Gian van Veen defends his title, Michael van Gerwen falters and Niels Zonneveld is brimming with confidence: the Dutch players’ chances at the European Championship Darts

The 2026 European Championship gets underway on Thursday evening, 22 October. After 15 European Tour events, 32 players have qualified for the finals in Dortmund. The Netherlands accounts for a quarter of the field, giving the country a strong presence at this major. But what are the chances of the Dutch players, and how have they typically fared at the European Championship?

The eight Dutch players heading to the Westfalenhallen in Dortmund are Michael van Gerwen, Gian van Veen, Wessel Nijman, Danny Noppert, Dirk van Duijvenbode, Jermaine Wattimena, Kevin Doets and Niels Zonneveld. This article looks at their first-round opponents, their past European Championship results and their performances on the European Tour this year.

Michael van Gerwen shares the record for the most European Championship titles with Phil Taylor. The three-time world champion won the tournament four times in a row between 2014 and 2017.

He claimed his first title in 2014, beating Terry Jenkins 11-4 in a convincing final. A year later, the tournament produced one of its most thrilling finals. Against Gary Anderson, “Mighty Mike” averaged 107.28, but the match still went to a deciding leg at 10-10. The Dutchman came out on top to secure his second consecutive title.

In 2016, he won the most one-sided final in European Championship history, alongside the 2010 final between Phil Taylor and Wayne Jones. Van Gerwen faced Austria’s Mensur Suljovic, averaged 111.62 and swept to an 11-1 victory. His third straight title was secured. In 2017, he claimed his fourth and, to date, final title at the event. “MVG” once again produced an outstanding performance in the final, averaging 108.91 as he beat the then relatively unknown Rob Cross 11-7.

The Dutchman’s fortunes changed sharply in the years that followed. He went out in the second round in 2018, then lost his opening match a year later. In 2020, his run again ended in the last 16. He reached the final in 2021 but lost 11-8 to Rob Cross, then suffered a first-round exit the following year. After two more years without progressing beyond the quarter-finals, he reached the semi-finals last year, where eventual champion Gian van Veen proved too strong.

After modest European Tour results and several withdrawals, Van Gerwen starts this year’s European Championship ranked 19th in the PDC European Tour Order of Merit. That puts him up against the player ranked 14th: his compatriot Kevin Doets. Based on “Mighty Mike’s” performances this year, it looks like a 50-50 match, with no clear favourite.

Van Gerwen has reached the semi-finals just twice on the European Tour this year and has lost his opening match five times. For a player with 38 European Tour titles to his name, that is simply below par.

Gian van Veen travels to Dortmund as defending champion. Last year, the Dutchman came seemingly out of nowhere to win his first PDC major at the European Championship. He started the tournament as the 10th seed but ended it with the trophy in his hands. His finishing was particularly impressive.

His title run began with a 6-3 first-round win over Damon Heta. He averaged almost 99 and finished 43% of his attempts. His best performance came in the second round, where a 109.92 average and a 67% checkout rate helped him overpower Ryan Searle 10-2.

Van Veen averaged 101.40 in his quarter-final against Ryan Joyce, keeping his average above 100. With a 48% checkout rate, he beat the Englishman 10-5. Next up in the semi-final was none other than Michael van Gerwen. It proved a tense match, with the doubles again making the difference. At 9-9, Van Veen held his throw before breaking Van Gerwen at the perfect moment to win 11-9. His 55% checkout rate, compared with Van Gerwen’s 33%, was especially impressive.

He faced Luke Humphries in the final, and the match was every bit as close as the semi-final. For the first time, Van Veen was less clinical on the doubles than his opponent, finishing 39% compared with Humphries’ 45%. But Van Veen scored better, averaging exactly 101. He moved 9-7 ahead, only for Humphries to level at 10-10 and force a deciding leg. Humphries missed his first match dart, then Van Veen checked out 100 with single 20, treble 16 and double 16 to win his first major title.

Van Veen is the eighth seed this year. He reached the final at the first European Tour event of the season, where he lost to Luke Littler. A few less successful results followed, but he has since reached the semi-finals at each of the last three events. He begins his title defence against 25th seed Andrew Gilding this weekend.

