European Championship Friday Round-Up | Luke Humphries sends statement with near 110 average as Luke Littler eases past Van Barneveld
PDC
Luke Littler continued his blistering form at the European Championship on Friday night, storming past Raymond van Barneveld 6–1 to reach the last 16 in Dortmund.
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The world champion’s dominant display headlined an evening that also saw Luke Humphries and Cameron Menzies impress, while Nathan Aspinall continued his incredible form as of late seeing off Rob Cross with ease.
Littler dismantles Van Barneveld
It was a difficult night for five-time world champion Raymond van Barneveld, who struggled to keep pace with the relentless Luke Littler. The 18-year-old didn’t start strongly but quickly punished Barney’s lack of big scoring to move 2–0 ahead with 18- and 19-dart legs.
Van Barneveld responded with a 14-darter to halve the deficit, only to miss five darts to level the match. Littler punished those errors with a 68 checkout before switching darts — a move that paid immediate dividends. The world champion reeled off a 12-darter for 4–1 and then produced a 10-darter followed by a 115 finish to complete a comprehensive 6–1 win.
Follow the European Darts Championship here via our live scores!
Follow the European Darts Championship here via our live scores!
Littler averaged 98.97 to Van Barneveld’s 87.86, hitting three 180s and checking out at 46%. He will face James Wade in the last 16 after “The Machine” cruised past Mike De Decker by the same 6–1 scoreline.
Humphries dominant; Menzies shines in Scottish derby
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World number one Luke Humphries produced the performance of the first round, demolishing Krzysztof Ratajski 6–0 with a stunning 109.98 average — the highest of the night. “Cool Hand Luke” set the tone with back-to-back 180s and a 12-darter, and though Ratajski had early chances, Humphries never relented. Two more 12-darters and an 11-darter sealed a ruthless whitewash as the world champion underlined his title credentials.
Humphries now meets Cameron Menzies, who claimed a memorable 6–3 victory over his compatriot Gary Anderson. Making his European Championship debut, Menzies raced 2–0 ahead before Anderson hit a 13-darter and a brilliant 164 checkout. “The Flying Scotsman” couldn’t maintain that level, missing key doubles to tie the game, and Menzies punished him to move 5–3 in front. The 36-year-old then sealed the deal in style with a superb 12-darter to set up a blockbuster meeting with Humphries.
Aspinall sets Noppert clash
Danny Noppert came out on top in an all-Dutch clash, defeating Dirk van Duijvenbode 6–3 to reach the last 16. After losing their previous two European Championship meetings, “The Freeze” finally got his revenge with a superb 104.88 average.
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Noppert grabbed the first break with an 11-darter to move 3–1 ahead and extended his lead with a 110 checkout for 4–1. Van Duijvenbode responded with a 14-darter but was unable to pressure Noppert’s throw. The former UK Open champion closed out the contest with a 13-darter to secure a meeting with top seed Nathan Aspinall, who breezed past Rob Cross 6–1.
Aspinall continued his terrific run of form as he took down the two-time champion with four 180's and 100.5 average. This after winning three European Tours and also winning the last one in Hildesheim this past week.
Jermaine Wattimena, last year’s surprise European Championship finalist, also advanced thanks to a 6–3 victory over Niko Springer. “The Machine Gun” came out firing with legs of 13, 14, 12 and 11 darts to storm 4–1 ahead.
Springer briefly threatened a comeback but missed four darts to level at 4–4, allowing Wattimena to capitalise on double 16 before wrapping up the match with a 14-darter. The Dutchman now faces Ricardo Pietreczko, who caused one of the night’s biggest upsets by defeating Josh Rock 6–4.
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Milly ThomsonLive Darts Blogger
Milly Thomson is an aspiring journalist with a deep-rooted passion for a wide range of sports, including football, darts, and cricket. She recently completed her university studies, earning a BA (Hons) in Football Business and Media—a degree that has given her a solid foundation in both the commercial and communications aspects of the sporting world.
