Last minute change to World Series of Darts Finals lineup confirmed: Dirk van Duijvenbode replaces top Asian star
PDCSaturday, 05 September 2026 at 10:00
Dirk van Duijvenbode will after all line up at the World Series of Darts Finals in Amsterdam. The Dutchman has been added to the field at the last minute after Man Lok Leung withdrew due to illness. Van Duijvenbode will face Swedish thrower Viktor Tingström at AFAS Live.
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Leung was originally slated to meet the Swede in the first round. The 27-year-old from Hong Kong is ill and must therefore abandon his participation. Leung will also miss next weekend’s final events of the PDC Asian Tour and the PDC Asian Championship.
His withdrawal opens the door for Van Duijvenbode. Under rule 3.7 of the PDC regulations, the vacant spot goes to the first reserve from last month’s Tour Card Holder Qualifier. Van Duijvenbode topped that reserve list and therefore receives a late call-up.
For “Aubergenius” it marks a return to an event where he has previously come close to the title. In 2022, Van Duijvenbode reached the final of the World Series of Darts Finals. This year he has also made headlines on the big stage by reaching the semi-finals at the World Matchplay.
Strong field in Amsterdam
In the first round, Van Duijvenbode draws Tingström, the same opponent originally paired with Leung. The tournament runs from September 17-20 at AFAS Live in Amsterdam.
The field is headlined by defending champion Michael van Gerwen and world number one Luke Littler. World number two Luke Humphries and Dutch number one Gian van Veen are also among the standout names in the line-up.
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Several former winners travel to Amsterdam as well. Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton, and James Wade will once again chase success in the Dutch capital.
Dirk van Duijvenbode will replace Man Lok Leung in the 2026 World Series of Darts Finals, after Hong Kong’s World Cup star was forced to withdraw through illness.
— PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) September 4, 2026
Full story 👉 https://t.co/Itrh75ZLzo pic.twitter.com/7ekqReqDLZ
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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- I mean look, Littler's picture is first,wattimena is second and he won! Level it up. I know littler is fantastic,but the sport was here before him,and will be when he's retired. Any player in the top 64/128 can beat each other,it's not big news. Poor Jermaine,wins it,and not even the headline!!rick6726-08-2026
- I appreciate that littler is a fantastic player,but the top 3 articles are about him. Before he'd thrown a dart in the tournament. Level it out a bit, Taylor and van gerwen soon got disliked as the media could only see them,and nobody else seemed to matterrick6725-08-2026
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- The two-point Lucky Loser qualifiers are Ross Smith, Robb, Whitlock, Sakai, Ilagan and Toylo. Jermaine is not on the entries list on Dartconnect for the TCH qualifier so the four from the main OoM are probably Searle, Nijman, Dobey, Wattimena.Scoobedybop24-08-2026
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