Jan Schmidt faces likely dilemma with race to Grand Slam of Darts after winning through PDC Europe Super League group stage

The group stage of the PDC Europe Super League 2026 has concluded. Marcel Hausotter was the only one of the 24 participants to remain unbeaten, while Paul Krohne recorded the highest average at 89.98. René Eidams and Kevin Jußen claimed the other two group titles. Sixteen players remain in contention for a place at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

René Eidams topped the all-German Group A with nine wins from ten matches. The former Super League champion from Hagen lost only to Jan Schmidt. Eidams avenged that defeat in their return fixture, winning 6–3, and finished the group stage with an average of 84.12.

Schmidt secured second place with seven wins. The World Youth Championship finalist lost both matches against Florian Preis, as well as the return fixture against Eidams. Preis claimed five wins in total to finish third.

Schmidt would likely face a quick race to Wolverhampton if he manages to win through, as it would be late Friday night and he plays Saturday. An intriguing time for him.

Mika Donnevert claimed the group’s final place in the last 16 with four wins. René Damm finished with three wins and Kimi Seemann with two. Both players’ tournaments ended at the group stage.

Kevin Jußen claimed the group title in a slight surprise, winning eight of his ten matches. Only Jaimy van de Weerd and Deniz Baudis managed to beat him, once each. Against two-time Super League champion Dragutin Horvat, Jußen recorded a 6–0 win in the return fixture, averaging 99.10.

Van de Weerd, the top-ranked player on the PDC Europe NEXT GEN, finished second with seven wins. Horvat followed in third with six victories. Patrick Tringler took the group’s final place in the last 16, finishing fourth.

The Austrian won four matches, one more than fellow countryman Christian Gödl. Gödl recorded a higher tournament average than Tringler, 83.23 to 79.56, but his three wins left him in fifth. Baudis finished sixth with two victories.

Paul Krohne won nine of his ten group matches and set the highest average of the entire group stage at 89.98. His only defeat came against Finn Behrens on Tuesday. Krohne won all five matches on the second day of group play to extend his lead at the top.

René Kern finished second. The Austrian and Tim Scholz each recorded six wins. Kern edged Scholz on leg difference, +1 to −3. He also posted the second-highest average of the group stage, at 87.07.

Finn Behrens endured a painful second day in the group. On Tuesday, he had won four of his five matches and become the only player to beat Paul Krohne. But on Wednesday, he lost all five return fixtures, two of them in deciding legs. With their win totals level, Lenny Schlüter moved ahead of Behrens on leg difference, +6 to −4, to claim Group C’s final place in the last 16. After his strong start, Behrens had to settle for fifth. Hohnstedt finished at the bottom of the group.

Marcel Hausotter swept through Group D, winning all ten matches and finishing the group stage with a leg difference of +28. Carsten Hoffmann took second place with eight wins. Both of his defeats came against Hausotter.

Lukas Nußbaum and Patrick Reisenegger each won four matches on their Super League debuts to reach the last 16. Nußbaum finished third on the strength of his superior leg difference. Reisenegger took the group’s final qualifying spot in fourth.

Luca Wolff and Liam Maendl-Lawrance each managed two wins, leaving them fifth and sixth. The last 16 gets under way in Hildesheim on Thursday at 20:00.