Milly combines her academic background with her genuine enthusiasm for sports to produce engaging and insightful coverage across multiple disciplines. Her writing reflects a strong understanding of the games she follows, as well as a keen interest in the stories behind the athletes and events.
As she continues to grow in the field of journalism, Milly is committed to using her voice to inform, entertain, and connect with fellow sports fans. With a clear focus on developing her skills and expanding her portfolio, she is excited to contribute meaningful content to the wider sporting community.
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- Ultimately it is a bye for whoever draws Barney. It will be another stroppy and sulky performance once he goes behind. Barney was excellent but really must completely call it a day now.richieburnettrocks07-11-2026
- I'm disappointed he was not able to secure a spot at the Grand Slam. With Carl Sneyd taking care of Daryl Gurney, he would have had to beat Andy Boulton before facing the winner of Sneyd vs Mensur Suljović for a Grand Slam spot. Unfortunately, after beating Filip Bereza comfortably, he succumbed to Boulton, and the board would ultimately be won by the highly inconsistent Carl Sneyd. Since he could instead have been drawn against the likes of Cristo Reyes, Dirk van Duijvenbode and Stephen Bunting, I think once Gurney was out of the picture he would have been favourite to win his board, and it seems like a massive missed opportunity to put 5 grand on his ranking and seal another major TV appearance ahead of the Worlds. The highs and lows of following Raymond van Barneveld!Deduce635806-11-2026
- Probably i will receive a lot of backlash and hate for this reaction, but well, so be it. I am more than sick and tired of those lies of you Barry Hearn. How dare you defend yourself over the back of Fallon’s son! He has a disability and not an illness, so let me correct that for you! I know because I have the exact same disability. I have tried to reach out to Fallon in the past, and offered her to help her and her son, because I was struggling with the same problems, and I understood the boy. I wanted him to have finally someone who understood him. However she told me that she did not want my help, and I have respected Fallon’s choice. I have never asked Fallon for money. They don’t need money in that case. I only ever wanted the best for Fallon and Rory, but I have to be honest about the situation. Fallon should tell the true story and not be forced to tell lies. I don’t hate Fallon, and I don’t begrudge or envy a single penny that she gets, but this situation/case is just not fair. I hate the lies and the dishonesty and injustice. I don’t want Fallon to be hated because there is an unfair disadvantage created. Don’t proclaim your false lies over the back of Rory! I only stand for integrity and justice. I am precisely the one who always sticks up for Fallon. And you don't, you don't give a damn about them. You were never there for them, and now you only want to save your own position! You are just trying to talk your way out of your own bad behavior at the expense of someone with a disability. And to Fallon, I don’t know if this may ever reach you, and you read it, but I want you to know I love you and I love your son Rory very much, I am sorry how things developed and went. I hope you and Harriet are still friends. I am sorry if I were too persistent to you, or you experienced it that way, but it was never my intention. Please understand I have autism as well. As Barry Hearn would say, I am only just a human being too, and I also make mistakes and misjudge things sometimes. I promise you I did everything out of the deepest love and care for you and Rory. If I were you, I should just keep all the money, only please never be dishonest or tell lies anymore for Barry Hearn, or anyone else. I hope you have the best life, and I wish nothing more than the best for you. I have always loved the two of you. Farewell.Hiddo05-11-2026
- She is a professional. If darts is her income, she is a professional. Same as Adrian Lewis, Martin Adams. A tour card just means someone can play on the PDC tour. You could even make a case that Clayton wasn't a professional (until recently I believe) because he had employment elsewhere.BandB04-11-2026
- She's technically not a professional though as she doesn't hold a pro tour card.mr-pablo04-11-2026
- Such a shame that lakeside has been reduced to this. Fantastic venue,and previously a great tournament. Not any morerick6703-11-2026
- Seems to me that the top 16 players pick and choose whatever they want to play. Good,all the money will get spread out more. They get more money from exhibitions than tournaments so let them all withdrawrick6703-11-2026
- 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