Dirk van Duijvenbode is preparing for his sixth European Championship appearance. His results at the major have been mixed, much like his career as a whole. He made his debut in 2020 and reached the quarter-finals straight away, beating Danny Noppert and Michael Smith. Jonny Clayton proved too strong in the last eight.

After missing the event in 2021, Van Duijvenbode returned in 2022 and made an impact. Wins over Madars Razma, James Wade and fellow Dutchman Danny Noppert took him to the semi-finals. Despite averaging 101.43, he lost to Michael Smith. In 2023, he lost his opening match to James Wade. A year later, wins over Martin Schindler and Daryl Gurney took him back to the quarter-finals, where Luke Woodhouse beat him 10-4. Last year, “Aubergenius” lost his opening match to Noppert.

His European Tour campaign was mixed again this year. Van Duijvenbode reached Sunday’s session four times but also lost his opening match on seven occasions. He starts the tournament as the 24th seed and faces Luke Woodhouse in round one. Woodhouse is the higher-ranked player on paper, but Van Duijvenbode has a good chance of progressing.

The head-to-head record is close. Van Duijvenbode and Woodhouse have met 10 times, with the Dutchman winning six. However, “Woody” won their last two meetings, including their 2024 European Championship quarter-final. If Van Duijvenbode beats Woodhouse, he could face compatriot Gian van Veen in round two.

In recent years, Danny Noppert and the European Championship have proved a good match. “The Freeze” lost his opening match at his first two appearances, in 2018 and 2020, but has reached at least the quarter-finals at every edition since.

He first did so in 2021, beating Krzysztof Ratajski and Ryan Searle before Nathan Aspinall proved too strong in the last eight. A year later, he again won his first two matches, defeating Andrew Gilding and Vincent van der Voort. Another Dutchman, Dirk van Duijvenbode, then beat him in the quarter-finals.

Noppert went one better in 2023. Wins over Andrew Gilding, Rob Cross and Gerwyn Price took him to the semi-finals, where eventual champion Peter Wright beat him 11-8. He reached the last four again a year later, defeating Joe Cullen, Mike De Decker and Ricardo Pietreczko before compatriot Jermaine Wattimena edged him out 11-10. Noppert made the semi-finals again last year, beating Dirk van Duijvenbode, Nathan Aspinall and Pietreczko. Luke Humphries then proved too strong, winning 11-8.

The European Championship clearly suits Noppert. He is the fifth seed this year after a strong European Tour campaign. He reached the quarter-finals four times, the semi-finals once and the final twice, although he lost both finals. Those results have earned him a first-round tie against a lower-ranked player, which would usually mean a more favourable draw. Stephen Bunting is not an easy opponent, though.

“The Bullet” had a modest Euro Tour season and finished 28th, which put him on course to face the Dutchman. Although Bunting did not make a major impact across the tour, he reached the semi-finals at the final event in Maastricht. That shows the Englishman is in form, so Noppert is likely to face a tough test from the outset.

Niels Zonneveld has been one of the breakout players of this European Tour season. The Dutchman made a fast start, reaching the semi-finals at events two and three and the quarter-finals at the fourth. His results then dipped for some time, until last weekend. At the final event of the year, the Dutch Darts Championship in Maastricht, Zonneveld won his first PDC title in front of his home crowd.

The list of players “Triple Z” beat on the way to the final was impressive. He defeated Krzysztof Ratajski, Gerwyn Price, Wessel Nijman and Stephen Bunting before facing compatriot Danny Noppert in the final. Noppert looked set to pull away after taking a comfortable 2-0 lead. Zonneveld fought back and won five legs in a row to go 5-2 ahead. Noppert clawed back a few legs, but the damage was done and Zonneveld eventually won 8-5.

The Dutchman claimed his first PDC title and immediately climbed to fourth in the European Tour Order of Merit, having started the event in 20th place. Had he stayed there, he would have faced Gerwyn Price in the first round at the European Championship. Instead, his title win has earned him a match against Cameron Menzies. It is no easy task, but on paper it is a more favourable draw than Price.

