon Heta | v | Stephen Bunting | Quarter-final |
| TBC | v | TBC | Semi-final |
| TBC | v | TBC | Semi-final |
| TBC | v | TBC | Final |
Kieran WoodDarts Journalist
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He contributes to DartsNews.com, where he covers professional darts through news, match reports, analysis, and live coverage across the PDC calendar and major tournaments.
A key part of his work is on-site reporting from leading events. Kieran has covered the PDC World Darts Championship in person, reporting daily from the venue and providing first-hand insight from the tournament. During his coverage, he has conducted interviews with leading players including Luke Littler, Luke Humphries, and Gerwyn Price.
He is also one of the leading voices of the English-language Dartsnews Podcast, contributing regular analysis and discussion on developments across the professional darts circuit.
In his reporting, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Play all legs and the winners split the pot. Luke gets the lot of he wins them all. If your occupation is darts player you can't enter, regardless of ability.BandB01-11-2026
- I'm quite a jaded person all things considered, but to be honest I found Beat Luke Littler to be pretty entertaining. It certainly wasn't seamless, which is to be expected given the lack of precedence, but I actually think the pacing was pretty good, the production was impressive, and there was a good sense of humour and levity to it. I think it was a very ambitious undertaking but one that, for the most part, paid off. I liked the system with the four pots and I think it added to the drama and intrigue. I enjoyed seeing the diverse range of entrants and learning about their backstories. I think the interactivity was pretty clever and well-integrated. The panel was a little incoherent at times; Lee Mack shone however, and his improvisational skills were appreciated during some more awkward interstitial moments. As far as the darts is concerned, it was a shame that the format didn't allow Littler to get into full flow. You obviously don't want him to steamroll everyone but you want to feel like you're getting the full Littler package rather than seeing him struggling to get out of first gear. I will say that his leg against Jayden Walker was very impressive, but it was mostly downhill from there. The attraction revolves around Littler being this untouchable, indomitable force, yet the format doesn't really allow him to fulfil that characterisation. As for Fallon Sherrock, she was mightily impressive and deserved the victory. It is a testament to her unshakeable character that she was able to bang in a 14-darter under such mind-bending pressure. Everything that has been said about the misleading marketing is valid, though they were clear about their eligibility criteria and were able to offload the responsibility somewhat by bringing the viewers into the decision-making process in real time. What is clear though, is that Fallon played the game according to the rules, and she should not be criticised for that, much less abused. I will admit though that it is a kick in the teeth for those true amateurs who committed time and money to the course, and I would also question those who think pub players would have no chance, given that some of Littler's winning legs were dispatched in 7 visits to the board! The great thing about darts is that it isn't so much that amateurs cannot replicate the feats of brilliance pulled off by professionals of the sport, than it is that they simply cannot replicate the consistency of their output, something that this format almost entirely removes from the equation. It should also be noted that, financially, Fallon certainly stands to benefit much less in relative terms from the paycheque than would your average pub thrower, as I'm sure she nets a fair income from the lucrative exhibition circuit alone. What I do hope is that she might use this as an opportunity to really build up a head of steam heading into the new season, as it seems long overdue that she come through Q-School and really take it to the pros on a week-in week-out basis, but whatever she chooses to do, she has certainly achieved enough already for one if not several lifetimes, so who am I to dictate terms? To conclude though, I will state once again that I found Beat Luke Littler to be a pretty enjoyable evening of entertainment. I do feel for the contestants who never actually had the chance to try their luck against the world #1, although I suppose it comes with the format, but all which inevitably raises the question: will Netflix be tempted to do it all again next year? It's hard to say. Whether it would be financially viable, I can't weigh in there. One point I have been making though, and which I touched on earlier, is that the entire concept relies on a public perception that Littler is more or less unbeatable, and that certainly hasn't been the case of late. If the execs had been trying to pitch the show in recent months while Littler has seemed vulnerable, rather than when he was mopping up almost every major title on the calendar, it would certainly be a tougher sell. We will have to see in about 6 months' time whether Littler can still reliably command perception as a near-unstoppable force in darts, and then we'll have a clearer idea about whether we should expect a second helping. Even as a one-off experiment though, and with all the controversy taken into account, I still don't think they disgraced themselves by any means, and that will probably be my lingering assessment of the event when all is said and done.Deduce635801-11-2026
- Fair play to Fallon. But...shows the mockery when a professional players wins what was meant to be an amateur v Pro event, Littlers performance was poor, and what about the players who didn't get a game? Would have been better if the pot was split amoungst all the winners and they all got a leg.BandB31-10-2026
- Not even slightly interestedrick6730-10-2026
- And yet the PDC has decided to aggravate this problem by doubling the Players Championship Finals field from 2027. I can't imagine there will be fewer withdrawals next year with even less reason to turn up. I can only hope that a whole slew of Challenge Tour top-up players receive enough prize money in the absence of much of the elite, that some of the more complacent among them struggle to scrape into even a heavily diluted field! More semi-pro players will get to test their mettle, but the standard of competition will be much inferior. It could hardly be said that the Players Championship series will provide an opportunity for darts' second string to test their Tour Card credentials anymore, but at least it will underscore the achievements of those Challenge Tour players of current and previous years, who were able to prove themselves as more than capable of competing with, and beating, the elite of the sport on a consistent basis, and reaping the due rewards.Deduce635828-10-2026
- No point in being there? Champions want to win.Deduce635828-10-2026
- Littler lost to crabtree in the youth/junior/whatever you call it. He had no point in being there. He's unfortunately now got to the stage,he feels all he has to do is get on the stage to win. Well,I hope he realises part of his fear factor has gone. Happened to Taylor,then van gerwen,and it's causing him to realise pretty sharp,he isn't unstoppable. It's good for the sport,not 1 single player in my 60 years has ever,or will ever be, unbeatable.rick6725-10-2026
- I think it's great to see Mark Webster looking good,good ladrick6725-10-2026
- I agree,I can't believe the lack of coverage of this sad loss. Always enjoyed watching him,but I guess now it's all about littler,well it seems that way. Darts has sadly lost a good manrick6717-10-2026
- In the absence of a report regarding the death of Stefan Lord, I'll assist. An excellent player in the late 70s and early 80s, he actually won the now defunct 3rd place match at two World Championships and a couple of the News of the World Championships. A fabulous player and easily the best Swedish player ever. Rest peacefully Stefan.richieburnettrocks16-10-2026