Given Zonneveld’s current form, he could even be considered the favourite against the Scot. The two are also close in the overall Order of Merit. Menzies is ranked 25th in the world, while Zonneveld has risen to 28th after his title win. The Dutchman also won their most recent meeting earlier this year.

Alongside Ross Smith, Wessel Nijman has been one of the standout players on the European Tour this year. The Dutchman won two Euro Tour events in 2026 and reached at least the quarter-finals four more times. He has earned £124,000 towards the Order of Merit, £34,500 more than the player in third place.

Nijman made a strong start to the season, winning the European Darts Trophy in March for his first European Tour title. After adding several floor titles in the meantime, he claimed his second title on the circuit at the Slovak Darts Open in June. He spent much of the season at the top of the European Tour Order of Merit, but Ross Smith’s even stronger results ultimately pushed him into second place.

Nijman will face the 31st seed in his opening match: Martin Schindler. The German is going through one of the least successful spells of his career, making Nijman a clear favourite on paper. He will also be keen to make amends for his disappointing debut last year.

Nijman lost 6-5 to Michael van Gerwen in his opening match then. He led 4-2 and missed several match darts. This year, however, he heads into the tournament with much more experience and confidence, and may be one of the title favourites.

The Dutchman will also be looking to end his poor record at major tournaments. Nijman has yet to reach a PDC major quarter-final. He has come close several times but has always fallen just short of the last eight. With an opening match against an out-of-form Schindler and a possible second-round meeting with Jermaine Wattimena or Ryan Joyce, this tournament offers a real chance to break that run.

Jermaine Wattimena came close to a major upset at the 2024 European Championship. The Dutchman made a surprise run to the final but was well beaten by the other unexpected finalist, Ritchie Edhouse.

In the years before that, he had never made a deep run at the European Championship. On his debut in 2016, he lost his opening match 6-1 to Mensur Suljovic. His second attempt, in 2018, ended in a 6-0 first-round defeat to Peter Wright. He finally made it through the first round in 2019, only to lose to Jeffrey de Zwaan in the next round.

The Dutchman then disappeared from the European Championship stage for four years before returning in 2024. Wattimena beat an impressive list of players—Peter Wright, James Wade, Luke Humphries and Danny Noppert—to reach the final against the equally surprising Ritchie Edhouse. Wattimena looked the favourite beforehand, but the long tournament, and especially a gruelling Sunday, appeared to take its toll on “The Machine Gun”. He was a shadow of himself in the final and suffered an 11-3 defeat. Last year, he did not repeat that run and went out in the last 16.

His European Tour results were mixed this year. Wattimena regularly reached the last 16 but rarely went further. He did, however, make a surprise run to the final at the European Darts Open, where Krzysztof Ratajski beat him 8-6. He finishes the Euro Tour season ranked 18th and will face 15th seed Ryan Joyce in the first round of the European Championship.

Their head-to-head record is close. They have met 17 times, with Wattimena winning nine and Joyce eight. In matches played in front of television cameras, however, the Englishman leads 6-2.

Kevin Doets will make his European Championship debut after an excellent European Tour season. “Hawkeye” reached the semi-finals at the German Darts Grand Prix, then went one better at the Austrian Darts Open to reach his first Euro Tour final. Josh Rock proved too strong there, winning 8-6.

Those results have earned Doets a debut at the major, and he will start as the 14th seed. His first-round draw is far from easy, though. He will face four-time European Championship winner Michael van Gerwen in his opening match.

Doets should not be written off. Van Gerwen is not going through the best spell of his career and has been inconsistent this year. It remains to be seen which version of him will take to the stage in Dortmund, while Doets has been fairly consistent throughout the season. There is no clear favourite between the two.

Overall, the Dutch players have plenty of opportunities to make a deep run at the upcoming European Championship. Doets versus Van Gerwen is the only all-Dutch first-round match, and several other players have a strong chance of winning their opening match.

Defending champion Gian van Veen knows what it takes, Niels Zonneveld is in outstanding form after his recent Dutch Darts Championship title, and Wessel Nijman will aim to break his “major curse” in Dortmund. With eight Dutch players at the European Championship, there is plenty to look forward to this weekend.